Musical Dramaturgy Research Articles

The "Silk Ladder"Opera by Gioacchino Rossini: the Quintessence of the Director's Idea

The author offers his investigation, which indicates the main trends in the use of means of artistic expression in Ukrainian and foreign drama. Techniques of modern stage practices are revealed in order to understand the quintessence of the idea for the future production of an opera performance. Generalized conclusions are made regarding the change of certain psychological and figurative characteristics of the heroes of the New Age, focusing on the emphasis of cultural and political reforms of the period when the work was written. The main purpose of comedy is to fulfill a general social and educational task by means of a positive view of the problem. The relevance of the theme of Gioachino Rossini's opera "The Silk Ladder" is determined, which is in accordance with the work's tendency to update and rethink ancient and classical opera works for their better perception by the modern youth audience with the use of the latest technological possibilities of the theater production; as well as the composer's confidence in the existence of mutual love as the main reason for marital relations.The ideological and artistic component of the mentioned opera and the means of its implementation are outlined. Attention is focused on the fact that before creating the director's idea of the mentioned opera by J. Rossini, it is necessary to take into account its genre features, which combined the features of farsa and buffa at the same time. The history of the creation of the opera by the Italian composer and librettist in 1812 is studied, in particular, the influence of the Great French Bourgeois Revolution on its plot. The multifaceted components of scenic expressiveness, their conditioning by genre features and belonging to such a theatrical category as the atmosphere of the play, its main components and role in creating an analogue for J. Rossini's opera "Silk Ladder". It is proposed to change the name of the opera from "Silk Ladder" to "Silk Stairs" in the context of the corresponding variability of its translation from Italian, which will allow to emphasize the thematic and figurative content of the work. The musical dramaturgy of J. Rossini's opera work is analyzed on the example of solo and ensemble numbers. A musical and psychological analysis of the characters of the opera was carried out for plastic visualization of the role-image.

Применение метода интонационно-смыслового (содержательного) анализа в контексте теории художественного интонирования на фортепиано в процессе музыкально-инструментальной подготовки студентов педвуза

The study aims to substantiate the necessity and expediency of using the intonation-semantic (content) analysis method in the process of musical and instrumental training of pedagogical university students. The paper reveals the essence of the intonation-semantic (content) analysis method in the context of the theory of artistic piano intonation. Intonation-semantic (content) analysis is presented as a special method of musical education that allows students to understand the author’s idea of a composition, the logic of musical dramaturgy development, to determine the features of the intonation-sound and analytical-structural organisation of a musical work and to embody all the identified elements in their own performance. Scientific novelty lies in the following: the essence of intonation-semantic (content) analysis is revealed in the context of the theory of artistic piano intonation; the features and pedagogical potential, conditions for the use of intonation-semantic (content) analysis as a productive method in the process of musical and instrumental training of pedagogical university students have been identified and determined. As a result, it has been proved that if intonation-semantic (content) analysis is systematically applied on a regular basis in the process of musical-pedagogical repertoire mastering, then students develop a conscious perception of works of art, students’ broadmindedness, understanding of genres and styles are formed, the quality of knowledge improves, there is a steady interest in musical training and the desire for self-improvement, which undoubtedly affects the expressiveness, emotionality and fullness of one’s own performance.

"Carols on Kudriavka" Television Project as a Form of Ukrainian Folklore Preservation and Actualisation

The purpose of the research is to characterise the "Carols on Kudriavka" television project as a cultural and artistic product aimed to preserve and update the Ukrainian folklore. The research methodology consists in the application of the analytical method and the method of conceptualisation, which made it possible to identify the creative potential of the "Carols on Kudriavka" television project in the search for approaches to preserve and represent the Ukrainian folklore tradition. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that for the first time the "Carols on Kudriavka" television project is characterised, in which new forms of updating folklore in modern historical conditions are proposed. Conclusions. The "Carols on Kudriavka" television project is an example of updating approaches to the presentation of folklore in art, which operates on the principles of mass culture and is distributed through the media. The project combines the forms and techniques of a traditional pop concert with musical and dramatic innovations, including updating of the sound of traditional folklore and bringing its sound closer to current musical trends, relying on a ceremonial and ritual component, and reducing the weight of hit songs. The "Carols on Kudriavka" project can be considered as a conceptual video album, in which the Ukrainian sacred ritual archaism and the traditions of world variety shows are organically intertwined.
 Key words: television musical project, folklore, sacred time space, song genre, hit, pop artist, arrangement, musical dramaturgy.

