8

In Tom Service's commentary to the BBC Proms 2013 performance of the Rite of Spring, he starts off with something I had no idea of:

The best bassoon solo ever? It sounds otherworldly: but it's actually a Lithuanian wedding song… (TS) #riteofspring

@bbcproms on twitter

I'm really curious to listen to this Lithuanian wedding song. Is it known, or relatively easy to reach?

E.P.
  • 395
  • 3
  • 12
  • 1
    Cool- I'd never heard that, but multiple website articles verify that claim. I'd recommend you go to such sites and track down the scholarly articles & published books they reference. Or marry a Lithuanian :-) – Carl Witthoft Nov 13 '15 at 12:38
  • 1
    I heard an interview with bass player Pino Palladino, who said that his bass line at the beginning of the Paul Young recording of 'Wherever I lay my hat' is based on that same Rite of Spring basson line. – Brian THOMAS Nov 13 '15 at 13:27
  • 1
    @Brian That's a healthy dose of mind-blowingness for today. Thank you very much for that. – E.P. Nov 13 '15 at 13:44
  • @E.P. yeah, I thought that was pretty awesome, too, so just had a listen to the track (first time in *many* years). Bit of a disappointment - only about 4 notes make it into the bass part for the intro...! – Bob Broadley Nov 14 '15 at 20:45

2 Answers2

9

The song Tu, manu seserėlė was taken from Anton Juszkiewicz’s Melodje ludowe litewskie, (number 157 in the collection. You can see a copy of the tune.

In abc format:

X:157
T:Tu, manu seserėlė
C:Trad.
M:3/4
K:B
L:1/4
edB|G2d|1c2d:|2c2c|:edc|f2e|d2c|edB|G2d|c2c:|
James K
  • 210
  • 1
  • 6
1

Supposedly the song is: "Tu, manu seserėlė" (from: http://www.orchestralbassoon.com/stravinsky-the-rite-of-spring/ (link now dead; archived version here)).

I can't figure out hot to link to the original tune but it's on the linked web page.

E.P.
  • 395
  • 3
  • 12
ttw
  • 24,207
  • 1
  • 31
  • 76