Style Of Composer Research Articles

“The Lark” by M.I. Glinka in transcriptions by M.A. Balakirev and Y. Panitsky

The transcription genre has existed for several centuries. Transcriptions have been created by many composers. Often famous works were arranged by different authors. An example is M. Glinka’s romance “The lark”. This article examines two transcription. The first was written for piano by M. Balakirev. The second is intended for the button accordion, it was written by I. Panitsky. The structure of the composition and the characteristic of the musical material are analyzed in detail. It is concluded that the two transcription are similar. The fundamental differences between the arrangements are also characterized. Balakirev writes a dramatic composition. Panitsky used techniques characteristic of his adaptation of Russian folk songs. The qualities of the individual style of composers and the general stylistic context are described.

10.36871/hon.202402137

This article is devoted to the musical style of Yuri Kasparov (b. 1955), Russian composer and music teacher, Professor at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, who writes primarily chamber music. Many of his compositions are scored for a chamber orchestra comprising flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, harp, piano, percussion, two violins, viola, cello and double bass (an instrumentation derived from A. Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No. 1). His works include over 80 chamber compositions of different genres written for one to 17 instruments. He tends to use non-standard instrumentation rather than ensembles typical for classical music such as string quartet, string trio, piano quintet, etc. Most of the techniques common to the avant-garde music are found in Kasparov’s works: the twelve-tone technique, sonorism, aleatoric music, electroacoustic music, musique concrète, performance, instrumental theatre, sound collage. Still, he remains quite a traditional composer that does not break down the boundaries of what is considered “musical” and “non-musical” sound. Kasparov’s music is beautiful, emotional, easy to understand, full of melodies and continuous instrumental solos. A simple word “beauty” becomes a stylistic innovation in his music. Kasparov believes that contemporary music can be divided into two categories: sonorism and “musical graphics”. Sonorism is focused on timbre, while “musical graphics” is distinguished by a greater use of pitch. Most of Kasparov’s works can be considered sonoristic, but today he prefers “musical graphics” — “colorless black and white composition” in which “line is important”.

К проблеме воплощения богослужебного текста в духовной музыке А. Д. Кастальского (на примере тропарей)

The article is devoted to the methods of musical representation of the content of the liturgical text in the spiritual choral music of A. D. Kastalsky. The creative path of this outstanding musician, his aesthetic views, the main features of the composer's style have been largely studied by now. However, the methods of Kastalsky's refraction of the theological aspects of chants in Russian musicology have not yet been purposefully studied. This article aims to consider specific methods of musical embodiment of liturgical texts in Kastalsky's choral compositions. His polyphonic adaptations of several Znamenny chant troparia are used as material.The methodological base of the presented article is multi-component. The authors are guided by the original analytical technique of Prot. Michael Fortunato, to some extent refract the analytical experience of Prot. Sergius Pravdolyubov. The main methodological basis is the concepts developed by the musical scientists of the scientific school of the Moscow Conservatory - A.N. Myasoedov, V.V. Protopopov, Yu.N. Kholopov and their followers. In particular, the concept of tonal states is widely invoked.The analysis of selected znamenny arrangements of tropar chants includes several aspects, such as: slogo-rhythmic modeling of a verbal text; reduction of the melodic structure of Znamenny chants and understanding of their logic depending on the verbal content; clarification of the relationship of textural, timbre and harmonic features with significant fragments of the text. The authors come to the conclusion that Kastalsky is constantly striving for coloristic, sonant marking of all essential images of the liturgical text, and thereby creates an emotionally rich "translation" of the ancient monodic chant into the modern language of full-sounding polyphony.

