Choral polyphony in M. Mussorgsky 's operas

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study polyphonic techniques in the opera choirs of M. Mussorgsky. The question is raised about the identity of M. Mussorgsky's polyphonic thinking from the point of view of the free refraction of the forms and techniques of writing Western European polyphony in it. The subject of the study are choirs from the operas "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina". Through the synthesis of research methods, including musicology and choral studies, the specific features of M. Mussorgsky's polyphony are revealed. Attention is drawn to the fact that polyphony in M. Mussorgsky's operas is an extremely broad concept, consisting in the author's specificity of the manifestation of counterpoint as a general polyphonic state of all elements of figurative and musical dramaturgy. Attention is focused on the emergence of an organic trinity of sub-vocal, imitation and contrast polyphony. Based on the analysis of choral scenes, it is concluded that M. Mussorgsky's polyphonic thinking, having developed outside the mainstream of polyphonic classics and classical voice studies, significantly influenced the formation of the individual compositional style of Russian composers of subsequent centuries. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time a separate study is devoted to the choral polyphony of M. Mussorgsky, presented from the standpoint of musicology and choral studies. The author's special contribution to the disclosure of the topic is the study of choral polyphony as the main creative method of M. Mussorgsky, which is the object of special research and consists in the free refraction of forms and techniques of writing Western European polyphony in Russian music of the second half of the XIX century.