K037 Die fünf Finger
K37 Les cinq doigts
Huit** pièces très faciles sur cinq*** notes pour piano – Die fünf Finger. Acht sehr leichte Stücke im Fünftonumfang für Klavier – The five fingers. Eight very easy tunes on five notes for piano – Пять пальцев. Восемь очень легких мелодий на пяти нотах – Le cinque dita. Otto melodie molto facili su cinque note per pianoforte
* The written version of the number in Stravinsky’s manuscript.
** Also written as a number (8).
*** Also written as a number (5).
Eight Instrumental Miniatures
for fifteen players — Acht Orchester-Miniaturen für fünfzehn Spieler — Huit miniatures instrumentales pour 15 instrumentistes
Scored for: Original edition: Piano; Orchestra version: a) First edition: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, Horn in F, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos; b) Performance requirements: = see Structures b) Orchestrated version
Construction: Original: Eight harmonically and melodically simple pieces with consecutive Arabic numbering throughout but without metronome markings; there are fingerings printed over the rows of notes used in each piece and Italian tempo markings. Orchestral version: Eight orchestral pieces with consecutive numbering in Roman numerals and metronome markings*; the instrumentation changes from piece to piece and the tempo and performance markings are in Italian while the structure remains mostly unaltered from the piano original and it is only adjusted in a few exceptional cases. The order of the works is changed however.
*Except for in the ‘March’ and the ‘Tango’, but a metronome marking is not necessary, since the ‘March’ tempo is standardized according to the German, French, English or Russian military tradition, and the Tempo of the ‘Tango’ is dictated by its usage. Stravinsky’s own tempo in the ‘March’ (CD) varies around crotchet = 112, which corresponds approximately to the German march tempo, (crotchet = 114). The French march tempo is something slower, that is considerably slower for the French Foreign Legion. The Slow German March in 4/4 is set at crotchet = 80. Stravinsky’s own tempo in the Tango (CD) varies around crotchet = 120.
Structures
a) Original
Andantino *
1. 31 bars A-B-A-Form (A = 11 bars, B = 9 bars with Da capo al fine, repeat Section A).
Row: c2-d2-e2-f2-g2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
Metre: throughout 2/4-bar; 9. (29. bar) 3/4-bar.
Tonality: C (without accidental).
Allegro *
2 . 58 bars in two sections with a differentiated first section consisting of an introduction A, a repeated section B and B 1(each with their own endings), a coda C, and a continuous second section with invention-like continuation (Fortspinnung) D, and a slightly altered reprise section based on B = A-B-B 1-C-D-B 2(A= 3 bars, B = 11 bars including a two-bar-long first-time bar leading back to A, B 1= a ten-bar reprise of B with a one-bar second-time bar, C = 8 bars, D = 14 bars with displacement of the accompaniment figures of C in the right hand at points, B 2= 12 bars). The first bar is not an upbeat, rather, as the orchestral version VI also proves, a full bar written incorrectly.
Row: c2-d2-e2-f2-g2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
Metre: throughout 2/4-bar; 24. bar (2. clause) 3/4-bar.
Tonality: C (without accidental).
Allegretto *
3. A two-part form (A = 11 bars, B = 25 bars) with a subdivided structure based on a rich rotation principle.
Row: c2-d2-e2-f2-g2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
Metre: throughout 2/4-bar.
Tonality: C (without accidental).
Larghetto *
4. 29 bars in rocking 6/8 bar continuous with a repeat of the first section written in, A-A-B (A = 7 bars, repeated A = 7 bars including a bar of transition, B = 15 bars).
Row: d2-e2-f sharp2-g2-a2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
Metre: throughout 6/8-bar.
Tonality: e (accidental 1 #).
Moderato *
5. 22 bars A-B-A- form with a bar preceding A that is not repeated (preliminary bar = 1 bar, A = 7 bars, B = 7 bars with Del signo al fine, repeat of the A section = 7 bars with a different final bar). This bar that precedes A is not an upbeat, rather, as the orchestral version V additionally proves, a full bar written incorrectly.
1. Row: c2-d2-e2-f sharp2-g2
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5
2. Row: d2-e2-f sharp2-g2-a2
Fingering: ohne
Metre: throughout 4/4-bar
Tonality: e ( accidental 1 #)
Lento
6. 19 bars in two sections, A-B; the penultimate 5 bars are identical to the first 5 bars (A = 8 bars, B = 11 bars).
1. Row: d1-e1-f sharp1-g1-a1.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
2. Row: f1-g1-a1-b flat1-c2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
3. Row: d1-e1-f sharp1-g1-a1.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
Metre: throughout 3/4-bar.
Tonality: d ( accidental 1 b).
Vivo
7. 50 bars in a Gigue form in one section with a middle section; the final 10 bars are a slightly varied version of the first 8 bars, specifically the bass line moves in the opposite direction.
Row: c2-d2-e2-f2-g2.
Fingering: no
Metre: throughout 3/8-bar.
Tonality: F ( accidental 1 b).
Pesante
8. 29 bars A-B-A 1-B 1-A 2-Form (A = 9 bars, B = 1 bar 6/4, A 1= 8 bars, B 1= 1 bar 5/4, A 210 bars).
1. Row: h1-c2-d2-e2-f2-(f sharp2).
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5-(5).
2. Row: h1-c#2-e2-g2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-5.
3. Row: c#2-d2-e2-f2-g2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-5.
4. Row: h1-c2-d2-e2-(e flat2)-f2.
Fingering: 1-2-3-4-(4)-5.
Metre: throughout 2/4-bar; 10. bar 6/4-, 19. bar 5/4-bar.
Tonality: C ( without accidental ).
