No 6 (2023)
Articles
Polyphony in Vadim Salmanov's a cappella choral work
Abstract
The author examines in detail the revival of ancient choral genres and forms that corresponded to the aesthetic trend in the Russian musical culture of the second half of the twentieth century. The subject of the study is the stylistic features of Vadim Salmanov's polyphonic writing. The object of the research is the choral heritage of V. Salmanov's a cappella from the point of view of integrating new compositional techniques and polyphony. Special attention is paid to polyphonic techniques in the concert for the a cappella choir "Lebedushka". The author examines in detail the dramaturgy and architectonics of the choral concert "Lebedushka", as well as such aspects of the topic as: polyphonic methods, including imitation polyphony and heterophony, writing techniques of the twentieth century (sonorica, aleatorica). V. Salmanov's works clearly demonstrate that the genre of choral concert occupies one of the main places in the history of Russian choral creativity a cappella. It is proved that in the genre hierarchy, it is the choral concert that plays the leading role in terms of the number of artistic discoveries. The research methodology is based on the analysis of historical materials, a wide range of works by Russian musicologists concerning the history and theory of musical genres, polyphonic writing techniques and performing practice. Through the synthesis of research methods, including musicology and choral studies, the parameters of musical composition are revealed. The main conclusions of the conducted research are the paradigm of artistic connections of traditional polyphonic techniques with modern means of compositional writing. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time polyphonic techniques in modern choral composition are analyzed from the standpoint of musicology and choral studies. A special contribution of the author to the disclosure of the topic is the study of V. Salmanov's choral concert "Lebedushka", which had not previously been the object of special research from the point of view of polyphony. In this work, the presentation of musical material itself, as well as polyphonic methods of working with it, are conducted under the auspices of the search for a new sound characteristic of modern music. Attention is focused on the need to study the issues related to the role of polyphony in modern choral composition, due not only to the general artistic and historical potential of choral culture as a whole, but especially its great importance in modern musical art.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(6):1-9
1-9
Preservation of the traditional culture of the Cossacks in the scientific and creative priorities of the Department of Folk Singing and Ethnomusicology of the Saratov State Conservatory named after L. V. Sobinov
Abstract
The article is devoted to the 55-year activity of the Department of Folk Singing and Ethnomusicology of the Saratov State Conservatory named after L. V. Sobinov. The focus is on one of the directions in the scientific and creative priorities of the department – the study and preservation of the traditional song heritage in the culture of the Cossacks. The author gives an excursion into the history of the study of musical folklore and the creation of a new specialty "head of a folk choir" at an academic university. The article highlights the role of prominent figures-folklorists associated with the study of the Cossack song tradition and the formation of the science of ethnomusicology at the Saratov State Conservatory – A.M. Listopadov, L.L. Christiansen, A.S. Yareshko. The article summarizes some results of the research, publishing, concert, creative and educational work of teachers and students of the Department of folklore research of the Cossack regions of Russia. The author also refers to the archive of audio recordings and theses with song notations in order to identify the earliest recordings of folklore expeditions to the Cossack regions of the Saratov Volga region, analyzing the musical, poetic and performing style of song folklore. When writing this article, the following art criticism methods were used – comparative historical (comparative) and musical-analytical research methods. Despite the fact that the Cossack song tradition has not been revealed in the territory of the modern Saratov Volga region in the form of a formed musical and ethnographic phenomenon, there are persistent stable indigenous signs characteristic of the Cossack song culture in local manifestations: both a set of song genres and characteristic musical-poetic and vocal-performing features of the Don Cossacks singing style: specific features of folk speech, diphthongs, word breaks, "entrances"-glissandings from below to the main sound, a special phonetic structure of vocal speech. Similar genre, musical style and performance features of the song folklore of the Cossack tradition in the recordings of the 70s and 80s of the twentieth century are found locally as residual phenomena. Later archival records in this region demonstrate the all-Russian late urban tradition. There are many reasons for this: both the influence of mass pop culture and the result of the lack of social ties between generations of different ages, continuity within the family, within singing groups and the "blurring" of the indigenous population by immigrants from different regions.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(6):10-22
10-22
Creative rotation in conceptual art: Marcel Duchamp is a composer, John Cage is an artist.
