Konstanty Gorsky’s Songs on Polish texts: aspects of genre stylistics

Abstract

Statement of the problem. K. Gorsky’s creativity has not been studied enough. Relatively recently, articles by R. Aladova (2005), G. Serochinsky (2010), V. Luniakyna (2009), T. Bakhmet (2009) and other authors have been published due to the growing public interest in his creative figure. However, the vocal works by K. Gorsky have not yet been studied in their multi-level connections with national, historical and genre stylistics, as well as the predominant genre of solo singing, on the basis of which the composer formed the intonation specifics of his own chamber vocal style. Therefore, there is a need for further study of the vocal style of K. Gorsky, in particular, the inclusion of his works in a wide repertoire of concert and chamber singing. The purpose of the study is to identify the stylistic features of the key genre of K. Gorsky’s vocal works – the romance, which is most clearly represented in the cycle “12 Romances” based on the texts of the Polish poets – M. Konopnicka, W. Syrokomla, Z. Dembitsky (Dębicki). For the first time, an integrated approach is applied to the songs by K. Gorsky, as to original examples of this genre interpretation in the post-romantic era, with an emphasis on their style features – national and “personal”. The work on the research topic required the use of general scientific and special musicological methods, including historical-genetic, deductive approaches, genre-stylistic and performance analysis. Results and conclusions. The legacy of K. Gorsky (1859–1924), a virtuoso violinist, one of the founders of the musical culture of Kharkiv, includes vocal genres. In the mature period of his activity (1900s), the composer focused specifically on vocal genres, namely romances (he created about 100 pieces), arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs, cantatas on spiritual themes, choral concerts and operas. The main features of his romantic outlook, combined with the Polish musical mentality, are concentrated in “12 Songs” with Polish lyrics. Semantically, K. Gorsky’s romances gravitate toward lyrical contemplation, conveying its various states, from “objective” epics and sound imagery to emotional outbursts, which brings them closer to opera arioso. Within the framework of the cycle, there is an allocation and alternation of songs-romances of four semantic modes: folkpoetic, reflexive-lyrical, graceful-salon, free-declamatory reminiscent of “poetry with music”. Each of these groups is based on certain traditions and requires appropriate means of performance interpretation.