Вокальные сочинения М.П. Мусоргского в жанре музыкального портрета

Abstract

One of the amazing facets of M.P. Mussorgsky’s creative talent was his ability to capture vivid images of specific people: those of contemporaries surrounding him in everyday life and those associated with recreating historical figures and characters from other eras. The article considers the peculiarities of the implementation of the musical portrait genre in the composer’s music. The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that this aspect in the study of M.P. Mussorgsky’s chamber-vocal music has not attracted the attention of scholars yet. The first part of the article reveals the specifics of the musical portrait genre based on both musicological works and works in the field of literature and fine arts. The main features in this genre are the following: human image; emphasis on the visible; authenticity; spatial and temporal limitations; generalization of the whole through a part, national and social principles. The revealed statements form the methodological basis for considering various options for the implementation of the musical portrait genre in the composer’s chamber-vocal works, which is the purpose of this study. The article shows that the main role in revealing the inner world of M.P. Mussorgsky’s characters is played by speech intonation, which predetermined the composer’s appeal to such genres as monologue, implied dialogue, internal dialogue, and prayer. The second part of the article considers the peculiarities of the implementation of these genres on the example of the composer’s specific works. Special attention is paid to children’s portraits. The study results in the conclusion that M.P. Mussorgsky, possessing the talent of a genius psychologist, managed to capture in his chamber and vocal music the stunningly accurate and profound portraits of his contemporaries, belonging to different classes. The portraits of children occupy a special place among his works. He succeeded in penetrating into their psychology by means of the artistic embodiment of vocal intonation based on Russian oral speech and folk songs. All his portraits are characterized by their amazing vitality and truthfulness, emphasizing the uniqueness of the composer’s talent.