Mykola Stetsiun’s creativity for bandura in the anniversary context

Statement of the problem. Recent research and publications. A significant event for the bandura community was the 80th anniversary of the Honored Artist of Ukraine Mykola Hryhorovych Stetsiun (b. 1942), whose composer’s work represents a new stage in the development of the bandura art. The artist’s professional development began in the urbanized Eastern region of Ukraine, where the folk instrumental performance was represented exclusively by the domra, balalaika, and accordion arts. The composer’s practical acquaintance with the bandura took place in his mature years in Kharkiv, which prompted him to expand the original bandura repertoire and include the timbre of the instrument in orchestral compositions. M. Stetsiun’s composer work has been covered in the number of scientific studies. His life and creative path is described by A. Vynohradova (2019), S. Bilousova (2016), and L. Shekita (2013) who characterized M. Stetsiun’s work in the context of the development of folk instrumental art. The performing interpretation some of the composer’s works is characterized in the studies of M. Tushchenko (2019) and A. Aulova (2021). I. Lisniak (2014) offered the genre style review of the composer’s work for the bandura. The relevance of the proposed study determines by insufficient research of M. Stetsiun’s bandura works. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the study. The purpose of the study is to characterize the development of M. Stetsiun’s bandura creativity in the context of the enriching the modern bandura repertoire. For the first time, the evolution of M. Stetsiun’s interest in bandura sound was traced in the context of significant for folk instrumental art the events and creative communications. Ways of formation and creative transformation of M. Stetsiun’s composer style in the field of bandura music have not yet been the object of research. A panoramic overview of the composer’s genre and style searches, aimed at expanding the performance repertoire for bandura, was carried out. The following methods was used in the research: 1) biographical to characterize significant events in M. Stetsiun’s life and work; 2) genre and stylistic to reveal the characteristic peculiarities of his music works; 3) interpretive to analyse performance tasks in the works for bandura. Research results. Thanks to the activities of V. Andrieiev and H. Khotkevich, bands of bandurists appeared in Kharkiv alongside the domra and balalaika orchestras. In 1921, the first orchestra of Ukrainian folk instruments was created. The cultural and musical environment of the Ukrainian Donbas in the middle of the 20th century was influenced the Soviet narratives. The bandura did not sound there. Therefore, since childhood, M. Stetsiun showed himself as the domra performer and talented arranger. During his studies at the Kharkiv State Conservatory (in the domra class of V. I. Mikhelis, in the composition class of I. K. Kovach), bandura performance declined. M. Stetsiun’s close acquaintance with the bandura took place at the turn of the 1980--90s, when the bandura class was renewed at the Kharkiv State Institute of Arts. There are several genre and style models to which the composer turns to in his work for this instrument: 1) vocal-instrumental compositions, 2) orchestral works with the inclusion of the bandura part, 3) arrangements for bandura solo, 4) original works for bandura, 5) compositions for the ensemble of bandurists. M. Stetsiun’s arrangements for bandura – “Elegy in Memory of Hnat Hotkevych” and “Etude-Impromtu” are very popular among the performers. The “Dance in the Form of a Rondo” stands out among his original works for bandura. Conclusion. M. Stetsiun continues the traditions of the Kharkiv school of composers, as evidenced by the bright individual stylistic appearance of most of his opuses. Conscious reception of the bandura as a national musical instrument by the composer took place in adulthood, when, thanks to the high level of compositional skill, he was able to embody organically the specifics of orchestral thinking in the solo and ensemble sound of the bandura using the traditional and the modern melodic-harmonic, textural and articulation means. The perspective of the research consists in the musicological understanding of the resent opuses of Ukrainian composers for the bandura as a complete artistic phenomenon and the important component of folk-instrumental Ukrainian art.

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

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.

EASTERN MOTIFS IN VIOLIN LITERATURE

Violin repertoires one of the brightestpages of music history. New playing techniques have been developed throughout the history of violin art, in addition to this, virtuoso violin works, which requirenew playing techniques, have emerged. These are violin sonatas, variations, concertos. These works are also dedicated to different motifs and themes. Among theexamples are A. Vivaldi’s Four Violin Concertos the four seasons, Paganini’s Prayer Variations from G. Rossini’s “Moses”, or the Violin Caprices about Hunting or War (No. 9, 14, 17) . In the violin literature, there are many works of world composers devoted to Eastern motifs. Since the Baroque period, composers began to apply these motifs. This tendency continued all the time and led to the formation of a wider repertoire. Great interest in Oriental music is growing from both European and Russian composers. Passion for the Orient W. A. Mozart’s “Die Entführung aus dem Serail”, C. Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalilah”, J. Bizet’s “Jamele”, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade”, Reinhold Glière’s “Shakh-Senem” and has been seen many other works. These motives considered asnot only in large genres, but also in works of small genres. In this context, romance, suite and other works for violin attract attention.
 In this study, it is aimed to examine the period and composer styles in popular works of the violin repertoire composed on Eastern motifs such as “Romanza Andaluza” by P. Sarasate, “Orientale” by C. Cui, “Baal Shem” by E. Bloch and “Tzigane” by M. Ravel. These works were examined in terms of harmonic structure.