* With both hands written in treble clef.
b) Orchestrated version
I
Andantino Crotchet = 76 (31 bars = bar 1-31)
Scored for: 2 Oboes, 1 Bassoon, Horn in F
Structure: = Original Nr. 1 Andantino
Tonality: C ( without accidental )
II
Vivace dotted crotchet = 126 (25 bars = bar 32-56)
Scored for: 2 Flutes, 2 Clarinets in B flat, 1 Bassoon, Horn in F
Structure: = Original Nr. 7 Vivo
Tonality: D ( accidental 2 ##)
Transition to nach III without Pause
III
Lento Crotchet = 63 (19 bars = bar 57-75)
Scored for: 2 Flutes, 2 Clarinets in B flat, 1 Bassoon, Horn in F
Structure: = Original Nr. 6 Lento
Tonality: d ( accidental 1 b)
Transition from II without a pause
IV
Allegretto Crotchet = 126 (48 bars = bar 76-114)
Scored for: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in B flat, Horn in F
Structure: To some extent identical to the Original No.3 Allegretto
Tonality: C ( without accidental )
V
Moderato alla breve Minim = 84-88 (30 bars = bar 115-144)
Scored for: 2 Flutes, 1 Clarinet in A, Horn in F, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Violoncellos
Structure: identical in part to the Original Nr. 5 Moderato
Tonality: e ( accidental 1 #)
VI
Tempo di Marcia [without metronom marks] (56 bars = bar 145-201)
Scored for: 2 Clarinets in A, 2 Bassoons, Horn in F, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Violoncellos
Structure: identical in part with some alterations to the original Nr. 2 Allegro
Tonality: H (accidental 5 ##)
VII
Larghetto dotted crotchet = 68-69 (29 bars = bar 201-229)
Scored for: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Violins, 2 Violas
Structure: = Original Nr. 4 Larghetto
Tonality: e ( accidental 1 #)
VIII
Tempo di Tango [without metronome mark] (32 bars = bar 230-261)
Scored for: Tutti (Clarinets in A)
Structure: = Original Nr. 8 Pesante
Tonality: C ( without accidental )
Numbering comparison between the Piano and Orchestral versions
1. Andantino = I Andantino
2. Allegro = VI Tempo di Marcia
3. Allegretto = IV Allegretto
4. Larghetto = VII Larghetto
5. Moderato = V Moderato alle breve
6. Lento = III Lento
7. Viv = II Vivace
8.Pesante = VIII Tempo di Tango
Style: The original consists of short character pieces which are very easy to play and were conceived for the purposes of teaching beginners; the work has a range of five notes and different points of rhythmic difficulty. – Stravinsky did not just orchestrate the works, rather he interpreted them technically in terms of their construction and reworked them, with a few exceptions, not in terms of structure but rather in terms of their composition. This reworking, which also transposes some pieces into different keys, alters the simple sequence of keys C-C-C-e-G-d-F-C, of the circle of fifths, into a very different sequence, C-D-d-C-e-B-e-C. Stravinsky not only changes the polar notes but also occasionally the bar lengths, ranges and structural sections. No. VI (No.2 in the original), the March, was the movement most affected by the changes.
I/1:
Both works are structurally identical, aside from a few differences,. The Da capo al fine of no.1 is composed out in no. I. There are superficial correspondences around bar 31 (apart from one repeated 3/4-bar) at the 2/4-bar, which remains the same in both versions; it is achieved differently however. He compresses bar 11 of no.1 and bar 12 (the first bar of the second section) into one another so that the 20 bars A+B of no.1 become 19 bars of no.I. Conversely, he extends the eleven-bar repeated section of no.1 by a bar for no.I, making 12 bars in total. – The melody, with C as its central pole, is given to the 1st Oboe in the A section while the 1st bassoon plays its mirror image on top of it at the same pitch. The 2nd Oboe enters for 4 bars, starting in bar 2 with a varied augmentation a seventh below while the horn plays the bass line. In the middle section, the melody remains in the oboes and in the bassoon in the final bar while the horn plays in contrary motion. Stravinsky constructed the repeated section with a different and even more skilful contrapuntal technique; in doing so, he shows once again what in this little piece is concealed in compositional possibilities. He therefore had to remove the Da capo of the original. Once again, the 1st Oboe takes the melody. The bassoon does not play the mirror image this time, but an intervallically accurate imitation of the oboe part a bar later and a fourth lower. The 2nd Oboe does the same one crotchet later and a seventh lower, so that three voices follow one another canonically supported by the horn in the bass register.
II/7:
Both pieces are structurally identical. The difference between the 25 bars of II and the 50 bars of 7 only exists because the 3/8-meter of 7 is rewritten into a 6/8-meter in II. At the same time, Stravinsky changes the polar notes of 7, F, into a D in II. The Vivo becomes a Vivace with metronome marking which leads directly into the Lento of III while the original comes to an end and stands as a movement on its own. – The melody is in the 2nd Flute while the 1st plays a held A an octave higher so that in the final bars of the section, it can play in unison but at the octave with the 2nd Flute while the clarinet and horn accompany. In the middle section (bars 9/17), the oboes hold the melodic line while the clarinets are silent. The flutes accompany, the horn punctuates with powerful, short quavers and the bassoon fills the sound with peaceful quaver movement in broken chords. The final 4/8 bars which bring the middle section to a close in the manner of a coda contain the 1st Flute alone playing the melodic line. The previous function of the horn and bassoon has been taken on by the two clarinets. The final section, a slightly altered repetition of the A section, is not at all orchestrated in a richer manner. The relationship between the two flutes has not changed at all from the A section. The oboes, 2nd Clarinet and 1st Bassoon are silent and the 1st Clarinet continues to flow over the entire section, while the horn holds a single note for 5 bars (= 10 in the original) before it concludes with the tonic.
