Orchestration as a factor of genre reproduction (on the example of analysing Zoltan Almashi’s Concerto Grosso no. 4 “Seasons”)

Abstract

Statement of the problem. Among the many trends in the creative search in music of the XX–XXI centuries, one of the leading ones is the appeal to the ideas and models of the past. This has led to the revival of previous centuries musical genres. The accuracy of a genre’s reproduction is determined by its constituent elements, such as musical themes, harmony, form structure, etc. Orchestration plays an important role in this process, as it forms a timbre-textural complex that has structural, organisational and semantic functions in musical work. The considered piece, Z. Almash’si Concerto Grosso No. 4 “Seasons” for violin and orchestra, is an example of the use of the early genre in contemporary music. Despite the genre classification mentioned in the title, the composition has its own unique features that indicate a free interpretation of the genre model. In this regard, it seems necessary to to identify the features characteristic of the concerto grosso genre. Among them, orchestration can be considered the key one. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The existing scientific sources do not pay enough attention to the orchestration in «Seasons» by Z. Almashi, as wee as its role in the reproduction of the genre, which determines the scientific novelty of this study. The purpose of the article is to identify the orchestration features attributable to concerto grosso in Z. Almasy’s work and to determine the specific principles of the structure of the orchestral texture. The study uses: the historical-typological method – to understand the contextual and socio-cultural belonging of Z. Almashi’s piece, the genre method – to reveal its typological and individual features with a projection on the orchestration, the stylistic method – to determine the artistic and aesthetic, linguistic and technological properties, a structural and functional method – to disclose the peculiarities of the organization of an orchestral texture. Recent research and publications. The work is based on sources devoted to the relationship of genre and orchestration (Korobetska, 2011; 2013), the use of contemporary composers with genre models of early music (Tukova, 2003), the formation and development of the instrumental concerto (Rakochi, 2021), to the orchestral style of Baroque composers (Borodavkin, 1998), orchestration as a component of compositional technique (Savchenko, 2021), and to the definition of the position of timbre and texture in orchestration (Kashyrtsev, 2021; Klebanov, 2019). Research results and conclusion. The analysis revealed those features in the orchestration that correspond to the genre of concerto grosso. First of all, it is the availability of two instrumental groups with different orchestral functions. The first ‘concertino’ group includes the principale violin, ocarina, flute, clarinet in B and piano; the second ‘ripieno’ group includes the string orchestra. Nevertheless, instruments from the first group (primarily woodwinds and piano) can be combined with stringed instruments in accompaniment of solo violin. When these groups of instruments interact, there is a juxtaposition of timbres, volumes and sound densities. Also, the contrast is enhanced due to the virtuosity of the parts in the ‘concertino’ group. This creates dialogue and competition, which necessary for the realization of the genre. A variety of orchestration techniques, among which are timbre mixtures, duplication, re-colouring, swinging, and sound painting, embodies the concerto principle. They form a timbre dramaturgy, which is essential for actualising the concert genre and the program title of the piece.