tl;dr; the firebird
Early in my high school career, I was exploring my new found love of progressive rock. In 1972, the band Yes released the double live album of their tour, Yessongs . They opened their show with the finale to The Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky in 1910. Although I had long appreciated classical music, I had never heard this piece. And the bombastic finale completely enthralled me. Give it a listen here, and then come back to this narrative. I loved it!
My town of Wakefield, MA, had a “junk day” twice a year. You could put anything out to the street and they would haul it away. Well, as they say, one man’s trash is another mans’s treasure. And we would cruise the neighborhoods looking for cool stuff. One year we were mostly concerned with two things:
- breaking the tube in disposed of televisions to see the sometimes spectacular explosion (hey! I was 16, gimme a break!)
- collecting speakers in discarded items
While searching, I stumbled upon some vinyl: an early precursor to the Reader’s Digest Something of Month Club. About 20-25 records of classical music. Generally, speaking, there was one composer per record. And one of them was Stravinsky. And they included the 1919 version of The Firebird Suite (yeah, there are multiple versions).
What you probably don’t know is that The Firebird Suite is a ballet.
The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by keeping his soul in a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for her life and he spares her. As a token of thanks she offers him an enchanted feather that he can use to summon her should he be in dire need.
Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them. The next day, Ivan confronts the magician and eventually they begin quarreling.;. When Koschei sends his minions after Ivan, he summons the Firebird. She intervenes, bewitching the monsters and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the “Infernal Dance”). The creatures and Koschei then fall into a deep sleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg containing Koschei’s soul is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg and with the spell broken, the magical creatures that Koschei held captive are freed and the palace disappears. All of the “real” beings, including the princesses, awaken and with one final hint of the Firebird’s music (though in Fokine’s choreography she makes no appearance in that final scene on-stage), celebrate their victory.
The full Firebird can be heard here. Careful it’s almost an hour long.
I’ve only heard the Firebird live twice; and both times, my daughter was performing it. The first time was during a district concert where kids from surrounding communities audition and get to perform with one another. And the second time was with the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, the oldest sitting volunteer orchestra in the country. Both times were glorious!
Although Yes’ version, and the 1910 version represent the short and long of it, if you will, I prefer the 1919 version. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.
Oh! I almost forgot! The 1919 version is featured in the 2000 version of Fantasia! Great visuals to accompany the story! Click here to see it.
wondering aloud 