III/6:
The two works are structurally identical. The first section (bars 1-8 = bars 57-64) is a dialogue between the Horn and 1st Flute, the second (bars 9-19= bars 65-75) is likewise a dialogue between 1st Clarinet and Horn, which the 1st Flute joins in the last 3 bars. The other instruments, 2nd Flute, 2nd Clarinet and Bassoon, have an accompaniment function which emphasizes the accents.
IV/3:
The two pieces are identical to a certain extent. The difference in bar numbers between the 48 bars of the orchestral version compared with the 36 bars of the original is primarily a result of a repeat of nine bars, bars 2-10 which is missing in the original and is not composed out; this repeat has its own final bar in no.IV, which leads to a ten-bar extension of the original, at the same time making the original first bar into a one-bar introduction to no.IV. The extra two bars come as a result of the repeat of two bars in the B-section of the original. Stravinsky repeats the 2nd and 3rd bars of this section after the 3rd bar (Original: 12-13-14-15; orchestral version: 22-23-24-23-24-25). The original form A-B in this way becomes A-B-B 1-C in the instrumental version. Stravinsky changes the ensemble eight times in total during the course of this piece, which doesn’t even last one minute. The introductory A section and the first 6 bars of B are fought over by the two flutes, to which the 1st Oboe is added in the final 4 bars. The B 1section, including its final phrase, corresponds to the B-section in terms of instrumentation. In addition to the first 4 bars of the C section, the oboes, horn and the two clarinets take over the melodic line for two 2 bars while the other instruments are silent. Stravinsky realizes the four chordal bars 17-20 of the original in the flutes and oboes while the horn plays the bass line in the same manner as before. The next 6 bars, in the original a simple, one-part melody constructed by means of motific manipulation with a one-part accompaniment (both in the upper register), receive a different luminescence in Stravinsky’s orchestration than in the original. He assigns the piano lines to the flutes while the two clarinets play fast semiquaver staccato octaves which seem subjectively to increase the pace of the music, unlike in the original. In the original, six bars then follow with a chordal accompaniment in the bass part, which is coloured just as unusually. The 1st Flute plays the actual descant melody while the 2nd Flute works contrapuntally against this, taking over the role of the 1st Flute in the last of the six bars; the two oboes contest the descant fundamental voices while the horn holds the C central pole in minims for six bars. The final four bars (in the original: bars 33-36, in the orchestral version: bars 45-48) superimpose the 1st Flute, with its held g 2notes, the 1st Clarinet with the descant middle voice, the 2nd Clarinet with an additionally composed contrapuntal part and the horn with the bass line from the original.
V/5:
Both pieces are essentially identical, but the repeat is composed out for the purposes of instrumental variation in no.V. The difference in length between the 30 bars of the orchestral version and the 22 bars of the original is a result of an additional repeat of the original bars 2-9, through which length of the original increases by 7 to 29 bars. The 8th additional bar results from the extension of the original final bar with a further tied-over minim with a half-bar pause. Regarding the structure of the original: bars 1 / 2-7, 8 as the final bar I / 9-15 / repetition of 2-7 with 9 as the final bar II (22 bars), is structured in the orchestral version as: bars 1/2-7, 8 as final bar I / repetition of 2-7 including 8 as final bar I / 9-15 / repetition of 2-7 with 9 as the final bar II and an additional final bar (30 bars). In comparison with the original A-B-A 1form with a preceding bar before A that is not repeated, an A-A-B-A 1form is thus created with a preceding bar before A that is not repeated, so the form must be regarded as A-A 2-B-A 3form in order to differentiate between nos.V and 5, because the third repeated section of no.V is strictly speaking not identical to the second repeated section of no.5 due to the addition of an extra bar. – The preceding bar is played by the violins and violas. In the original, the A-section is made up of 3 musical layers: the chordal descant, at first in one voice and then in two from bar 4 (5) for one and a quarter bars, a bass line in minims and rich chords in thirds in the middle bass register. In the orchestral version, the piano descant is given to the 1st Flute, the bass line to the horn supported by pizzicato ‘cello and the chordal progression to the high strings. Shortly before the entry of the two-part chordal texture in the soprano of the original, Stravinsky adds a contrapuntal countermelody in the 2nd Flute in opposition, finally adding the 1st Clarinet. The repeat, which is missing in the original, retains the horn and string section, but omits the clarinets and the melodic countermovement, although the flutes are added, predominantly in chords. The 1st Flute keeps the melody throughout the whole piece. In the B section, the clarinet takes on the function of the horn, which plays the held bass note in bar 136 (bar 15 of the piano original), while all the other instruments are silent. The second last repeat corresponds instrumentally not to the first version but to the original form with its second final clause, which is handled in the same way. The second minim, which leads into the additional bar, is given to the 2nd Flute.
