''Babel'' is a neoclassical religious

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

composed by

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

in 1944.

Composition

''Babel'' was written on commission from

Nathaniel Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents ...

, a music publisher, who asked Stravinsky to contribute to a collaborative work titled ''

Genesis Suite ''Genesis Suite'' is a 1945 work for narrator, chorus and orchestra. A musical interpretation of the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis, the suite was a collaborative work by seven composers, some of whom wrote film music in Hollywood. ...

'', based on the early chapters of the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

. Although Shilkret's intention was to create a descriptive suite, using representational music on aesthetic as well as religious grounds, Stravinsky relied on abstract musical form to present the biblical text in a more objective manner, believing that he should not make any attempts at dramatically portraying the voice of God.

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

's Prelude was the first piece in the set, whereas Stravinsky's ''Babel'' was the last, on the subject of the building and destruction of the

Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...

. Stravinsky wrote his cantata on words taken from Genesis 11:1–9, in April 1944. Even though

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

, and

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

were also commissioned pieces for this suite, some of the pieces were never finished. Like most composite works, The full suite never had any independent life of its own after its completion in October 1945, but some of its parts have been performed, especially those by better-known composers. Stravinsky's first piece written exclusively in English, ''Babel'' was premiered on 18 November 1945, at the Wilshire Ebel Theatre in Los Angeles, California, by the Werner Janssen Symphony Orchestra, with

Werner Janssen Werner Janssen (born Werner Alexander Oscar Janssen;Schott.

Structure

The piece is in one movement and has a total duration of about seven minutes. The text used is taken from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

verbatim. It is scored for a two-part male chorus, three flutes, a piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, a bass clarinet, two bassoons, a contrabassoon, four French horns, three trumpets, three trombones, a harp, a piano, and a string section. According to some scholars, the piece can be divided into four sections separated by tempo markings, though conductor

Robert Craft Robert Lawson Craft (October 20, 1923 – November 10, 2015) was an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate professional relationship with Igor Stravinsky, on which Craft drew in producing numerous recordings and books. ...

often described the piece as "a

passacaglia The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin The ter ...

in which a

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

serves as one of the variations". ''Babel'' follows a neoclassical structure and form, and is a good example of Stravinsky's late neoclassical period. Contrary to the publisher's wishes, who deemed it more appropriate to entrust God's words to the narrator and leave the story of the construction and destruction of the Tower of Babel for the choir, Stravinsky eventually decided to leave the narrated parts for the narrator and the voice of God for the men's choir, believing that the spoken human voice could not express well God's word. This was recurring for Stravinsky, as he made a clear distinction between the celestials and the terrestrials, intending that "the celestials should sing while the terrestrials should merely talk". He was, therefore, faced with this problem in '' Abraham and Isaac'' and '' The Flood''.

Reception

Stravinsky liked his own creation, as he claimed he preferred his own compositions performed untranslated, in the original language they were written. He stated: "musically speaking, ''Babel'' is a blessing".

Recordings

Following is an incomplete list of some of the most notable recordings of this piece: * Conductor

and the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, W ...

performed the piece with the Simon Joly Chorale and

David Wilson-Johnson David Wilson-Johnson (born 16 November 1950, in Northampton) is a British operatic and concert baritone. Career David Wilson-Johnson was educated at Wellingborough School, and studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at St Catharine's College, Cam ...

as the narrator. The recording took place at

Abbey Road Studio Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

No. 1, in London, on March 27, 2002. This recording was released by

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

in 2006.

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Igor Stravinsky 1944 compositions