L'Histoire du Soldat

I enjoyed the performance of Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale" on Monday night. It was an interesting way to combine the historical piece with contemporary technology--it was performed by a small group of GVSU faculty musicians and dancers, with a student dance ensemble and a guest narrator. Also, various scenes were projected on a large screen at the back of the stage. A little difficult for me to follow all of it (sensory overload) but I'm sure the whole appealed to the students. The program notes put the performance into context--this piece reflected the lack of resources in post-Great War of 1918--being written for a small group and being staged quite simply. And it ties Faust's story of "the man who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for riches, power, youth, wisdom," etc. & the Biblical questions of riches vs. soul by using jazz, tango, & a street band. Stravinsky was an early minimalist in some ways.