A Sermon, a Narrative and a Prayer is a cantata for alto and tenor singers, a narrator, chorus, and orchestra by Igor Stravinsky, composed in 1960–61. It belongs to the composer’s serial period, and lasts a little over a quarter of an hour in performance.

Abraham and Isaac is a sacred ballad for baritone and orchestra composed in 1962–63 by Igor Stravinsky.

Ave Maria (originally published using the Slavonic title Bogoroditse D'vo) is a short motet for SATB chorus by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky.

Babel is a neoclassical religious cantata composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1944.

Berceuses du chat, K022 (Russian: Колыбельные, Kolibelniye, English: (Cat) Lullabies) by Igor Stravinsky is a 1915 cycle of four songs for a medium voice, usually a contralto, and three clarinetists. The work is usually referred to by its French title. Although it is often sung in Russian, Stravinsky assisted his friend, the Swiss author C. F. Ramuz, to make a translation into French at the time of publication. The cycle is set for contralto and three clarinettists: E♭ clarinet; A clarinet (normally played by a B♭ clarinet), and a B♭ bass clarinet.

The Cantata by Igor Stravinsky is a work for soprano, tenor, female choir, and instrumental ensemble (of two flutes, oboe, cor anglais (doubling second oboe), and cello), and was composed from April 1951 to August 1952. The premiere performance on 11 November 1952 was by the Los Angeles (Chamber) Symphony Society (to whom the work is dedicated), conducted by Stravinsky himself. After completing the opera The Rake's Progress, Stravinsky felt the urge to compose another work setting English words, but in a non-dramatic form. The piece consists of the following movements: For his texts, Stravinsky chose four anonymous 15th- and 16th-century poems found in,, an anthology of poetry presented to him as a Christmas gift by W. H. Auden, the librettist of his opera The Rake's Progress. The dirge sections concern a soul's approach to and journey through purgatory. In between the verses of the dirge there are two ricercars (Ricercar I sets "The maidens came"; Ricercar II sets the carol "Tomorrow shall be my dancing day"), and a sixteenth-century song text, "Westron Wind".

Canticum Sacrum ad Honorem Sancti Marci Nominis is a 17-minute choral-orchestral piece composed in 1955 by Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) in tribute "To the City of Venice, in praise of its Patron Saint, the Blessed Mark, Apostle." The piece is compact and stylistically varied, ranging from established neoclassical modes to experimental new techniques. The second movement, "Surge, Aquilo", represents Stravinsky's first movement based entirely on a tone row. Though most often abbreviated "Canticum Sacrum", the piece's full name is Canticum Sacrum ad honorem Sancti Marci Nominis, or Canticle to Honor the Name of Saint Mark.

In Christian liturgy, the credo (Latin: [ˈkreːdoː]; Latin for "I believe") is the portion of the Mass where a creed is recited or sung. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed or the Apostles' Creed are the primary creeds used for this purpose.

Elegy for J.F.K. is a piece of vocal music composed by the Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky in 1964, commemorating the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (17 June [O.S. 5 June] 1882 – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century and a pivotal figure in modernist music. Born into a musical family in Saint Petersburg, Stravinsky grew up taking piano and music theory lessons. While studying law at the University of Saint Petersburg, he met Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and studied music under him until the latter's death in 1908. Soon after, Stravinsky met impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who commissioned him to write three ballets for the Ballets Russes's Paris seasons: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913), the last of which caused a near-riot at the premiere due to its avant-garde nature and later changed the way composers understood rhythmic structure. Stravinsky's compositional career is often divided into three main periods: his Russian period (1913–1920), his neoclassical period (1920–1951), and his serial period (1954–1968). During his Russian period, Stravinsky was heavily influenced by Russian styles and folklore. Works such as Renard (1916) and Les noces (1923) drew upon Russian folk poetry, while compositions like L'Histoire du soldat (1918) integrated these folk elements with popular musical forms, including the tango, waltz, ragtime, and chorale. His neoclassical period exhibited themes and techniques from the classical period, like the use of the sonata form in his Octet (1923) and use of Greek mythological themes in works including Apollon musagète (1927), Oedipus rex (1927), and Persephone (1935). In his serial period, Stravinsky turned towards compositional techniques from the Second Viennese School like Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique. In Memoriam Dylan Thomas (1954) was the first of his compositions to be fully based on the technique, and Canticum Sacrum (1956) was his first to be based on a tone row. Stravinsky's last major work was the Requiem Canticles (1966), which was performed at his funeral. While many supporters were confused by Stravinsky's constant stylistic changes, later writers recognized his versatile language as important in the development of modernist music. Stravinsky's revolutionary ideas influenced composers as diverse as Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Béla Bartók, and Pierre Boulez, who were all challenged to innovate music in areas beyond tonality, especially rhythm and musical form. In 1998, Time magazine listed Stravinsky as one of the 100 most influential people of the century. Stravinsky died of pulmonary edema on 6 April 1971 in New York City, having left six memoirs written with his friend and assistant, Robert Craft, as well as an earlier autobiography and a series of lectures.

