Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (Boosey & Hawkes Catalogue)

The publisher Boosey & Hawkes' own catalogue page for Igor Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" (Le Sacre du printemps), composed 1911 to 1913 and premiered 29 May 1913 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, subtitled "Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts." The publisher's own programme note quotes Stravinsky's letter to conductor Serge Koussevitzky describing the work as representing "pagan Russia... unified by a single idea: the mystery and great surge of the creative power of Spring," and his description of "a solemn pagan rite: wise elders, seated in a circle, watching a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of spring." Collaborator Nicholas Roerich, an archaeologist and painter versed in Slavic folklore, is quoted stating his aim to present "a number of scenes of earthly joy and celestial triumph as understood by the Slavs."