Stravinsky's Les Noces (1923) is presented here in our new 2025 Revised Edition. This groundbreaking ballet-cantata that captures the raw energy and ritualistic intensity of a Russian peasant wedding. Scored for four pianos, percussion, vocal soloists, and chorus, this version strips away traditional orchestral textures in favor of a stark, percussive soundscape. Stravinsky’s use of repetitive, folk-like melodies and driving rhythms creates an austere yet hypnotic atmosphere, evoking the communal and ceremonial aspects of the wedding celebration.

The work unfolds in four tableaux, depicting the preparations, the bride’s farewell, the wedding ceremony, and the post-nuptial feast. The music is propelled by relentless rhythmic patterns, with the pianos and percussion generating a mechanical, almost industrial pulse, while the voices deliver fragmented, declamatory lines that mimic the urgency of Russian folk singing. Stravinsky’s intricate layering of rhythm and texture gives the piece a unique, almost modernist character, emphasizing movement and ritual over lyrical expression.

Premiered by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Paris, Les Noces marked a radical departure from Stravinsky’s earlier, more colorfully orchestrated ballets like The Firebird and Petrushka. Its minimalist instrumentation and raw, choral energy foreshadowed later 20th-century experiments in rhythm and timbre. The 1923 version remains the definitive realization of Stravinsky’s vision—an electrifying fusion of folk tradition and avant-garde innovation.