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" Under Milk Wood. He also wrote stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child's Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog. He became widely popular in his lifetime, and remained so after his death at the age of 39 in New York City. By then, he had acquired a reputation, which he had encouraged, as a "roistering, drunken and doomed poet". Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea in 1914, leaving school in 1932 to become a reporter for the South Wales Daily Post. A number of the some 200 poems he produced between 1931 and 1935 appeared in print while he was still a teenager, including one of his best known, And Death Shall Have No Dominion, the first he had published, in May 1933, in a national journal. While living in London, Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara; they married in 1937 and had three children: Llewelyn, Aeronwy, and Colm. He came to be appreciated as a popular poet during his lifetime, though he found earning a living as a writer difficult. He began augmenting his income with reading tours and radio broadcasts. His radio recordings for the BBC during the late 1940s brought him to a wider public's attention, and he was frequently featured by the BBC as an accessible voice of the literary scene. Thomas first travelled to the United States in the 1950s; his readings there brought him a degree of fame, while his erratic behaviour and drinking worsened. During his fourth trip to New York in 1953, Thomas became gravely ill and fell into a coma. He died on 9 November, and his body was returned to Wales. On 25 November, he was interred at St. Martin's churchyard in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire. Appraisals of Thomas's work have noted his original, rhythmic and ingenious use of words and imagery. Further appraisals following on from new critical editions of his poems have sought to explore in more depth his unique modernist poetic, setting aside the distracting legend of the "doomed poet", and seeking thereby to emphasise his status as a major poet of the 20th century.

Igor Stravinsky composed his Mass between 1944 and 1948. This 19-minute setting of the Roman Catholic Mass exhibits the austere, Neoclassic, anti-Romantic aesthetic that characterizes his work from about 1923 to 1951. The Mass also represents one of only a handful of extant pieces by Stravinsky that was not commissioned. Part of the motivation behind its composition has been cited by Robert Craft and others as the product of a spiritual necessity, as Stravinsky intended the work to be used functionally.

The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (Greek: Πάτερ ἡμῶν, romanized: Páter hēmôn; Latin: Pater Noster), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God's holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manuscripts and Christian traditions. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and a shorter form in the Gospel of Luke when "one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'" The first-century text Didache (at chapter VIII) reports a version closely resembling that of Matthew and the modern prayer. It ends with the Minor Doxology. Theologians broadly view the Lord's Prayer as a model that aligns the soul with God's will, emphasizing praise, trust, and ethical living. The prayer is used by most Christian denominations in their worship and, with few exceptions, the liturgical form is the Matthean version. It has been set to music for use in liturgical services. Since the 16th century, the Lord's Prayer has been widely translated and collected to compare languages across regions and history. The Lord's Prayer shares thematic and linguistic parallels with prayers and texts from various religious traditions—including the Hebrew Bible, Jewish post-biblical prayers, and ancient writings like the Dhammapada and the Epic of Gilgamesh—though some elements, such as "Lead us not into temptation," have unique theological nuances without direct Old Testament counterparts. Music from 9th century Gregorian chants to modern works by Christopher Tin has used the Lord's Prayer in various religious and interfaith ceremonies.

Pribaoutki (Russian: Прибаутки) is a cycle of four songs composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1914 to Russian texts by Alexander Afanasyev. Its Russian title has no direct English equivalent, although Richard Taruskin suggests "nonsense rhymes" or "jingles." (The French subtitle appearing in the score, Chansons plaisantes, is descriptive, not a translation.) Pribaoutki takes about four minutes to perform.

Requiem Canticles is a 15-minute composition by Igor Stravinsky, for contralto and bass soli, chorus, and orchestra. Stravinsky completed the work in 1966, and it received its first performance that same year. The work is a partial setting of the Roman Catholic requiem mass, with the six vocal movements in Latin. It is from Stravinsky's serial period, but it has elements from all his stylistic periods. It was performed at Stravinsky's funeral five years after its initial premiere.

The Symphony of Psalms is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The symphony derives its name from the use of Psalm texts in the choral parts.

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

"Ariel's song" is a verse passage in Scene ii of Act I of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. It consists of two stanzas to be delivered by the spirit Ariel, in the hearing of Ferdinand. In performance it is sometimes sung and sometimes spoken. There is an extant musical setting of the second stanza by Shakespeare's contemporary Robert Johnson, which may have been used in the original production around 1611. It is the origin of the phrase "full fathom five", after which there are many cultural references, and is an early written record of the phrase sea change. Through its use of rhyme, rhythm, assonance, and alliteration, the poem sounds like a spell.