“The Power of Harmony” by Eusebius Mandyczewski as an example of the composer’s early cantata work

Statement of the problem. The artistic work of the Bukovynian composer and musicologist of the second half of the 19th – the first quarter of the 20th century Eusebius Mandyczewski plays an important role in the formation and development of the composer school of Bukovyna. The study of the cantata “The Power of Harmony” – one of Mandyczewski’s early works – is important, because it allows us to reveal the fundamentals, which contributed to his future artistic growth. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is a musicological analysis of the cantata “The Power of Harmony” by E. Mandyczewski and identification the characteristic features of the composer’s creative thinking. Such detailed analysis of the work revealing the characteristic features of the artistic style of the Bukovynian composer is the innovative component of the research. A set of methods that are important for identifying the features of a composer’s musical work was used: biographical, historical and cultural, method of musicological analysis, method of theoretical generalization. Results and conclusion. The artistic heritage of E. Mandyczewski is quite large, it covers various genres of musical work, but the most important one is the cantata genre. The study of the cantata “The Power of Harmony” revealed a number of features of the work and the stylistic foundations of the composer’s future mature work. The author demonstrated the skill of creating monumental genres and the ability to perform complex artistic tasks in a short period of time. We observe clear dramaturgy of the cantata, which is aimed at embodying the main idea of the work – an allegorical comparison of the harmony of the world, which grew out of chaos, with the formation of the musical culture of the Bukovynian region. This work reveals the composer’s romantic worldview, knowledge of the musical heritage of Western Europe, the style of foreign composers, and mastery of traditional writing techniques. E. Mandyczewski demonstrated the ability to operate a large group of performers, skillfully using the timbre of vocal voices and musical instruments. The expressiveness of the vocal melody is combined with the improvisation and virtuosity of individual instruments, in particular the violin, which is characteristic of the local performance tradition. High level of professionalism of the composer his mastery of the polyphonic writing technique attests: the use of polyphonic methods and forms, in particular the choral fugue, the use of timbre polyphony, etc. In the cantata “The Power of Harmony”, E. Mandyczewski, despite his young age, showed talent and professional mastery of instrumentation, harmony and counterpoint, as well as knowledge of the nature of the human voice. This early composer’s cantata was a great success during the first performance that gave the composer an impetus for future achievements.

Six monographs by A.I. Demchenko

The object of the study is the works of the famous Saratov musicologist, professor, Doctor of Art History A.I. Demchenko, published in 2022 and 2023. Monographs devoted to the legacy of Russian composers of the XIX–XX centuries demonstrate an integrative approach characteristic of many publications of this author. The creative figures of M.I. Glinka, S.V. Rachmaninoff, I.F. Stravinsky, S.S. Prokofiev, R.K. Shchedrin, A.G. Schnittke correlate with the historical and cultural context of the epoch, ideas realized in different types of art. This method helps to identify, first of all, ideological aspects in each of the author's systems under consideration. With varying degrees of detail, a wide range of musical works is considered, including textbook ones. The presentation of the material as a whole is subject to chronological order. The principle of semantic dominance, implemented in research, assumes the presence of a fundamental attitude in each composer's style, which ensures its uniqueness. A. Demchenko's works are of undoubted interest, first of all, from the standpoint of the author's approach, since the focus is not on narrow theoretical problems, but on the semantic essence, the conceptual and content base of the considered artistic heritage. Reliance on the method of "conceptual analysis" - as the scientist himself defines it in earlier works - provides for the subordination of all technological observations, historical information to the task of revealing cultural, universal meanings. Some decisions of the author of the monographs are questionable. The issue of foreign influences on Glinka's style seems insufficiently developed; the role of urban associations in Stravinsky's "Sacred Spring", on the contrary, seems somewhat exaggerated. The comments made do not prevent us from making a general conclusion about the productivity of the proposed approaches and the potential relevance of the submitted works in scientific and educational practice.

