World War I was in its final days when Igor Stravinsky teamed up with a French-Swiss author who translated the Russian folk tale “The Runaway Soldier and the Devil” into French. The standard English translation is by Michael Flanders of the famous Flanders-and-Swann duo of the Fifties. It’s the story of a soldier who trades his fiddle with the Devil in return for unlimited economic gain.
The piece was written for three actors, chamber septet and dancer. It will probably be done with one actor and no dancer in the Seattle production.
I played a role in getting this piece selected for the festival. Back in 1990, the Santa Fe Chamber Festival went on the road and did this piece in Seattle with two actors, one as narrator and one as the Devil. The actor who played the Devil did so with an Irish brogue, which brought the house down. If you’ve ever seen “My Own Private Idaho”, Gus van Sant’s version of Shakespeare shot in Portland, OR, the actor who played the Devil played Falstaff in van Sant’s movie. I met him at a party in West Seattle in 1992.
The Seattle Chamber Music Festival has programmed the short suite from this piece many times over the decades. It’s fun, but since 2003 I’ve been begging them to do the complete one-hour piece as Stravinsky wrote it. I’m getting my wish this year.
There is no need to explain the piece and take it apart, so I’m not going to play the pedant this time. Set aside an hour, play this video, and enjoy a young composer as he turns a Russian folk tale into art with an occasional belly laugh.
Charlie Daniels interprets a similar tale! (Just Jokin’ around with ya, Publius! LOL!)