Another consistency found in Stravinsky’s choral style is his use of melodies of small range. In Les Noces, this feature results from the nature of the cell. The melodic style of Oedipus Rex is generally of a declamatory nature. This fact, together with the emphasis on the minor third, creates melodies which move within a limited range. Stravinsky uses a type of chanting, part singing/part speaking, for some of the choral sections in Threni. Although the solo parts contain some wide leaps which create a disjunct feeling in certain sections, the choral parts tend to move within a more moderate range. Stravinsky’s melodies are also characterized by their tonal focus. The composer states that there is the
“. . . necessity of affirming the axis of our music and to recognize the existence of certain poles of attraction. Diatonic tonality is only one means of orienting music toward these poles. The function of tonality is completely subordinated to the force of attraction of the poles of sonority. All music is nothing more than a succession of impulses that converge toward a definite point of repose.”
James Johnson says