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

Threni: id est Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae, usually referred to simply as Threni, is a musical setting by Igor Stravinsky of verses from the Book of Lamentations in the Latin of the Vulgate, for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. It is Stravinsky's first and longest completely dodecaphonic work, but is not often performed. It has been called "austere" but also a "culminating point" in his career, "important both spiritually and stylistically" and "the most ambitious and structurally the most complex" of all his religious compositions, and even "among Stravinsky's greatest works". Stravinsky composed Threni in 1957–58 for the Venice Biennale, and it was first performed there in September 1958. A performance in Paris two months later was a disaster, attributed to inadequate performers and insufficient rehearsals. It led to mutual recriminations between Stravinsky, Pierre Boulez, and Robert Craft. Threni was first published in 1958 and first recorded in 1959, conducted by the composer. As Threni was intended for concert rather than liturgical use, Stravinsky chose the text freely from the early chapters of the Book of Lamentations. It has three movements, a large central movement surrounded by two much shorter ones. Ernst Krenek composed a setting of the Lamentations in 1942, which Stravinsky acknowledged might have influenced him. He considered it less likely that works by Renaissance composers, including Tallis, Byrd and Palestrina, had influenced him, although he had studied such music.

The Symphony in E♭, Op. 1, is the first published work composed by Igor Stravinsky during his apprenticeship with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It is also his first composition for orchestra. Of classical structure, it is broadly influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky and Wagner. It was composed in 1905–1907 and revised in 1913. It lasts for about forty minutes.

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).

Paul Marie Verlaine ( vair-LEN; French: [pɔl maʁi vɛʁlɛn]; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet, writer and critic associated with the Symbolist, Parnassianist and Decadent movements. He is considered one of the paramount exponents of the fin de siècle in French and international poetry. Born in Metz to a petit-bourgeois family, Verlaine bore a lifelong interest in the arts, whether literary, musical or visual. His début collection, Poèmes saturniens (1866), were released at the age of twenty-two; they were published by Alphonse Lemerre. Verlaine's tempestuous sexual relationship with young poet Arthur Rimbaud (ten years his junior and under eighteen years, and while he himself had a wife and infant son), a fellow member of the Zutistes, aroused great controversy. The couple would peregrinate throughout England and Belgium until their split in 1873, which was caused by him wounding Rimbaud with a revolver. Following trial, Verlaine was sentenced to two years in prison for battery and sodomy. During his sentence, Verlaine reverted to practising Catholicism and composed Sagesse (published 1880), Jadis et naguère (published 1884) and Parallèlement (published 1889). As his reputation grew, he became increasingly haunted by guilt and paranoia, lapsing into depression, alcohol and chemical abuse and disease, culminating in his death in Paris from acute pneumonia. Revered for his lyrical sensibility and subtlety in nuance, Verlaine is acknowledged as one of the archetypical poètes maudits ('accursed poets'), a phrase he popularised but did not coin. His promise was evident even in his early work: his engagement with musicality, fluidity, wordplay, polysemy and prosodical manipulation attracted much admiration. His œuvre is highly eclectic, exploiting the characteristics of the French language; critics have noted interplays with melancholy and chiaroscuro, as well as a pioneering of metaphor and allegory. Beyond these characteristics lies a profound introspection which resonated with many contemporaneous artists, including those outside the literary sphere (such as Impressionist painters). Numerous composers, including Nadia Boulanger, Claude Debussy (Clair de lune inspired the third movement of his Suite bergamasque), Frederick Delius, Louis Durey, Gabriel Fauré (Cinq Mélodies "de Venise" and La Bonne Chanson), Léo Ferré (his album Verlaine et Rimbaud), Reynaldo Hahn, Arthur Honegger, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Charles Koechlin, Jules Massenet, Olivier Messiaen, Poldowski, Maurice Ravel, Jeanne Rivet, Camille Saint-Saëns, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Igor Stravinsky, Anna Teichmüller, Edgard Varèse (Un grand sommeil noir), Ralph Vaughan Williams, Louis Vierne and many more, have set Verlaine's poetry to music or used his work as inspiration for their compositions. Verlaine himself was aware of this and apparently pleased; he also wrote operatic libretti, particularly for Emmanuel Chabrier. He was honoured with the title of Prince of Poets in 1894 following a referendum organised by Maurice Barrès consulting various people of letters.

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor known for being one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century classical music. His unique approach to rhythm, instrumentation, and tonality made him a pivotal figure in modernist music. Stravinsky studied composition under composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908, Stravinsky's Feu d'artifice being his last piece composed under Rimsky-Korsakov. During this time, Stravinsky completed his first full composition, the Symphony in E-flat major, catalogued Op. 1. Attending the premiere of Stravinsky's Scherzo fantastique and Feu d'artifice in 1909 was the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev, owner of the Ballets Russes ballet company. Diaghilev was impressed enough that he commissioned Stravinsky to write some arrangements for the 1909 ballet season. In the following years, Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913). These ballets remain Stravinsky's most famous works today. Stravinsky's music is typically divided into three style periods: the Russian period (c. 1907–1919), the neoclassical period (c. 1920–1954), and the serial period (1954–1968). Stravinsky's Russian period is characterized by the use of Russian folk tunes and the influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Taneyev. His neoclassical period reflected back to the techniques and themes of the Classical period, like his use of the sonata form in the first movement of his Octet (1923) and the Greek mythological themes in Apollo (1928), Perséphone (1933), and Orpheus (1947). His serial period began with using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique dodecaphony in Agon (1954–57), later experimenting with non-twelve-tone techniques in his Cantata (1952) and Septet (1953).