Каков язык французской музыкальной комедии? Стилевые эксперименты тандема Легран — Деми

The article is devoted to analysing the stylistic dialogue in the music of Michel Legrand to three films by Jacques Demy: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), and Donkeyskin (1971) created in the genre of “comédie musicale” (musical comedy, musical). In the first part of the article the author examines the French sources of the American musical (from the comedy-ballet Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Moliere and Lully to the operettas by Jacques Offenbach), which allow us to comprehend the deep connection of the genre with the European art of the past and to understand the naturalness of the appeal to the idea of the musical by Demy and Legrand. The second part is an introduction to Jacques Demy’s creative method which is characterized by ambivalence, constant balancing between the auteur and mass cinema, between a realistic approach and theatricality. The third part is devoted to studying the origins of Michel Legrand’s stylistic experiments (on the one hand — serious academic education, training with Nadia Boulanger; on the other— work with world-class jazz musicians), as well as to analysing three layers: jazz (improvisation, the nature of arrangements and harmonies on the example of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), romantic (the application of the features of the genre of piano concerto in The Young Girls of Rochefort) and baroque (the use of the principles of orchestration, polyphonic forms, rhetorical figures in the Donkeyskin). The author concludes that Legrand and Demy, along with Bernstein and Sondheim, Webber and Rice, marked with their creativity the overcoming of the musical genre crisis of 1940–1950s associated with a shortage of meaningful librettos, lower quality of vocal-symphonic material, and a shift to entertainment and visual appeal to the detriment of musical dramaturgy. Despite the immutability of the basis of a musical, the director and composer expanded understanding of the genre and gave it an elegant French accent.

Academic and mass genres in the works of M. Magomayev

This article examines academic and mass genres in the work of the legendary singer of the Soviet pop music Muslim Magomayev. The subject of study is the musical creativity of M. Magomayev. The purpose of the study is the role of the creative heritage of a gifted singer, as well as understanding the value of his concert and artistic activities in the process of formation of the musical and artistic layer of the second half of the twentieth century, identifying the features of his musical language. The theoretical basis of the research was the works of M. Magomayev [16, 17, 22, 23], V. I. Antonova, A. N. Huseynova, V. V. Dubovsky, I. I. Nazarova, I. F. Sokolova, N. Reliable, R. Ramazanova, S. Belza, etc. The methodological basis of the work was the research of: M. Aranovsky [1], B. Asafiev [2], A. Iskanderova [7], L. Kazantseva [9], T. Lev [12], M. Lobanova [13], I. Mayevskaya [18], M. Mikhailov [19, 20, 21], E. Nazaikinsky [26, 27, 28, 29], S. Skrebkova [38], A. Sokolova [39], A. Sokhor [41, 42, 43], A. Zucker [47, 48], V. Zuckerman [49]; works on the problems of musical dramaturgy by Yu. Keldysh [10, 11], A. Selitsuogo [36], I. Sollertinsky [40], T. Chernova [50, 51]. The scientific novelty of the study is determined by the fact that for the first time the role of the performing interpretation of M. Magomayev's musical heritage is revealed, the stylistic features of the performer, the musical language of his songs and individual manner are revealed. The conclusions of this article may be useful in creating an educational and methodological base for the training of qualified specialists in the field of musical art. Also, in the study of the history of Russian pop music, and in the training of teaching staff in the field of music education. This problem can be introduced into the conservatorial disciplines of the historical, theoretical and methodological cycle for the specialties: musicology, musical art, pop and jazz singing.

Shakespeare in the Theatre: Sir William Davenant and the Duke’s Company

Shakespeare in the Theatre: Sir William Davenant and the Duke’s Company

Գեորգի Տիգրանովը «Նամուս» օպերայի մասին

The opera was written based on Shirvanzade's novel of the same name. According to G. Tigranov, the high humanistic pathos of the novel, the truthful disclosure of human characters, and the dramatic development of the action motivated L. Khoja-Einatov to write an opera. With its genre features and musical dramaturgy methods "Namous" is a lyrical-psychological opera closely related to the operatic traditions of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. "Namus" is a lyrical-psychological opera, closely related to the operatic traditions of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff with its genre features and musical dramaturgy methods. A stranger to external effects, Khoja-Einatov strives for the dramatic and psychological justification of every element of the musical texture. The simple and expressive language of the opera is associated with Armenian folk music. Тhe composer does not resort to quoting folk music. Instead, the basis of the folk song is felt in the modal-intonational and metro-rhythmic features of the opera music, giving the latter a national flavor. Folk song forms in opera are enriched with compositional techniques adopted from European and Russian operatic classics. According to G. Tigranov, "Namous" is L. Khoja-Einatov's creative success, his best, artistically most complete, and mature work, and deserves its place in the history of Armenian musical theatre.

