Music in the Lyrics of A.N. Apukhtin

Abstract

The article examines the theme of music and features of the use of musical imagery in Alexei Apukhtin’s poetry. The object of the research are “poems for occasion”, friendly messages and dedications for musicians-friends as well as poems “Barrel organ”, “Life”, “Fate”. To Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 author gives historical-cultural comments on Apukhtin’s works, analyses their ideological and artistic meaning and form. The author pays special attention to analysing the biographical context, summarising the information on the poet’s friendly contacts with composers and musicians, on Apukhtin's perception of music, understanding of his aesthetic position. The other direction of the research is the analysis of the works, in which music is used as a basis for an allegorical depiction of the life path. The novelty of the research lies in the systematic consideration of the theme of music in Apukhtin's works. The article analyses in detail the works addressed to Petr Tchaikovsky, a friend of Apukhtin, demonstrates how their intonation and mood change from irony to sadness. These poems not only reflect the stages of the friendly relations between the poet and the composer, but give an assessment of their own creative destiny. The article reveals the polemical plan of the poem "A Singer in the Camp of Russian Composers" shows what innovations in contemporary opera Apukhtin rejects. The study pays particular attention to poems, the plot of which the poet bases on the very process of perceiving music when trying to find a verbal equivalent to a musical text.