VI/2:
No. VI, in the tempo of a march, is, with its 56 bars, the only work in the collection which, seen outwardly, is 2 bars shorter than its 58-bar-long original, no.2. We must also assume an incorrect metronome marking in the 1st bar in the original, which, being an anacrusis, is only one crotchet long, although there is no corresponding adaptation of the final bar of the work to balance it out. Stravinsky transposes the key from C to B and composes out the repeated section. Furthermore, he adapts certain bars in the original, in that he makes new combinations of bars from those in the original, in certain cases cutting across and re-thinking the bass and soprano registers. Formally, the work remains in A-B-B 1-C-D-B 2, but with different numbers of bars allocated to each section (A = 3 {3} bars, B = 10 {11} bars, B 1= 7 {10} bars, C = 8 {8} bars, D = 16 {14} bars, B 2= 12 {12} bars) for which sections D and B 2can be subdivided differently when seen from a different formal perspective. The orchestration avoids the instruments typical of a military march, such as flutes, and uses the strings predominantly as a replacement for the percussion. – The first 3 bars reveal the montage process of the new A section here. Stravinsky combines bar 1 and the first half of bar 2 of the original into 1 bar for the revised version (bar 1) and does the same with bars 2 and 3. As a result, the second crotchet of bar 3 in the original becomes the first crotchet in the revision. He fills the gap created by the missing second crotchet beat of the bar with a crotchet rest, so these bars remain but in different combination. The A section, as with the subsequent B and B 1sections, is orchestrated solely using the strings. In the B and B 1sections, the 1st violin plays the melody and the 2nd violin a countermelody with much motific imitiation while the violas and ‘celli play a staccato march rhythm in crotchets. In the 11th bar, the interval of a second becomes a leap of a third. In all the pieces, Stravinsky’s composed-out repeats, including this case, also present alterations to the orchestration. No.VI is however an exception: here, the alteration is a new arrangement of the bars. The bar-lines of the 7 bars of the B 1section are dislocated, as in the short introduction, and in doing so form a new meaning. Bar 158 is formed from the original bars 4 and 5, and bar 159 from bars 5 and 6 of the original. The original bars 7 and 8 are omitted for the repeat. Bars 160 and 161 are constructed from bars 9 and 10 as well as 10 and 11, and so on. Bar 14 remains as it is, but gains a different accompaniment in the 2nd violins for the repeat. The C section has a different orchestration in the 1st Flute and 1st Bassoon for the two melodic lines and the 2nd Bassoon and strings function as the replacement of percussion. The 1st Bassoon plays the melody and two bars later, the 1st Flute imitates contrapuntally and canonically. The D section is composed using 5 small concertino groups: 4 bars of flutes, horn and violins, 3 bars of violins with flute and horn on the last beat of the 3rd bar, 2 bars duet for flute and horn, 6 bars of flutes, horn and violins, and finally 1 bar of flutes, horn and tutti strings. At first, the melody is in the 1st Violin part, then in the 1st Flute part and it then alternates between the horn and flute parts. The other instruments that are playing, including the 2nd Flute, mark the rhythm. Stravinsky compiled the material for the section in a free order from the original bars 24-37, some of which he omits, others he repeats and others divides up. He forms bar 187 from the original bars 36 and 37, bar 188 from the second part of bar 37 of the original, and a final quaver rest which does not come from the original. The strings fight over the 12 bars of the final section, B 2, with accented pizzicato chords. The first 8 bars follow bars 38-45 of the original identically, in which the 1st Flute plays the melody and the 2nd Flute has the countermelody. Bar 197 is constructed from bars 46 and 48 in the original with bar 47 being omitted. Bar 48 of the original appears twice in succession; the first time (bar 198), he ends the instrumental combination of flutes and strings, in the second time (bar 199), he introduces the two-bar final group in which the strings retain their percussion/percussive function. The 1st Flute gives up its melody to the horn and becomes the bearer of the rhythm together with the 2nd Flute and strings. The final bar, 200, corresponds to bar 49 of the original. The sequence of the bars in the relation of the piano original to the orchestral version is best shown in table format, in which the first table shows the original bar numbering of the orchestral version which continues through the individual pieces and the second table displays the numbering for the analysis of no. VI is dependant, which is not from the original. The 3rd table shows the bar numbering on which the analysis is dependant for no. 2 and the 4th table the formal specifications.
Table
Orchestral version Bar counts Piano original Formal specifications
145 1 1/2 A
146 2 2/3 A
147 3 3/- A
148 4 4 B
149 5 5 B
150 6 6 B
151 7 7 B
152 8 8 B
153 9 9 B
154 10 10 B
155 11 11 B
156 12 12 B
157 13 14 B
158 14 4/5 B 1
159 15 5/6 B 1
160 16 9/10 B 1
161 17 10/11 B 1
162 18 11/12 B 1
163 19 12/13 B 1
164 20 14 B 1
165 21 16 C
166 22 17 C
167 23 18 C
168 24 19 C
169 25 20 C
170 26 21 C
171 27 22 C
172 28 23 C
173 29 24 D
174 30 25 D
175 31 26 D
176 32 27 D
177 33 29 D
178 34 30 D
179 35 29 D
180 36 29 D
181 37 31 D
182 38 32 D
183 39 35 D
184 40 32 D
185 41 34 D
186 42 35 D
187 43 36/37 D
188 44 37/- D
189 45 38 B 2
190 46 39 B 2
191 47 40 B 2
192 48 41 B 2
193 49 42 B 2
194 50 43 B 2
195 51 44 B 2
196 52 45 B 2
197 53 46/48 B 2
198 54 48 B 2
199 55 48 B 2
200 56 49 B 2
* { } = Piano original
VII/4:
Both pieces are structurally identical and the repeat in no. VII is composed out due to variations in the orchestration. The 1st Oboe takes the melody line and the descant in the soprano register is given to the two flutes. In the repeat, the flutes are silent and the melody remains in the 1st Oboe. It is inverted by the 2nd Oboe three quavers later and plays in mirror image around the pole E. The accompaniment is given to the violins and violas. The B section begins with 5 bars of antiphonal dialogue in which the flutes, oboes, violins and violas take part. After this, the 1st Oboe retains the melody while the other instruments, the two flutes, the 2nd Oboe, both violin parts and the violas give a rhythmic impulse.