Paired female images in the art of opera: before posing the question

Statement of the problem. Paired female images in opera form their own little universe in which they develop and compare. The problem of paired female images in opera art has not yet been sufficiently studied, although it deserves the attention of both musicologists and performers. The relevance of the proposed topic is due to the lack of research specifically devoted to paired female images in opera. It is proposed to consider the female images in the opera «Lohengrin» by R. Wagner in order to identify distinctive features in their musical language and determine the nature of their interaction. Analysis of recent research and publications. Among the modern scientific investigations devoted to the creative personality of R. Wagner are the works of B. Kotyuk (2013), S. Oliynyk (2018), O. Kobzar (2013), L. Gavrylchyk (2015), O. Shapoval (2019), O. Kobzar (2010), I. Yagodzynska (2012). Researchers pay attention to symbolism and mytho-poetic tendencies in the composer’s opera work. Of special interest for our topic are scientific developments devoted to the study of the opera «Lohengrin». In particular, the study of the musical dramaturgy of the work is contained in the article by O. Roschenko (2019). The study of female images in opera is presented in scientific articles by V. Antoniuk (2012), C. Wang (2012), C. Iven (2018). Main objective of the study. The purpose of the study is to determine the nature of the interaction of two female characters – Elsa and Ortrude – in the opera «Lohengrin» by R. Wagner. The scientific novelty. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time: 1) the relationship of paired female images is investigated as a musicological problem; 2) the semantic elements of the musical language and dramaturgical features of the formation of paired female images are singled out using the example of the opera «Lohengrin» by R. Wagner. Methodology. The following research methods are used: systemic, structuralfunctional, comparative, intonation analysis method. Results. R. Wagner’s opera «Lohengrin» features two female characters – Elsa and Ortrud. Each of them has its own line of development, but at the same time, at the level of the dramatic whole, they form a certain unity. These female images are defined thanks to the dramatic action, the plot; are characterized by intonation-melodic composition, expressive features of rhythm, tempo, mode and harmony. With the help of paired female images, the composer reveals his attitude to the behaviour of people in different circumstances and tries to evoke the same feeling in the listener. For the conditional association of two such characters, the author of the work proposed the term «paired images». A characteristic feature is that, on the one hand, they are built in opposition, and on the other hand, they are closely interconnected. These images are perceived through their ambivalence, contrast and, at the same time, through complementarity. The contrast between the images of Elsa and Ortrud is obvious – it is manifested in the contrast of mental purity, sincerity and cruelty and treachery. The common thing is that both characters, through different female archetypes, reveal the essence of a single multifaceted female nature from different angles. Conclusions. The contrast of the heroines is reflected by the composer at the level of musical language. Elsa, in general, is characterized by cantilena melodies, measured tempos, tessitura and dynamic balance, the predominance of the major scale, i.e. enlightened lyrics prevail. Ortrud, on the contrary, is characterized by melodies of a recitative nature, full of drama, with sharp accents, wide jumps, tessitura and dynamic contrasts, relying on unstable harmonies. During the dramaturgical development, these two spheres penetrate into each other. Thus, in the process of compositional development, two female characters contrast and, at the same time, interact with each other, and at the level of musical embodiment, they are presented as a single dramatic line.

JURIS KARLSONS’S DANCE THEATRE: THE BALLET “KARLSSON FLIES …”