Raising the sound culture in the piano class among students of different specialties.

The article is devoted to the study of the problem of raising the sound culture of playing the piano, in the aspect of the professional orientation of teaching students of various specialties in a music college and university. The author summarizes the pedagogical experience of working with this group of students and highlights the necessary conditions for the development of pianistic sound culture among students to achieve artistic performance, a creative approach to classes based on the development of imagination, musical intelligence, the sense of hearing and the sense of style of composers from different epochs in search of expressive colors throughout the piano textures (melodic intonation, harmonic and polyphonic palette, semantic shades of various sounds).

Christian Sinding’s piano works: the experience of a post-romantic world perception

Statement of the problem. Christian Sinding is the first composer after Edward Grieg, whose name resonated in wide circles of the musical community not only in Norway, but also in Europe, in particular Germany. His works were widely performed and aroused general interest, being evidence of the high status of national Norwegian music. In Ukraine, the figure of Sinding is little known, and his works are performed very rarely, despite the fact that his heritage, in particular the piano one, deserves attention and study as a vivid expression of the national style in the music of the early and first half of the 20th century. The style of performance of Sinding’s piano works was also not the subject of special research either in the world or in Ukrainian musicology. Recent research and publications. The creative personality of Sinding appears in generalizing studies on the history of Norwegian music (Rowbotham, 1916; Qvamme, 1949; Grinde, 1981; Herresthal, 1987; Holth, 2014), and the composer’s piano heritage is included in the context of the evolution of European piano art (Herresthal, 1987). The figure of Sinding is also highlighted in works in the genre of creative portraits (Altmann, 1936, Gaukstad, 1956) and in biographical studies. These works contain brief descriptions of the musical material of a significant part of the composer’s works. The dissertation of the Norwegian singer and scientist Per Vollestad, dedicated to Sinding’s vocal work, should be considered the most thorough study of his creativity at the moment (Vollestad, 2002). Nevertheless, in the mentioned sources, the piano music of Sinding, in particular, large-scale genres, did not become the subject of a special study, as well as the question of its stylistic attribution in the context of post-romanticism. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to present the individual composer style of Sinding as of an experience of post-romantic worldview in the context of the trends of the modernism era based on the performance interpretation of large-scale piano works (Sonata and Concerto). The scientific novelty of the topic is determined by the lack of information about the specifics of Sinding’s piano style and artistic thinking in available scientific sources; in particular, we rely on self-own experience of interpreting Sinding’s selected works. The following methods were used in the study: historically typological that helps to outline the stages of evolution and stylistic trends of European piano art; the genre approach that identifies the established models of instrumental music of the European tradition (sonata, concerto); stylistic one revealing the regularities of the Norwegian artist’s individual way of thinking; and interpretative method that allows to understand of the composer’s embodiment of the sound image of the piano in the light of post-romanticism. Results and conclusion. Sinding’s large-scale piano works, the Concerto (1890s) and Sonata (1909) belong to the post-romantic European tradition. The thematic, functional and compositional analysis of the composer’s text of these works made it possible to reveal the fundamental principles of the author’s thinking, which bases on the synthesis of classical-romantic and national Norwegian musical language. Among the leading principles of piano style should be singled out: – the significance of the melody as the main carrier of the author’s thought, which serves as the foundation of the textural and timbre decoration of the theme-image; – a thematic presentation in octave duplications, which makes the piano texture close to an orchestral sound; – double national-stylistic identity: intonation (melos, mode, rhythm) has national-Norwegian roots; compositional regularities follow the German Romantic tradition; – frequent use of the technique of re-harmonizing motifs and phrases, the great role of polyphonic development (including imitative ones: canonical exposition in the development of the 1st movement of the Sonata); – the concert nature of the piano texture; – the richness of the orchestral accompaniment (in the accompanying part, solo horn and woodwinds as personification of the “voices of nature” should be noted). Thus, the post-romantic thinking of C. Sinding in the conceptual genres of piano music serves as an artistic counterpoint to the European style of the border of the 19–20th centuries, enriching its national component, universalizing and conceptualizing the romantic due to expanding of musical language means.

