Spiritual Aspect of Early Music on The Example of Organ Compositions

Abstract

The author of the article examines the stereotypical perception of the organ as a church instrument, that is connected with the facts of the construction of the first wind organs after the destruction of the hydrolos precisely in monasteries, as well as it is due to the existence of a large number of musicians-organists who still participate in divine services today. The study, based on the Ukrainian specialized scientific literature, analyzed the problems of the connection of early music with the work of romantic composers. The author notes that there is a need to study baroque symbolism to deepen the understanding of J.S. Bach's music, which is an integral part of the performance training of organists and pianists. The historical roots of early music were discovered as a result of a review of certain sources. It has been proven that music has always been close to the exact sciences - for example, during the early Middle Ages, the "seven liberal arts" that were compulsory to study in schools included the "trivius" (grammar, rhetoric and dialectic) and the "quadrivius" (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music). The author investigated the gradual transformation of organists from strict "servants of the cult" into concert musicians of the Baroque era. It is noted that the considered period was characterized by the perception of music as a language in which almost everything "speaks": musical form, texture, size, duration of notes, rhythmic pattern, voicing, tempo, tessitura used in the work, etc. The ways of interaction of the organist with the author's text during the study of motivic and numerical symbolism were outlined. Basics were defined for deciphering the J. S. Bach’s work. Classicism is characterized, during its heyday, Bach's compositions were heard mainly in the church. The devaluation of the instrumental works of ancient composers (in particular, J.S. Bach) in the period of romanticism and the transition of the organ to a virtuoso concert instrument are described, using the examples of the techniques of playing the organ by F. Liszt and M. Reger, etc. Late Romanticism is presented as a movement in which the attitude of musicians to the heritage of ancient composers was revised thanks to the German movement "back to Zilbermann" (led by A. Schweitzer). The study gives a description of the specifics that are possible to apply for studying the design of J.S. Bach's work. The urgent need to examine the ancient music as a source of spirituality in the work of modern organ composers is emphasized.