Alongside with theatre, a bright feature of Karlsons’s music is choreography and the corresponding space of dance theatre because ballet is a dance theatre. Karlsons’s contribution to the genre of ballet is laconic in quantity while substantial in quality. All ballets have been composed at different stages of his creative life, and their themes differ in style, genre and imagery. Another title of the ballet “Into the Fire” (a play by the Latvian playwright Rūdolfs Blaumanis Ugunī) is “A Concerto for Orchestra in Five Movements after Reading Blaumanis”. The first artistic achievement of the genre lies both in the field of ballet and concert. It can be considered a substantial and qualitative impulse for his future creative work, as the symbolism of this ballet lays ground for the next ballet that was created as a result of studying the writings of the Latvian poetess Aspazija and her play “The Silver Veil” (Sidraba šķidrauts). This ballet is the quintessence of Karlsons’s symbols and signs. The composer’s success (and that of the whole creative team) lies in the fact that the national and creative ideas are not presented in a declarative and conspicuous manner; they are presented as a national generalisation in a subtle language of symbols and subtexts. “The Symphonic Pages of the Ballet “The Silver Veil””, which followed nine years later, can be viewed as the quintessence of the ballet “The Silver Veil”, and it can be compared to a film adaptation or staging production of a literary work. We can feel an individual autobiographical tone in the musical message of the ballet “Karlsson Flies …”. Karlsons lays special emphasis on the meaning of fairy tales in the life and consciousness of a human being, and he offers another conception of theatricality. We observe a synthesis of acts and a continuous development of musical dramaturgy. The principle of acts has allowed the composer to accomplish vivid scenes and effective fragments of music whereas the continuous dramatic development has filled the ballet numbers with leitmotifs since the composer has performed very thorough work in directing the musical material. A special type of theatre that the composer offers in the second act is a discovery. The fashion theatre is synthesised with the dance theatre. In the composer’s creative work, this ballet is truly crowned with success in children’s music, as the dance genre is an essential means of expressing genre personification.

Dramaturgy of Stage Ball Choreography in Ballet-Musicals

The article examines the dramaturgy of stage ballroom choreography in the context of staging a ballet-musical - an independent type of choreographic work in which the main features of a musical are combined, and the content is conveyed through the use of images and means of expression typical of choreographic art. The study of the dramaturgy of stage ballroom choreography in the context of the specifics of a ballet-musical production revealed that in the process of synthesizing classical ballet, musicals as a special type of musical theater production, and stage ballroom choreography, thanks to the separation and organic combination of the elements of the compositional structure of ballet and musical dramaturgy with stylistic with the choreographic principles of ballroom choreography, a unique stylistic dance structure of ballet-musical was formed. It has been established that the compositional structure of the ballet-musical is distinguished from other choreographic performances by specific features that require the use of appropriate dance vocabulary, drawing and scenographic design. It has been found that, appealing to all the organs of human feeling, the synthesis of the types of arts involved in the process of creating a ballet-musical is a determining factor of their relevance at the current stage of the development of the cultural and artistic space and provides unlimited opportunities for the choreographic representation of integral and multifaceted cultural layers of the past and contemporary ballroom dances. It was concluded that as the dominant expressive means of ballet-musical, choreography involves a careful selection of lexical means, highlighting the necessary steps, movements and figures for the most reliable transmission of artistic and spatial images.

«Violin» characteristics of Édouard Lalo’s «Symphonie Espagnole»

Statement of the problem. An arsenal of technical performance means can act as an indicator of the novelty of a work at a certain historical stage, opening the way to understanding both evolutionary processes in the field of performance, in particular violin, and the patterns of development of certain genres. The purpose of the article is to highlight the issue of “violin” and “non-violin” specifics on the example of É. Lalo’s «Symphonie Espagnole» (Violin Concerto No. 2, op. 21), which belongs to a number of violin concertos of the last third of the 19th century marked by the influence of a new wave of virtuosity. The question of “non-violinism” became relevant in the late 70s of the 19th century, when the concert repertoire was replenished with works that went beyond the performance ideal as a result of the composers’ rethinking of the principles of musical dramaturgy and, accordingly, the functions of the soloist and the orchestra. Subordinating technical tasks to the dramaturgy of the work, rather than showing the virtuoso capabilities of the instrument and the soloist, raises a number of issues related to the objective perception of the new sound artistic model. Thus, in the concert works for the violin of the last third of the 19th century, two approaches are evident – traditional and innovative. É. Lalo’s concert works, despite the presence of his name in scientific research, remain understudied. In particular, the approach to the analysis of the «Symphonie Espagnole» from the viewpoint of “violin” and “non-violin” characteristics has not been used before. Results and conclusions. The analysis of É. Lalo’s work according to several parameters proposed by us (the balance of solo and orchestral parts; the implementation of tessitura and dynamic tasks; the choice of strokes; techniques of playing – passage, chordal technique; fingering) with the purpose of identifying the specific “violin” nature in the musical text allowed us to come to the conclusion that the spread of the latest trends did not turn É. Lalo away from using purely violin techniques and artistically expressive means that maximized performance comfort. The evolution of the concert genre in the last third of the 19th century contributed to the emergence of a new format of the relationship between the soloist and the author, when the dramatic idea, the artistic content of the work became a priority in the composing process, and the transformation of the performance approach towards the subordination of the soloist to certain semantic dominants expanded the limits of performance possibilities. However, musicians did not reject the traditional approach; they preserved the continuity of performance traditions, which is proved by the works of É. Lalo, A. Dvořak, C. Saint-Saëns.

