Stravinsky, Igor. (1882–1971)
"Le Chronos" - Autograph Statement on Time
Unsigned autograph statement in the hand of the composer, "Le Chronos. L'examen simultané des éléments du temps et du mouvement en musique déterminent le problème du Lento et du Presto" (The Chronos – The simultaneous examination of the elements of time and movement in music determine the problem of Lento and Presto), taken from a draft manuscript intended for the second chapter ("The Phenomenon of Music") of his theoretical book "Poétique musicale" ("The Poetics of Music"). Undated, ca. 1939, the present page was originally obtained by Roland-Manuel who collaborated with Igor Stravinsky on the book, and was featured in the Stravinsky exhibition at the Musée d'art moderne de la ville de Paris in 1980. The statement does not appear in the final published text. 1 half-page on 1 f. in-8 (19.5 x 13.4 cm). In fine condition, with uneven left edge. Provenance: Roland-Manuel, (according to Igor Stavinsky, cat. exp., Paris, Musée d'Art moderne, 1980, no. 345, exhibit 3); Pierre Boulez Collection.An excerpt from the related final published essay is offered here:
"More complex and really fundamental is the specific problem of musical time, of the chronos of music. This problem has recently been made the object of a particularly interesting study by Mr. Pierre Souvtchinsky, a Russian philosopher-friend of mine. His thinking is so closely akin to mine that I can do no better than to summarize his thesis here. Musical creation appears to him an innate complex of intuitions and possibilities based primarily upon an exclusively musical experiencing of time—chronos, of which the musical work merely gives us the functional realization. Everyone knows that time passes at a rate which varies according to the inner dispositions of the subject and to the events that come to affect his consciousness. Expectation, boredom, anguish, pleasure and pain, contemplation—all of these thus come to appear as different categories in the midst of which our life unfoldås, and each of these
determines a special psychological process, a particular tempo. These variations in psychological time are perceptible only as they are related to the primary sensation— whether conscious or unconscious—of real time, ontological time. What gives the concept of musical time its special stamp is that this concept is born and develops just as well outside of the categories of psychological time as it does simultaneously with them. All music, whether it submits to the normal flow of time or whether it disassociates itself therefrom, establishes a particular relationship, a sort of counterpoint between the passing of time, the music’s own duration, and the material and technical means through which the music is made manifest." (Igor Stravinsky, "The Poetics of Music," p. 29-30) (21294)
Autograph Document Classical Music