Creative interaction of the Eespere brothers and its reflection in the René Eespere’s Piano Concerto

Statement of the problem. The piano heritage of René Eespere, despite its uniqueness, has been neglected by researchers. Nowadays, there is no evidence that the Estonian master’s works have ever been mentioned in the national musicological literature. The Piano Concerto was composed on the initiative of the Estonian pianist Tarmo Eespere, the composer’s brother. In its first version, the work was performed only once. Thus, the composer’s piano music, in particular the Piano Concerto, as well as Tarmo Eespere’s interpretations, require detail research and comprehensive coverage by musicologists. The context of creative communication between the two Estonian musicians is of particular interest. Recent research and publications. The article relies on the works of foreign authors who highlight the piano work of Estonian composers in the context of general trends in the development of Estonian musical culture – H. Olt (Olt, 1980), J. Tall (1983); press materials – E.Arujärv (2013), interview– E.Colucci (2012), as well as private correspondence of the author of the article with the composer and the first performer of the concert. The theoretical basis of the article includes the works of Ukrainian musicologists dedicated to the genre of the concerto – V. Rakochy (2021), the analysis of interpretations of musical works – V. Moskalenko (2013); the compositional techniques of the second half of the 20th century – D. Malyi (2021), K. Onyshchenko (2019), and also the articles by Ukrainian scholars – T. Verkina and others (2020), I. Ivanova and others (2020), L. Serhaniuk and others (2021), which are aimed at highlighting the performance issues and typology of composer styles. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to establish the role of the creative interaction of the Eespere brothers through the identification of the basic semantic features of René Eespere’s Piano Concerto and their representation in the performance version by Tarmo Eespere. The genre-stylistic, functional-structural, and interpretative methods of analysis are used in the study. The article discusses aspects that contribute to the understanding and implementation of the content of the Piano Concerto. The author’s and performer’s concepts of the work are revealed. For the first time, not only in Ukrainian musicology, but also in the world one, René Eespere’s Piano Concerto became the focus of attention. Research results and conclusion. The article analyses the principles of the Piano Concerto dramaturgy, the complex of its expressive means, and the interpretative peculiarities of the concerto genre. Brief description of the content and musicological analysis of the work is given. The interpretation of this Concerto by Tarmo Eespere is characterized. The conclusions emphasize that René Eespere created an original, in terms of content and intonation, work based on European classical canons, where the national is embodied primarily through the world perception, intonation, and rhythm. In the second version of the Concerto, the composer achieved a classical balance between the solo and orchestra parts. The prospect of further study of the topic is identification of the composer and performance concepts of other René Eespere’s piano works.

Spiritual choral compositions of the Ukrainian composers of the first third of the 20th century: genre-stylistic and performance principles