Tra ricerca e memoria: Leggenda di Alessandro Solbiati


 
 
 The article examines Alessandro Solbiati’s second theatrical work, Leggenda, which takes inspiration from the tale “The Grand Inquisitor” included in Dostoevsky’s novel The Karamazov Brothers. After presenting the meaning of this tale in the novel of the Russian writer, it reconstructs the genesis of the opera and the structure of the libretto. Then it analyses the musical forms, the vocal language and the composer’s ‘pensée sonorielle’ and considers them in the light of his musical dramaturgy. Finally, it outlines Solbiati’s aesthetical conception, his relationship with the musical tradition and his personal stance on postmodernism and postwebernian avant-garde.
 
 

Maqam in the context of Islamic musical culture

The maqam, closely connected at first with the cult-ritual practice, absorbed and reflected philosophical and ethical ideas. These ideas, fixed in the system of maqams, despite their clear canonization, changed; they underwent a certain historical transformation due to changes in the social structure of society itself. However, the main aesthetic function of the maqam, the nature of its emotional and psychological impact on a person, a deep connection with the world around him, remained in the view of Eastern thinkers and musicians unshakable until the XX century. Today, macs should be understood on the one hand as a paradigmatic structure, on the other hand, as a compositional form. The subtlest gradation of human feelings, emotional and psychological states also determined a carefully developed (theoretically) mode, intonation, pitch system of images, symbols, signs, their connection with specific manifestations of spiritual experiences and emotional states. Certain universal principles of musical dramaturgy are observed in the makam, based on diverse contrast: fret, timbre-register, dynamic, vocal-instrumental, rhythmic. These internal contrasts are infinitely diverse, but they are outlined so subtly, barely perceptible. Instrumental and vocal-instrumental music in Islamic culture was mainly an environment of professional musicians who mastered the art of maqam thinking. Makam represented the unity of the theory of performing practice for musicians.

Turkmen Epos: Origin and Modern Conditions

The epic branch is one of the central directions of the oral musical and poetic heritage of the Turkmens. The carriers of the epic tradition in Turkmenistan are the bagshy-dessanchy, the modern heirs of the ancient art of ozans. The centers of epic storytelling are located in the Dashoguz and Mary regions, they differ significantly from each other in terms of repertoire, genre and performance features. The main genres in the repertoire of bagshy-dessanchy are the monumental cycles of epic tales “Gokut ata” and “Gorogly”, numerous author's and folk dessans, legends with music, as well as musical transcriptions of literary works of Turkmen classical poets. The structure of epic genres is based on the alternation of poetic and prose sections. Poetic lines are sung in the form of songs, and prose is recited in a performing manner characteristic of each school. Songs determine the development of musical dramaturgy in dessans. The performances of the bagshy-dessanchy represent a consistent movement towards the climax, where each stage of the narrative is characterized by a certain type of epic songs.

Gramophone Voices: Puccini and Madama Butterfly in New York, ca. 1907

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (1904) was a notorious failure at its world premiere: condemned by Italian critics for its “decorative” surfaces and apparent repetition of earlier Puccinian tropes. The first of the composer’s two operas based on works by American playwright David Belasco, the opera was soon revised and received its belated New York Metropolitan Opera premiere in 1907 as part of a festival of the composer’s works organized in his presence. The decision to visit New York was timely: not only had Belasco’s source play been premiered there in 1900, but New York was by then emerging as the global center of the operatic gramophone industry, with recordings of Puccini’s works made in Camden, New Jersey, frequently featuring performers from the Metropolitan Opera. This development echoed wider operatic power shifts between Italy and the United States at this time, which informed evolving attitudes to new sound reproduction technology on both sides of the Atlantic. This article re-examines Madama Butterfly from the perspective of Puccini’s 1907 tour. In particular, it focuses on the composer’s interactions with the U.S. gramophone industry during and before his New York visit, examining them in relation to broader questions of the Italian operatic future and ideas of Italian vocality. While Madama Butterfly has long been addressed in relation to its Orientalist depiction of Japan, reframing Puccini’s Belasco-inspired opera within this transatlantic context can illuminate the fraught cultural politics of the gramophone industry, as well as their intersection with the wider musical dramaturgy of Puccini’s opera. Ultimately, I argue, Madama Butterfly emerges as a vital document of a changing auditory culture ca. 1900, as well as of an ambivalent colonial imagination.

