A classification system of superimposed block structure in Stravinsky's Rite of spring

Pieter C. van den Toorn has shown that one can label sections of Igor Stravinsky's Russian-period music based on two types of melodic-line (block) interactions: Type I and Type II. This paper analyzes Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and proposes the further classification of Type II sections of music into three categories. Organizing the music into these three categories depends on two aspects:1) the type of texture of the interacting blocks: melody and accompaniment or contrapuntal, and 2) the overall alignment of the interacting blocks' group-level rhythmic accents, which create either a unified or disunified metric accent. Furthermore, these three categories of Type II block structure also occur in other Stravinsky works, as well as works of minimalist composers.