VIII/8:
Both pieces are structurally identical, apart from 2 bars. The Tango movement is the only of the orchestral miniatures with tutti orchestration and carries with it, as in the original version, the hallmarks of a finale. The double barline, coming after the first 9 bars in the original, before and at the end of bar 10 is omitted in the revised version. The original 6/4 bar is reworked in the revision into a sequence of a 5/4 bar, a 6/16 and a 3/8 bar. The subsequent 8 bars correspond metrically to the original as well. The 5/4 bar, which is fenced off by double bars and is the 19th bar of the original, is treated in a similar way in the revision. Stravinsky divides it up into a sequence of a 5/4 bar, a 6/16 bar and a 3/8 bar, but this time includes in the construction the first quaver and quaver rest of the next bar, the 20th bar, which comes next and is a 2/4 bar. As a result, he keeps a crotchet’s worth over which he must carry into the coda section and which, according to the original, is written as a 2/4 bar. He can therefore metrically indicate the final section of the 2/4 sequence after the insertion of a 3/4 bar. The difference in the number of bars between no. 8 (= 29) and no. VIII (=32) is therefore only apparent because there is no resultant difference in duration. In the first sequence, one bar is divided into three, and the same happens in the second, now without the bar which is subsumed into the preceding and subsequent bars. The number of bars therefore increases by 3 without there being a change in duration.
Dedication: a) Original:no dedication known; b) Orchesterfassung*: Dedicated to Lawrence Morton**
* The printed editions bear no dedication note.
Dedicatee Lawrence Morton: The dedicatee, Lawrence Morton, was the former director of the Monday Evening Concerts and the Ojai Festival in Los Angeles. According to the New York Times, Article by John Rockwell, 15th May 1982, he was born in Duluth, Minnesota, 13th July 1904, graduated from the University of Minnesota, moved 1937 to Los Angeles, became the director of Evenings on the Roof Concerts (renamed in ‘Monday Evening Concerts’) in 1954, and he died in Santa Monica, California, on the 8th May 1982, apparently of a heart attack. Morton was music critic, music organizer, arranger and composer for film, one of the first film critics, a friend of Strawinsky, advanced early and the newest modern music.
Date of origin: Original: Garches January-February 1921; Orchestrated version: Hollywood January-April 1961/62; [ Dating according to manuscript: I: 24. 1.; II: 26. 1.; III: 29. 1.; IV: 31.1.; V: 4. 2.; VI: 13. 2.; VII: 12. 2.; VIII: 18. 2.1921 Garches ] .
Dating according to fair-copy autograph score: 1: >I. Strawinsky / Garches / 24 I 1921<; 2: >Igor Strawinsky / Garches / 26 Janvier 21<; 3: >Samedi 29 Janvier / 1921 / Igor Strawinsky<; 4. >Igor Strawinsky / Garches / 31 – I – 21<; 5. >Igor Strawinsky / Garches 4 II 21<; 6. >Igor Strawinsky / Garches I3 II 2I<; 7. >Igor Strawinsky / 17 Fevrier I92I / Garches<; 8. >Igor Strawinsky / Garches 18 II 21<
Duration: Original: about between 6' and 8' [50" + 18" + 35" + 1’ 15" + 40" + 45" + 45" + 1’ 15"]; Orchestrated version: about 0' 55" + 0' 27" + 0' 47" + 0' 57" + 0' 54" + 1' 03" + 1' 24" + 1' 04".
First performances: Piano version: 15th December 1921 by Jean Wiener, Paris, Salle Des Agriculteurs; Orchestrated withdrawed version Nr. 8 according to Original (Pesante): in the December 1961 in Mexico City conducted by Robert Craft; Orchestrated version 1-4 according to version for orchestra: 26th March 1962 in Los Angeles in the series of the Monday Evening Concerts conducted by Robert Craft; Orchestrated version I-VIII according to version for orchestra: 29th April 1962, Massey Hall in Toronto with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Igor Strawinsky.
Remarks: The reason for the composition of these piano works can only be conjectured, but certainly has nothing to do with family matters. At that time, Chester Publishing House in London was offering a complete series of works of varying levels of difficulty by different composers in its publishing programme as a series of easy works, but with each work belonging to the whole, obviously anticipating Bartók’s Mikrokosmos (1926ff). The page of adverts lists more than 100 pieces, which are divided into eight grades of difficulty (Grade I to VIII; I: Preliminary and Primary; II: Elementary; III: Transitional; IV: Lower; V: Higher; VI: Intermediate; VII: Advanced; VIII: Final). There are in the first group, i.e. the easiest level, eleven or thirteen pieces in either ten or eleven numbers depending on the edition, as there are two pieces listed under numbers 8 (Stravinsky + Bartok) and 11 respectively. The time of composition was Winter 1920/21 and the place of composition is Garches. In the manuscript, every piece was signed and dated. Little is known about the production of the instrumental version, apart from the fact that Stravinsky orchestrated the eighth piece (using the numbering in the piano version), Pesante in 1961; he withdrew the orchestration and instead orchestrated the entire series for 15 players a year later in 1962, at the same time expanding it structurally and manipulating it formally in places. The supposition that Stravinsky wanted to expose the actual motific complexity of the piano works, which superficially functions so simply, through his orchestration is speculation.
