Editing The Rite of Spring (section)

== Synopsis and structure ==
In a note to the conductor [[Serge Koussevitzky]] in February 1914, Stravinsky described ''Le Sacre du printemps'' as "a musical-choreographic work, [representing] pagan Russia&nbsp;... unified by a single idea: the mystery and great surge of the creative power of Spring". In his analysis of ''The Rite'', Pieter van den Toorn writes that the work lacks a specific plot or narrative, and should be considered as a succession of choreographed episodes.<ref name=VdT26>Van den Toorn, pp. 26–27</ref>

The French titles are given in the form as written in the four-part piano score published in 1913. There have been numerous variants of the English translations; those shown are from the 1967 edition of the score.<ref name=VdT26 />

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-right: 0;"
|-
|+Synopsis and structure
|-
! width="250" | Episode
! width="250" | English translation
! width="300" | Synopsis{{refn|group=n|Except as indicated by a specific citation, the synopsis information is taken from Stravinsky's February 1914 note to Koussevitsky.<ref name=VdT26 />}}
|-
! colspan="4" style="background:#DCDCDC;" | Part I: ''L'Adoration de la Terre'' (Adoration of the Earth)<ref name=VdT26 />
|-
| align="center" | ''Introduction''
| align="center" | Introduction
|Before the curtain rises, an orchestral introduction resembles, according to Stravinsky, "a swarm of spring pipes [''[[Dentsivka|dudki]]'']"<ref>Taruskin 1996, p. 874</ref>
|-
| align="center" | ''Les Augures printaniers''
| align="center" | Augurs of Spring
| The celebration of spring begins in the hills. An old woman enters and begins to foretell the future.
|-
| align="center" | ''Jeu du rapt''
| align="center" | Ritual of Abduction
|Young girls arrive from the river, in single file. They begin the "Dance of the Abduction".
|-
| align="center" | ''Rondes printanières''
| align="center" | Spring Rounds
| The young girls dance the ''[[Khorovod]]'', the "Spring Rounds".
|-
| align="center" | ''Jeux des cités rivales''
| align="center" | Ritual of the Rival Tribes
| The people divide into two groups in opposition to each other, and begin the "Ritual of the Rival Tribes".
|-
| align="center" | ''Cortège du sage'': ''Le Sage''
| align="center" | Procession of the Sage: The Sage
| A holy procession leads to the entry of the wise elders, headed by the Sage who brings the games to a pause and blesses the earth.{{refn|group=n|In many early editions of the score, the closing section of this episode, in which the Sage blesses the earth, is separated into its own piece, either called "Embrasse de la terre" (The Kiss of the Earth), or "Le sage" (The Sage).}}
|-
| align="center" | ''Danse de la terre''
| align="center" | Dance of the Earth
| The people break into a passionate dance, sanctifying and becoming one with the earth.
|-
! colspan="3" style="background:#DCDCDC;" | Part II: ''Le Sacrifice'' (The Sacrifice)<ref name=VdT26 />
|-
| align="center" | ''Introduction''
| align="center" | Introduction
|
|-
| align="center" | ''Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes''
| align="center" | Mystic Circles of the Young Girls
| The young girls engage in mysterious games, walking in circles.
|-
| align="center" | ''Glorification de l'élue''
| align="center" | Glorification of the Chosen One
| One of the young girls is selected by fate, being twice caught in the perpetual circle, and is honoured as the "Chosen One" with a forceful dance.
|-
| align="center" | ''Évocation des ancêtres''
| align="center" | Evocation of the Ancestors
| In a brief dance, the young girls invoke the ancestors.
|-
| align="center" | ''Action rituelle des ancêtres''
| align="center" | Ritual Action of the Ancestors
| The Chosen One is entrusted to the care of the old wise men.
|-
| align="center" | ''Danse sacrale (L'Élue)''
| align="center" | Sacrificial Dance
| The Chosen One dances to death in the presence of the old men, in the great "Sacrificial Dance".
|}