Choral with Variations by Vincent Dandy - The Problem of Building a ХХ Century Viola`s Repertoire

Abstract

The article explores the Choral with Variations by Vincent d`Endy, a little-known work for the viola by the founder of the French School of Ancient Music neoclassical tendencies, that consisted in a revival and adaptation of wide palette of old polyphony genres that brightly showed up in work of this composer, the viola "Choral with Variations" op. 55. On verge of ХІХ-ХХ a century is observed the personal interest of composers by the genres of chaconne, passacalia, choral,by the baroque types of variations of soprano and basso - ostinato, fugues and others like that. As a follower of Cesar Frank and the founder of Schola Cantorum, Vincent d'Endy actively revives ancient genres, especially in instrumental music, completing his viola repertoire. Summarizing the observations regarding the form, the intonation-semantic content of the music, the timbre properties of the viola, aimed to embodiment of the tragical idea of this work, it should be noted that the composer builds a synthetic dramaturgical-compositional model that detects an alloy of different sources. With the prevalence of the choir basis (choir semantics appeals to choral singing in the spirit of majestic psalms, glorious hymns) there are signs of minor lullabies, monologues, elegies, nocturnes, etc., united under the denominator of baroque-type variations of passacalia. The individualized form of the work combines within the framework of a detailed one-piece composition the principles of strict and free variation, the sign of double variations, solved by late-romantic "characteristic" signs, and even the sonata structure with delineated zones exposition, development, and recapitulation. Difficult, semantically saturated canvas gravitates to the choral organ's timbral of C. Frank and the ancient masters; the psychologically-strained Tristan beginning, incarnate facilities of difficult harmonic vertical line finds out influence R. Wagner, symbolic-landscape soundtracks bring V.d`Endy closer to K. Debussy, which not sounds eclectic . The integrity and dramatic perfection of the composition, the depth of philosophical ideas embodied through the prism of the Chorale genre with variations, make it possible to define this work as one of the vivid examples of alt's polyphonic repertoire.