Versions: The pieces were published by Chester in London in 1922. There were evidently 2 parallel printings with different business addresses and with edition numbers that do not correspond with one another. The edition which pertains to England gives the edition number as 102 and it can be assumed that this was an older print-run, although the second edition, by which time the circle of Chester branches had been extended to France and Belgium, also gives the price in Francs and the edition number as 100 but with the same plate number. It was already in the possession of the Library of the British Museum on 6th April 1922. Strawinsky had his copy from June 1922. The edition with edition number 102 was a follow-up edition with the printed marking ‘Revised Price’ under the original price. Both editions do indicate the rows. The Mercury Music Corporation, New York arranged a subsequent printing in 1943 with its own plate number without naming the original publishers, Chester, for which they took out their own copyright. The copy in the Library of the British Museum, h.3992 h. (3), which was sold on 21st August 1950, cannot be the original of 1943 because it contains an advertisement page with the date 1947. The American printing removes the tone rows that Strawinsky had given for each of the pieces, unlike the Russian edition of 1968 which stays true to the original. After Hansen had obtained the majority share of Chester, there was a new edition with a different outer title-page based on the early Chester edition of 1964, from which other editions were taken. Apart from the late orchestration which was published as parts in 1962 and as a pocket score in 1963 by Chester-Hansen, there were no other published instrumental versions taken on by Strawinsky himself. This is because the separate orchestration of the (at that time) eighth piece, Pesante / Tempo in Tango, which had been completed on 16th December 1961 according to the indication on the manuscript, had not been published, despite the fact that there is copyright entry in his name in the neat copy. This suggests the possibility that Strawinsky withdrew the edition of the single piece in favour of the entire series with expanded orchestra. Robert Craft published a facsimile of it in 1983 on pages 103-106 of his book A Strawinsky Scrapbook, published by Thames & Hudson. Chester Publishers however, who had owned the rights from the start, published a guitar transcription of the Allegro in 1959 by Theodore Norman, and ten years later a transcription of the entire series for two guitars by the same person. Presumably, the 1959 version was not published without Strawinsky’s agreement, especially as nothing was changed in the musical text. The same must be true for the 1969 version, although Strawinsky was hardly working at all in an artistic capacity by this late point in time, but certainly not for the American printings from the ‘40’s and ‘50’s and Russian printing of 1968. The appearance of further reprinted editions of the Cinq Doigts is to be expected. The parts were produced in 1962 and were made available for purchase along with the pocket score in 1963.
Transcription for Guitar (Norman): The publication for guitar of the Allegro, the second piece of the Cinq Doigts, by Theodore Norman in 1959 which is described as a transcription, is in reality an arrangement which restricts itself to fingerings and tablature markings with additional dynamic indications. Nothing in the musical text was changed from the original. Strawinsky’s piece is constructed in such a way that it can be transcribed onto a single five-line system and can played by a guitar without any further alterations. Norman adhered to this and did nothing to change it other than inserting fingerings. In addition to the two original forte markings in bars 23 and 31 (without counting the repeat or anacrusis) as well as the two original piano markings in bars 26 and 32, he included further piano markings at: the end of bar 2, the beginning of bar 3, the beginning of bar 15, at the beginning of both halves of bar 35, the beginning of bar 36, and the beginning of bar 40. He removed all accent markings on the bass upbeat notes and in bars 1 and 2 as well as the first quavers in the soprano in bar 22. He shortened the original crescendo markings in bars 35 and 36 so that he begins it from the final quaver beat of bar 35 and ends it on the second crotchet beat of bar 36. He changes the double bar-line before the beginning of the repeated phrase at the end of bar 11 into a normal bar-line. The other double bar-lines remain the same as in the original version. He removes Strawinsky’s favourite device, the use of beams stretching across the bar-lines, inside the bar, meaning that two groups of two become a group of four. Beaming inside a single bar are retained throughout.
Historical recordings: 14th March 1925 in New York for Brunswick Records by Igor Strawinsky; Toronto 29th April 1962 with members of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Igor Strawinsky.
CD-Edition: (only Orchestrated version) VI/21-28.
Autograph: The neat copy is stored in the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel; old Chester copies are in the British Library, London.
Copyright: Original: 1922 by J. & W. Chester in London, 1943 by Mercury Music Corporation in New York; Orchestrated version: 1962 by J. & W. Chester in London (parts), 1963 by J. & W. Chester in London (score); Version for guitar: 1959 by J. & W. Chester in London.
Editions
a) Overview
and
b) Characteristic features
in progress
a) Overview
37-1 (1922) Piano; Chester; 10 pp.; J. & W. C. 2090; 102 .
37-2 1922 Piano ; Chester London; 10 pp.; J. & W. C. 2090; 100.
37-2Straw ibd. [with annotations]
37-2Alb 1924 Allegro Klavier; Schott; 32272; 1400.
37-3 [1943] Piano ; Mercury Music Corporation New York; 13 pp.; 144.
37-4 (1949) Piano ; E. F. Kalmus New York, 10 pp. [unidentified].
37-5 (1949) Piano (Alphenaar); Omega Music Edition New York; 10 pp. [unidentified].
37-6 1959 AllegroGitarre (Norman); Chester London; 4 pp.; J. W. C. 1806.
b) Characteristic features
37-1 IGOR STRAWINSKY / LES CINQ DOIGTS/ POUR PIANO. / PRIX 3/- NET* / LONDON: / J. & W. CHESTER, LTD., / 11, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET, W. 1. // Edition Chester, No. 102/ IGOR STRAWINSKY / [°] / LES CINQ DOIGTS / 8 PIÈCES TRES FACILES SUR 5 NOTES / POUR PIANO / [°°] / J. & W. CHESTER, LTD., / 11, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET, W. 1. / Déposé selon les traités internationaux. [#] Propriété pour tous les pays. / Tous droits de traduction, de reproduction, et d'arrangement réservés. / [°°°] / Engraved and Printed in England./ Copyright, MCMXXII., by J. & W. Chester, Ltd. // (Edition [library binding] 23.7 x 30.5 (2° [4°]); 10 [10] pages + 4 cover pages black on creme white [front cover title, 2 empty pages, page with publisher’s advertisements >THE CHESTERIAN SERIES / GRADED PIANO MUSIC<* without production data] + 2 pages front matter [title page, empty page] without back matter; title head >LES CINQ DOIGTS / 8 Mélodies très faciles sur 5 notes<; author specified 1. page of the score unpaginated [p. 1] below movement title >Andantino< flush right centred >IGOR STRAWINSKY / 1921<; legal reservations 1. page of the score below type area flush left >Copyright 1922 by J. & W. Chester, Ltd.< flush right >Tous droits réservés. / All rights reserved.<; end of score dated italic p. 10 > Garches 1921<; plate number >J. & W. C. 2090<; without end mark) // (1922)
° Double dividing horizontal line of 8 cm.