"Devil's Tango" Plastic Style in Alfred Schnittke’s Opera "The Story of Doctor Johann Faust"

The article examines conceptual approaches to the plastic stylistics of "Devil's Tango" in A. Schnittke's opera "The Story of Dr. Johann Faust" through the prism of postmodern aesthetics. The problem of the Faustian choice in modern society is determined against the background of today's sociocultural challenges. The characteristic features of musical drama are outlined in relation to the selected scenes, and the author also explains the specifics of the plastic solution of the dramatic component in the context of the composer's idea. The concept of stylistic solution of the dance scene "Devil's Tango" is established through the prism of dramaturgical, musicological, and theatrical aspects of the Faustian choice problem. An overview of the evolutionary interpretations of the image of Faust, their correspondence to the aesthetic concepts of certain historical eras, which present a kind of closed circle from the 16th century to the present is reviewed. An analysis of the interpretation of the images of Faust and the devil in A. Schnittke's cantata and opera "The Story of Dr. Johann Faust" was carried out, which made it possible to determine their modifications. The reasons for the composer's choice of the "folk" Faust based on the book by Y. Spies with contradictions in his strength and weakness, in contrast to the idealized and exalted scientist according to J. Goethe, are clarified. The impetus for the interpretation of the image of Faust as a deeply tragic figure who grasped the horror of the wrong choice between the Eternal and the perishable is determined. Three hypostases of the image of the devil are differentiated with different missions and corresponding timbral coloring of the parts: Mephistopheles is a sweet-voiced tempter (countertenor), Mephistopheles is a cruel punisher (contralto), Lucifer is a terrible devil (chorus). It is proved that the musical dramaturgy features of "Devil's Tango" in A. Schnittke's opera require a deep synthesis of traditional and innovative means of scenic expressiveness with their active interaction and syncretic orientation, corresponding to the polystylistics of the composer's method. Prospects for further exploration of directorial interpretations of the Faustian choice problem in the context of a new paradigm of artistic culture and art are predicted.

Choral polyphony in M. Mussorgsky 's operas

The purpose of this article is to study polyphonic techniques in the opera choirs of M. Mussorgsky. The question is raised about the identity of M. Mussorgsky's polyphonic thinking from the point of view of the free refraction of the forms and techniques of writing Western European polyphony in it. The subject of the study are choirs from the operas "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina". Through the synthesis of research methods, including musicology and choral studies, the specific features of M. Mussorgsky's polyphony are revealed. Attention is drawn to the fact that polyphony in M. Mussorgsky's operas is an extremely broad concept, consisting in the author's specificity of the manifestation of counterpoint as a general polyphonic state of all elements of figurative and musical dramaturgy. Attention is focused on the emergence of an organic trinity of sub-vocal, imitation and contrast polyphony. Based on the analysis of choral scenes, it is concluded that M. Mussorgsky's polyphonic thinking, having developed outside the mainstream of polyphonic classics and classical voice studies, significantly influenced the formation of the individual compositional style of Russian composers of subsequent centuries. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time a separate study is devoted to the choral polyphony of M. Mussorgsky, presented from the standpoint of musicology and choral studies. The author's special contribution to the disclosure of the topic is the study of choral polyphony as the main creative method of M. Mussorgsky, which is the object of special research and consists in the free refraction of forms and techniques of writing Western European polyphony in Russian music of the second half of the XIX century.

