Metrical Phase Shifts in Stravinsky’s <i>The Rite of Spring</i>

Abstract

A metric model is proposed which incorporates different phases of a single meter. Metric irregularities are interpreted in this model as phase shifts. A phase-shift analysis of three problematic passages from Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring reveals a discourse of metric events not bound by sequence. Van den Toorn’s concept of metric polarity is invoked although modified to explain the aesthetic impact of these shifts.