°° Dividing horizontal line of 2.5 cm.
°°° Dividing horizontal line of 3.2 cm.
* In the eight grades of difficulty, it is shown under the lowest level of difficulty >G radeI / (Preliminary and Primary)<without a price under the number 8 >Andantino [#] I. Strawinsky< along with Bartók >Two Little Dialogues< in one book. GRADE I contains 10 (ten) numbers; only No. 8 contains two pieces.
37-2 IGOR STRAWINSKY / LES CINQ DOIGTS/ POUR PIANO. / PRIX 3/- (FR. 4.50) NET. / LONDON: / J. & W. CHESTER, LTD., / 11, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. W. 1. // Chester Series, No. 100./ IGOR STRAWINSKY / [°] / LES CINQ DOIGTS / 8 PIÈCES TRES FACILES SUR 5 NOTES / POUR PIANO / [°°] / J. & W. CHESTER, LTD., / LONDON: 11, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET, W.-1. / Déposé selon les traités internationaux. [#] Propriété pour tous les pays. / Tous droits de traduction, de reproduction, et d'arrangement réservés. / Seuls Dépositaires pour la France:[#] Seuls Dépositaires pour la Belgique:/ ROUART, LEROLLE ET CIE., [#] MAISON CHESTER, / 29, RUE D'ASTORG, PARIS. [#] 86, RUE DE LA MONTAGNE, BRUXELLES. / [°°°] / Engraved and Printed in England./ Copyright, MCMXXII., by J. & W. Chester, Ltd. // (Edition with indicating the rows sewn 24.5 x 30.4 (4° [4°]); 10 [10] pages + 4 cover pages thicker paper black on crème [front cover title, 3 empty pages] + 2 pages front matter [title page, empty page] without back matter; title head >LES CINQ DOIGTS / 8 Mélodies très faciles sur 5 notes<; author specified 1. page of the score unpaginated [S. 1] below movement title >Andantino< flush right centred >IGOR STRAWINSKY. / 1921<; legal reservations 1. page of the score below type area flush left >Copyright 1922 by J. & W. Chester, Ltd.< flush right centred >Tous droits réservés. / All rights reserved.<; plate number >J. & W. C. 2090<; end of score dated p. 10 italic > Garches 1921<; without end marks) // (1922)
° Double dividing horizontal line of 8 cm.
°° Dividing horizontal line of 2.5 cm.
°°° Dividing horizontal line of 3.2 cm.
37-2Straw
Strawinsky’s copy from his estate is on the cover title page below >IGOR STRAWINSKY< flush right with >Igor Strawinsky / Paris, Juin I922< signed and dated. The copy contains no corrections, but time information (pencil; the numbers are below one another): 50" / 18" / 35" / 1’ 15" / 40" / 45" / 45" / 1’ 5". Position of the information of the duration in the musical text: [p.1] next to 1st system right; p. 2 below bass system left; p. 4 next to 1st bass system left; p. 5 next to 1st bass system left; p. 6 below 1st bass system left; p. 7 next to 1st System right; p. 8 below 1. Basssystem left; p. 9 below 1. Basssystem left.
37-2Alb >ALLEGRO< // ([in:] DAS NEUE / KLAVIER-BUCH / BELA BARTOK / BORNSCHEIN / BUTTING / DUSHKIN / GRETCHANINOFF / HAAS / HINDEMITH / JARNACH / KORNGOLD / MILHAUD / POULENC / REUTTER / H. K. SCHMID / SCHULTHESS / CYRIL SCOTT / SEKLES / SLAVENSKI / STRAWINSKY / TOCH / TSCHEREPNIN / WINDSPERGER / H. ZILCHER / Band I ( leicht ) Ed. No. 1400 / Band II ( mittel ) Ed. No. 1401 / B. SCHOTTS SÖHNE / [circled:] I // Das neue Klavierbuch / The New Piano-Book – Le Nouveau Livre de Piano / Eine Sammlung von Klavierstücken / zeitgenössischer Komponisten / herausgegeben von / H. Autenrieth-Schleußner / [Vignette publisher‘s emblem lion with wheel of Mainz in its paws in a round ø 2.1 cm frame containing text >PER MARE< >ET TERRAS< left and right] / B. Schott´s Söhne, Mainz / [°] / Leipzig /* London /* Brüssel /* Paris / Imprimé en Allemagne – Printed in Germany // Das neue Klavierbuch / The New Piano-Book ~ Le Nouveau Livre de Piano / Band I / 27 leichte Stücke für das Klavier / von / Béla Bartók, Eduard Bornschein, Max Butting, David / Dushkin, Alexander Gretchaninoff, Joseph Haas, Paul / Hindemith, Philipp Jarnach, Hermann Reutter, H. K. / Schmid, Walter Schulthess, Cyril Scott, Josip Slavenski, / Igor Strawinsky, Ernst Toch, L. Windsperger, H. Zilcher / Edition Schott No. 1400 / B. Schott´s Söhne, Mainz / [°] / Leipzig /* London /* Brüssel /* Paris // (Reprint with giving the row p. 9; title head >4 / ALLEGRO<; author specified 1. page of the score paginated p. 9 next to centred row indication flush right with asterisk >Igor Strawinsky *<; note 1. page of the score below type area flush left >* Aus: „Les cinq doigts“, Verlag von J. & W. Chester Ltd, London<; legal reservation 1. page of the score below note flush left >Copyright 1924 by J. & W. Chester Ltd, London< flush right partly in italics >Alle Rechte vorbehalten / Tous droits réservés/ All rights reserved<; plate number >32272<; without end mark p. 9) // 1924
° Double dividing line horizontal broad as the lines of text.