Recent Research in Singing

Recent Research in Singing Donald Simonson Click for larger view View full resolution Donald Simonson The following list of recent research in singing is a brief sampling of dissertations/theses published during the last year. It is by no means comprehensive and reflects only a small fraction of the available documents. If you have published recent research in singing, voice pedagogy, voice science, vocal repertoire, pedagogic methodology, or other topics of interest to the membership of NATS, please send citations and abstracts to Donald Simonson at drs@iastate.edu for review and possible inclusion in future columns. ________ Brown, Julie A. "The Unique 'Pelléas et Mélisande:' A Closer Look at Claude Debussy's One and Only Opera." MA Thesis, Webster University, St. Louis, 2021, 96 pages; ProQuest 2542413613. "French composer Claude Debussy's compositions symbolize the definition of twentieth century music. His use of unresolved wandering dominant seventh chords, the use of ninth, elevenths, and thirteenth chords, the use of pentatonic and whole-tone scales, and extreme dynamics and orchestral timbre are trademark characteristics of his style. However, it is the uniqueness of his only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, that elevates Debussy's music to a higher level and establishes his notoriety in the world of opera. The purpose of this thesis is to discover the various methods Debussy used in composing Pelléas et Mélisande that would classify Debussy's opera in its own category of uniqueness. This thesis also takes an in-depth look at the background of the opera and the libretto of Pelléas et Mélisande. It provides information on the plot, an analysis of the unaccompanied recitative and vocal inflection of the libretto with passing tones and neighbor tones, and the motifs Debussy used to establish his characters, and is supported by musical examples. Debussy's symbolism is discussed as well as his use of polytonality, polyrhythms, poly-meters, dynamic changes, and tempo changes. Finally, this thesis will show a comparison between Debussy's opera and Wagner's opera and give an orchestral and harmonic score analysis of Pelléas et Mélisande to discover what makes Debussy's one and only opera so unique." (ProQuest/Author Abstract) ________ Brown, Ryan Russell. "'We Tell Each Other Stories': Musical Dramaturgy in Craig Hella Johnson's Considering Matthew Shepard." DMA Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 2021, 181 pages; ProQuest 2555923452. "At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the number of choral organizations which pay their members has increased greatly. Along with the emergence of these professional choirs, there is an increased focus on considering the audience experience. One of the ways that professional choral organizations are seeking to elevate the audience experience is through storytelling. Consequently, professional choirs are commissioning and performing oratorios with greater frequency. Considering Matthew Shepard, a modern chamber oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson, serves as [End Page 533] an archetype of this new era of musical dramaturgy in choral music. Interviewing conductors of professional choirs and investigating practices in script-writing, the author applies modern concepts of narrative discourse to oratorio. The author explores musical dramaturgy within Considering Matthew Shepard using 'action analysis' and suggests performance practices which highlight the musical dramaturgy within the work." (ProQuest/Author Abstract) ________ Chan, Vania L. "Mindful Singing: Exploring Mindfulness and Self-Regulation in Classical Singing." PhD Dissertation, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2020, 166 pages; Access through the following link, Chan_Vania_L_2020_PhD.pdf (4.712Mb). "The harmonious partnership between the mind and body lies at the core of practice and performance for classical singers. Mindfulness (staying in the present moment) and Self-regulation (understanding and controlling one's own learning environment) are key concepts that when applied to the discipline of classical singing, could help to enhance the growth of efficient learning skills and healthy vocal development. This paper gathers the philosophies and perspectives of respected researchers (including Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and K. Anders Ericsson), and organizes them into three separate stages: 1) Mindfulness Stage One—which involves mindfulness meditation, developing awareness and increased concentration by paying exclusive attention to the breath, 2) Self-Regulation—which centers on deliberate practice, the experts' approach to acquiring...

«Доктор Фауст» Ферруччо Бузони: черты эстетики

The article presents a musicological and artistic analysis of Ferruccio Busoni’s Doktor Faust. The author discovers the points of connection between Busoni’s final work with Goethe’s tragedy Faust, Dmitri Merezhkovsky’s novel “Voskresshiye Bogi. Leonardo da Vinci” [The Resurrected Gods. Leonardo da Vinci], a number of musical compositions by Mozart, Alban Berg and Richard Strauss, as well as Ferruccio Busoni’s own Second Sonatina and the opera Arlecchino, oder Die Fenster. The questions are examined of Busoni’s opera aesthetics, the philosophical-religious context of Doktor Faust, and the peculiarities of the composition’s libretto, the musical dramaturgy and thematicism. The assumption is expressed that the opera Doktor Faust, which presents the composer’s spiritual bequeathal, may present an interest for Russian producers who are interested in contemporary musical theater.

The types and principles of musical dramaturgy in fantasy films (The Lord of the Rings’ and The Chronicles od Narnia’s case study)

The types and principles of musical dramaturgy in fantasy films (The Lord of the Rings’ and The Chronicles od Narnia’s case study)