Statement of the problem. The article deals with the spiritual and choral works of the composers of the first third of the 20th century on the examples of the liturgical and paraliturgical choral works of K. Stetsenko and O. Koshyts, representatives of the “new school”. (Kozarenko, 2001: 153) of Ukrainian sacred music of the first quarter of the 20th century. Recent research and publications testify to the relevance of the proposed topic. The collection «Olexander Koshyts and time» (Scientific Herald of the UNTAM, 2007, vol. 57) contains scientific articles devoted to various aspects of the creative activity of O. Koshyts. The studies by N. Kalutska (2001) and N. Suprun-Yaremko (2014) are devoted to his composer style. L. Parkhomenko’s monograph (2009) continues to be one of the fundamental works dedicated to K. Stetsenko. O. Zasadna and O. Chersak (2021) examines the process of Ukrainization of liturgical music during the period of national revival (the first third of the 20th century). A. Pater’s dissertation (2021) presents the creative activity of modern professional choirs at Ukraine in the context of the revival of spiritual music. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to reveal the genre-stylistic and performing principles of the selected spiritual compositions: the kontakion «Zi Sviatymy Upokoi» («With the Saints Give Rest») from K. Stetsenko’s «Panakhyda»(«Requiem») and the arrangement of the folk psalm «Oi Khto, Khto Mykolaia liubyt» («Oh, Who, Who Loves Nicholas») by O. Koshyts. The scientific novelty of the study is related to highlighting the fundamental qualities of spiritual choral composer work by K. Stetsenko and O. Koshyts in terms of performance interpretation and the continuity of the tradition of Ukrainian spiritual singing in the genre and stylistic dimension. The historical-cultural, genre, stylistic, structural-functional, interpretative, semantic, and systemic methods are used in the study. Results and conclusion. ● The foundation of K. Stetsenko’s and O. Koshyts’s composer work is the involvement of genres of liturgical and paraliturgical heritage (in the considered cases – memorial services, folk psalms) and the principle of psalmody; elements of folk song style and stylization of folklore images (lullaby in “With the Saints Give Rest”, sound image from the Kobzar and lirnyk tradition – imitation of the sound of the wheel lyre in “Oh, who, who loves Nicholas”). ● The choral work of both artists is characterized by certain common musical and stylistic features: a tendency towards multi-layered texture and expansion of the general range of sound in climaxes; involving the principles of antiphonal singing inherited from the established tradition of Ukrainian choral music; interpretation of the choir as an orchestra of voices; repetition of some syllables of the phrase in the chorus, which is characteristic of the tradition of group folk singing; major-minor variability. ● The examples of modern interpretations of the compositions testify to the high quality of rendition of the spiritual compositions, which was achieved through remarkable plasticity of voice management, experimental choirmaster work on the timbre combinations, microdynamics, etc. ● In our time, the performance interpretations of the spiritual works of the composers of the first third of the 20th century by the best choirs of Ukraine is the evidence of the revival and continuity of the domestic spiritual tradition on a new stage of its understanding.. Masterpieces of spiritual choral heritage, updated after a long time of prohibition in a new quality, prove their enduring value in the 21st century.

АЛЬТОВАЯ МИНИАТЮРА В ТВОРЧЕСТВЕ РЕБЕККИ КЛАРК

The work of English composers of the first half of the XXth century, who actively composed for viola, is little known to music lovers. The now popular English composers L. Tertis and W. Wilton were most prominent in large-form works for viola (primarily in the genres of sonata and concerto with orchestra). One of the pioneers of chamber music for this instrument is the talented, but now almost unknown composer and violist Rebecca Clarke, who established the viola miniature as a distinctive and striking artistic phenomenon. The relevance of the study lies in the urgent need to introduce into musicology the information about the creative heritage of composers who created those works for viola that reveal the multifaceted artistic possibilities of this instrument. The purpose of the article is to illuminate the creative heritage of R. Clarke in the genres of miniature for viola and piano. Objectives of the article — to present the main biographical information about the composer; to show the importance of the viola in the development of the composer's style; to comprehensively analyze R. Clarke's miniatures for viola and piano. The author attempts to explore the composer's language, which is based on romantic traditions and heavily influenced by C. Debussy. The article focuses on R. Clarke's significant contribution to affirming the performance potential of viola in the chamber repertoire. The materials of the article can be used both by teachers of viola class and chamber ensemble as educational and didactic material, and by concert musicians to enrich their own performing repertoire.