* Slash original.
37-3 the / five / fingers / igor strawinsky / piano solo / price 60 cents / MERCURY MUSIC CORPORATION ● NEW YORK N. Y.* // (Edition without indicating the rows [library binding] 23 x 30.3 (4° [4°] ); 13 [11] p. + 4 cover pages thicker paper glossy dark green and light green with horizontal medium-thick stripes on an irregular white background that gives a broken-up effect [ornamental front cover title laid out, 2 empty pages, page with publisher’s advertisements >meet modern music<** without production data] without front matter*** + 1 page back matter [page with publisher’s advertisements >ANOTHER PIANO SOLO / IN THE MERCURY CATALOG / OF DISTINGUISHED CONTEMPORARY MUSIC<**** without production data]; without indicating the rows; title head >THE FIVE FINGERS / (8 Very Easy Melodies on Five Notes)<; author specified 1. page of the score paginated p. 3 below title head flush right >IGOR STRAWINSKY<; legal reservation 1. page of the score below type area centre >Copyright MCMXLIII by Mercury Music Corporation, New York, N. Y.<; plate number >144<; without end mark) // (1943)****
* Line outside the border.
** >ORIGINAL PIANO SOLOS IN / THE EASIER GRADES BY / PROKOFIEFF ● STRAVINSKY ● BARTOK ● GRANADOS V CARVAJAL ● SANTA CRUZ ● CASTÉRIA ● JACQUES-DALCROZE ● RUFINO ● SATIE V SIBELIUS ● GRETCHANINOFF ● LIAPOUNOV ● REBIKOFF ● RHENÉ-BATON ● GOEDICKE ● Edited by ESTER ABRAMS<; compositions are advertised under the heading >PART I< from >BELA BARTOK< to >IGOR STRAVINSKY / Just Walking<, under the heading >PART II< from >BELA BARTOK< to >IGOR STRAVINSKY / Heavily<. The price is stated both times as 75c.
*** Page 1 and 2 = cover pages.
**** Contains [exclusively] the 1st page of the score >UNE JOURNÉE / (One Day)< by Darius Milhaud with plate number and legal reservation.
***** T his copy is a later edition with a later set of advertisements. It was bought and passed into the ownership of the former Library of the British Museum on 21st August 1950 (British Library).
37-4 Edition for piano; E. F. Kalmus New York, 10 pp. [unidentified].
37-5 (1949) Edition for piano (Gerard Alphenaar); Omega Music Edition New York; 10 pp. [unidentified].
37-6 MUSIC FOR GUITAR / SOLO / Berkeley, L. [#] Sonatina / Falla, M. de [#] Homenajes / Stravinsky, I. [#] Allegro / (Transcribed by Theodore Norman) / TWO GUITARS / Falla, M. de / (Arranged by Graciano Tarrago) / 1. Dance of the Corregidor / 2. Dance of the Miller / J. & W. CHESTER, Ltd. / II Great Marlborough Street, London, W.I // (Edition for guitar [library binding] 22 x 30.6 (4°[4°] ); 4 [2] pages without cover + 1 page front matter [Titles with the edition names right-orientated and the title of the work and legal notice left-orientated and imprint] + 1 page back matter [page with publisher’s advertisements >MUSIC FOR GUITAR<* production data >LB 638<]; title head > ALLEGRO / from “Les Cinq Doigts”<; author specified 1. page of the score paginated p. 2 below title head flush right >IGOR STRAVINSKY<; arranger specified below title head flush left centred >Transcribed for Guitar by / THEODORE NORMAN<; legal reservations 1. page of the score below type area flush left >Copyright for all Countries, 1959. © / J. & W. Chester, Ltd., London, W. 1.< flush right >All rights reserved<; plate number >J. W. C. 1806<; production indications 1. page of the score below type area below legal reservation flush right >Made in England< p. 3 flush right as end mark >Engraved by Lowe and Brydone (Printers) Limited London<) // (1959)
**** Compositions are advertised without heading from >Lennox Berkeley< to >ALLEGRO [#] Igor Stravinsky / ( from Les Cinq Doigts) [#] ( arranged by T. Norman)<, under the heading >TWO GUITARS< by Manuel de Falla, under the heading >VOICE AND GUITAR< from >Lennox Berkeley< to >FOUR SONGS FOR VOICE, FLUTE, [#] / HARP AND GUITAR [#] Igor Stravinsky<.
* Compositions are advertised without heading from >Lennox Berkeley< to >ALLEGRO [#°] Igor Strawinsky°° / ( from Les Cinq Doigts) [#] ( arranged by T. Norman)<, under the heading >TWO GUITARS < by Manuel de Falla, under the heading >VOICE AND GUITAR<, behind 3 ornamental asteriscs without eigene Rubrik >Four Songs for Medium Voice [#] Igor Strawinsky°° / with Flute, Harp and Guitar°°°< [° Distanzpunkte; °° original spelling; line centre].
K Catalog: Annotated Catalog of Works and Work Editions of Igor Strawinsky till 1971, revised version 2014 and ongoing, by Helmut Kirchmeyer.
© Helmut Kirchmeyer. All rights reserved.
http://www.kcatalog.org and http://www.kcatalog.net