Spiritual choral chants by Gioachino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi in the aspect of comparing European and Chinese interpretations

Abstract

The relevance of the study lies in the need to comprehend some results of the interpretation of Western European composers' musical works by Chinese performers within the framework of the general problem of the interaction of Western and Eastern art against the background concerning the process of total cultural globalization.Scientific novelty lies in the identification and comparison of the characteristic features of the performance of Chinese and European conductors of spiritual works by J. Verdi and J. Rossini, due to differences in the cultural paradigms of Western and Eastern civilizations.The main objective of the study is to compare the performing versions of the works of J. Verdi (“Dies irae” from Requiem) and J. Rossini (“In Sempiterna Secula” from Stabat Mater) in the interpretation of European and Chinese choral groups led by such a conductors as A. Toscanini, R. Benallo, Genji Guy and Long Yu.The methodology of the study consists in the application of analytical, comparative and historical methods, in the interaction of which it becomes possible to comprehend the uniqueness of embodiment by the conductors-representatives of various cultures of the creative ideas of Italian composers of the 19th century.Findings and conclusions. An analysis of the stylistic features of Dies irae by J. Verdi and In Sempiterna Secula by J. Rossini confirmed the significance of the opera tradition in shaping the dramaturgy of spiritual works, which can be considered a characteristic feature of the requiems of the late Romantic period. The attribution of the studied works as “concert sacred music” gives rise to a wide range of performing interpretations of the musical text. The prevalence of a philosophical interpretation strategy for the embodiment of artistic design by European conductors (A. Toscanini, R. Benallo) and rationalistic or theatrical — in the interpretation of Chinese conductors who collaborate with oriental choral groups (Genji Gui, Long Yu), is revealed. It was determined that the choice of such areas of interpretation is determined not so much by the purpose and nature of the creative intentions of the interpreters as by the difference in cultural and mental attitudes, and by the attempt of the eastern musicians to recreate as accurately as possible the “sacred situation” that has been moved beyond the usual conditions of performance. It has been proved that the appeal (although not frequent) of Chinese choirmaster conductors to the spiritual chants of European genesis is a vivid example of a dialogue between Western and Eastern traditions of music, reflecting the main mechanisms of the cultural strategy of our time.