AESTHETIC AND STYLISTIC FEATURES OF MUSICAL MODERN STYLE IN THE OPERA THE NIGHTINGALE BY I. F. STRAVINSKY

The article reveals the signs of musical modern manifested in Igor Stravinsky's opera The Nightingale . The modern style declared itself in the works of Russian composers of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, including Stravinsky. The aesthetic principles of the modern style, such as the cult of beauty, the tendency to synthesize the arts, conventions, interest in orientalism, fairy-tale plots, originated in painting, found the expression in music. It is shown that the opera Nightingale becomes one of the samples of the modern style in Russian music, which is manifested in the structure of the work, its thematic invention, rhythm and texture. The composer's appeal to an exotic theme allows him to create a bright coloristic musical picture in which the visual component is of great importance. The fairy-tale plot puts an imprint of conventionality on the performance. The composition is dominated by three-part structures, which demonstrates the desire for concentricity. The decorative nature of the modern style is manifested in the appearance of ornamental features in the melodic line of the vocal part of the Nightingale, which is a combination of flexible, plastic lines. It is shown that the style of the opera changes due to a long break between the creation of the first and subsequent actions. The composer's words confirm the fact that the experience of creating his ballets, which participated in S. P. Diaghilev's Ballets Russes , influenced the formation of the musical canvas of The Nightingale . The stylistic heterogeneity of the opera does not contradict the aesthetic attitudes of the modern style. The opera symbolizes the transition from the composer's style, based on the experience of his predecessors, to the search for updated means of expression.

«Потаенный край» Маргариты Кусс: оркестровый стиль и тембровая поэтика

The stylistic features of orchestral writing by Margarita Ivanovna Kuss (1921–2009) are examined in this article for the first time in Russian art studies. Her music was performed by the best Russian ensembles and conductors. M. Kuss was a musical authority for the leading musicians of the Soviet Union. For many years her house was a centre of attraction for the greatest modern Russian composers (D. Shostakovich, N. Peyko, B. Tchaikovsky, R. Bunin, M. Weinberg, G. Sviridov, G. Ustvolskaya). M. Kuss opinions and appraisals were valuable not only for the young composers, but also for world-known masters A Poem based on Russian Folk Songs (1961), A Lyrical Poem (1988), Three Poems: A Distant Spring, An Evening Song, An Evening in Light (1994) — these are the parts of a meta-cycle. And the last part of it is a symphonic poem A Lurking Terrain (1999–2000), first performed at the Large Hall of Moscow Conservatory on December 21st, 2002. The Tchaikovsky Large Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Vladimir Fedoseev. The composer's style in this score is embodied in a most impressive form. The research methods used in this article, along with the analysis of the composer's and conductor's phenomenology, could be used in further studies of the large symphonic legacy of M. Kuss. It is important both in the research context, and in the musician's practice.

Utwory klawesynowe Weroniki Ratusińskiej-Zamuszko – między przeszłością a współczesnością

Works for Harpsichord by Weronika Ratusińska-Zamuszko—Between the Past and the Present The article is devoted to two works by Weronika Ratusińska-Zamuszko: the cycle Nymphs for soprano saxophone and harpsichord, and the miniature For Berenika. A miniature in the Baroque style. The introduction contains information about the composer and basic facts about the pieces in question. In the following sections of the article the author analyses: harmony (tonal arrangement and harmonic relations), form (formal models, motifs, rhythms), texture and sound as well as aesthetic aspects. Based on these elements, the key determinants of the composer's style are presented, referring to the Baroque techniques as well as those typical of the postmodern musical language, also discussing the issues of non-musical content resulting from the programme titles of the works. In the analytical part, the author presents an innovative analytical method consisting in reducing the notation of the harpsichord part to the basso continuo notation to verify the thesis that the choice of the instrument (in this case, the harpsichord) determines the style of the composition. The analytical argument leads to interesting research conclusions and is an attempt to define the composer's musical language.

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.

