Stravinsky’s Ikons: The Influence of Seventeenth-Century Russian Polyphonic Chant on Stravinsky’s Sacred Oeuvre

This study examines the influence of early seventeenth-century Russian polyphonic chant on Stravinsky’s Ave Maria, Symphony of Psalms, and Mass. While some scholars have suggested the possible influence of Russian Orthodox Church music on the composer’s Slavonic liturgical works (i.e., the three Russian Sacred Choruses) this study suggests Russian Orthodox musical influence in Stravinsky’s Latin and Catholic liturgical works.

This Russian Church musical style is characterized by a unique form of polyphony that features irregularity of meter, free use of dissonance, and unusual voice leading (compared to the principles of voice leading codified by Fux). Sonorities from this style are rich in harmonic seconds, fifths, and sevenths, which generate trichords commonly found in Stravinsky’s harmonic palette. These trichords function in significant ways in Stavinsky’s sacred works, marking a differentiation between Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox influences.