Babel

Babel is a neoclassical religious cantata composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1944. Composition Babel was written on commission from Nathaniel Shilkret, a music publisher, who asked Stravinsky to contribute to a collaborative work titled Genesis Suite, based on the early chapters of the Book of Genesis. Although Shilkret's intention was to create a descriptive suite, using representational music on aesthetic as well as religious grounds, Stravinsky relied on abstract musical form to present the biblical text in a more objective manner, believing that he should not make any attempts at dramatically portraying the voice of God. Arnold Schoenberg's Prelude was the first piece in the set, whereas Stravinsky's Babel was the last, on the subject of the building and destruction of the Tower of Babel. Stravinsky wrote his cantata on words taken from Genesis 11:1–9, in April 1944. Even though Béla Bartók, Paul Hindemith, and Sergei Prokofiev were also commissioned pieces for this suite, some of the pieces were never finished. Like most composite works, The full suite never had any independent life of its own after its completion in October 1945, but some of its parts have been performed, especially those by better-known composers.