S. Feinberg — composer-thinker of the Silver Age

The purpose of this article is to identify cultural, musical and pedagogical aspects of the life and work of one of the leading representatives of the Moscow piano school in performance and pedagogy S. Feinberg. The formation of S. Feinberg's compositional and performing style was influenced by many composers of the Silver Age, the leading of whom were A. Scriabin and N. Medtner. The subject of the study is the circle of interests of S. Feinberg. S. Fenberg was one of the best performers of J.S. Bach, L. Beethoven, R. Schumann, P. Tchaikovsky, S. Rachmaninov, N. Medtner, A. Scriabin. S. Feinberg's interpretations of A. Scriabin's works were considered the closest to the author's. S. Feinberg's performance was distinguished by its rigor, precise adherence to the author's text, intellectual interpretation. S. Feinberg summarized his views in musicological works: "Beethoven's 32 Sonatas", "Pianism as Art", "The Fate of Musical Form" and others. The object of the study is the consideration of the individual composer style of S. Feiberg. From the first opuses of S. Feinberg's work, he was interested in the genre of piano sonata. Through the synthesis of research methods, some features of sonatas No. 1, No. 2, No. 6 and No. 12 are presented. The author examines in detail compositional techniques, in particular the attraction to poetry and monothematism inherent in romantic composers, the widespread use of polyphony. A significant event for the musicians was the release of the CD "Feinberg plays Feinberg", released by the Moscow Conservatory in 2021, which included recordings of his twelve sonatas. The main conclusion of the conducted research is that S. Feiberg's style is absolutely individual, which is revealed in the nature of thematism, the ways of its development, and the methods of piano presentation. In addition, a fine connoisseur of the piano, S. Feinberg creates new types of virtuoso technique. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time the study of S. Feinberg's style is based on the memoirs and theoretical studies of S. Feinberg.

Специфіка музичної інтерпретації картин Арнольда Бекліна Максом Регером

The article analyses the interaction of arts on the example of the program work Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin by Max Reger, written under the impression from the paintings by Arnold Böcklin, a Swiss symbolist painter. New perspectives were found in the study of the composer's individual style. The analysis of the composition Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin (1913) gives the possibility to investigate M. Reger's views on works of fine art manifested in the specific features of the music piece as well as the role of visual impression and its place in the construction of musical images. Particular attention is paid to the analysis and use of means of musical expression. Using the cultural method for researching artist biographies, it was possible to determine the exact version of the painting Isle of the Dead by A. Böcklin, which served as a program for M. Reger on the basis of which he wrote the poem of the same name (third). This article reveals the composer's style orientation, which constitutes a synthesis of romantic emotionality with a strong reliance on constructiveness, clearness and intellectuality. The article analyzes directly opposite views on M. Reger's work and identifies the original essence of the composer's art. The study tracks the composer's connections with fine arts. An interdisciplinary approach allowed reconstructing the author's perception of the visual images of the paintings The Hermit, Playing in the Waves, Isle of the Dead and Bacchantenfest. The analysis proves that the composer chose plot motifs based on the criteria of duality, which means that each motive goes hand in hand with its antipode. M. Reger sees it as a life-death formula, which is vividly embodied in the Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, where parts one and three named the Hermit and Isle of the Dead represent death and the other two – Playing in the Waves and Bacchantenfest – is life in its vigorous manifestation.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ГРИГОРИАНСКОГО ХОРАЛА НА КОМПОЗИТОРСКИЙ ЯЗЫК МЭРИЛИН ШРУД НА ПРИМЕРЕ ДУЭТА «LACRIMOSA»

This article explores the influence of the Gregorian chorale on the compositional language of Marilyn Shrude on the example of her work "Lacrimosa" for piano and alto saxophone. Using three chorales from the "Requiem", the composer created a work expressing grief for the students who had passed away prematurely. The most important is the chorale "Subvenite sancti Dei", which serves as the main source material for the entire composition. Most of the musical text of "Lacrimosa" emphasizes the natural minor mode of this chorale. In addition, the composer refers to the Gregorian chorale "In Paradisum", using the Mixolydian mode in which the chorale is written. M. Shrude also uses the verse "Lacrimosa dies illa" from "Dies Irae" in the final part of the composition. Attention is also focused on the use of heterophony and unison by the composer as ways to imitate the reflected nature of music performed in resonating spaces. Abroad — in the USA and Europe — there is a considerable amount of research on Marilyn Shrude's music. Based on the analysis of her works, around a dozen doctoral dissertations were written. In Russia, at present, the works of this major American composer are little known, and there are no studies of her work. This article is a continuation of the author's research on the composer's style of Marilyn Shrude.