Abstract
The subject of this study is the intersection points of music and visual art, demonstrated by the example of the creative interaction of conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp and composer John Cage. The possibility of reformatting creativity from the visual to the sound field is considered as a role rotation, within which Duchamp appears as a composer, and Cage as an artist. An attempt has been made to explain the motivation for such a choice. What is the meaning of this, and what do people mean when they choose this or that image for themselves, and create this or that image for themselves. How important it is to change the artistic image and creative image for the master. The research methodology consists in a comparative analysis of these concepts using already known works on this topic and the author's personal observations. In conceptualism, an idea is valued above the process of its materialization in a work of art, and therefore, the technique of execution is not a decisive factor. In such a creative paradigm, the artist's tools themselves become not so essential, which can be paints, a brush or other means of visual representation of the concept, as well as sheet music or a graphic score. The means of artistic expression – sounds or visual elements – also turn out to be equivalent. They all focus around the concept – the dominant point of any kind of creativity. This conclusion becomes the key to the research conducted in this article.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(6):23-36
23-36
The Destroyed masterpiece: features of the late orchestral style of P.I. Tchaikovsky on the example of his symphonic ballad "Voivode"
Abstract
The subject of this study is a later orchestral work by the greatest Russian composer P.I. Tchaikovsky – a symphonic ballad based on A.S. Pushkin's poem "Voivode". The object of the research is the features of the composer's orchestral style, his artistic transformation in the late period of his work, an irresistible craving for development, self-improvement, and cognition. The score, destroyed by the author and restored by voices, conceals many interesting professional details, discoveries, and intensely echoes the sonorous ideas of the twentieth century. The author examines in detail the compositional structure of the ballad, its tonal and harmonic plan, the dynamic instructions of the author, and its orchestration. Special attention is paid to Tchaikovsky's innovative compositional methods, his skill, his attention to the smallest instrumental details, to everything that should help the performer to reveal the creator's intention, to read the work as it was conceived by the author. The article uses the following methods of scientific research: comparative analytical, structural and functional, as well as cultural method. The author of the article draws literary-textual and musical-textual methods to the study, and also relies on the fundamental provisions of the general historical methodology of scientific research, in particular, socio-cultural, historical-chronological, biographical. The main conclusions of the conducted research are the idea of the inexhaustibility of the symphonic score as an author's text, as an artistic statement requiring careful and comprehensive study, as a book that must be carefully read before starting the rehearsal process. The author's special contribution to the research of the topic is the analysis of Tchaikovsky's symphonic ballad through the prism of modern performance perception. The point of view and professional assessments of a practicing conductor, reliance on the smallest and most subtle signs and symbols of a musical text are extremely important in our time, when the quality of performance of a symphonic work does not always correspond to the author's intention. The novelty of the research lies in a close examination of the previously insufficiently studied part of the creative heritage of the brilliant Russian composer. Tchaikovsky's symphonic ballad "Voivode" was difficult to create, but deserves the attention of musicians and music researchers no less than his other well-known orchestral program compositions.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(6):37-47
37-47
Romantic Traditions in Alessandro Longo's Piano Cycles
Abstract
The object of research in this article is the piano cycles of the Italian composer and pianist Alessandro Longo (1864-1945). The subject of the study is the continuation and development within the framework of this genre of romantic traditions laid down by romantic composers F. Chopin and R. Schumann. Alessandro Longo turned to writing piano cycles throughout his life. These works are distinguished by significant artistic merits. The author of the article examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the creation of the integrity of the cycle on the basis of tonal, figurative-emotional, genre connections between the plays. Within the framework of the suite-type cycle, he reveals the features of programmaticity found in the names of the plays and their arrangement in cycles. Special attention is paid to the analysis of piano cycles of etudes, which are interpreted by Longo not so much as a genre aimed at practicing techniques to improve professional skills, but as a sketch, romantic piano miniature. The author uses an integrated approach, including system-historical and comparative methods of analysis. The basis for the study of the research was the method of musical theoretical analysis, including thematic, stylistic, structural and compositional aspects. The author's significant contribution to the study of the topic lies in the introduction to musicological usage and understanding of a significant layer of Italian musical culture of the late XIX – early XX century. Alessandro Longo's piano cycles, which are in demand in the performing practice of Western European musicians and are of interest for pedagogical practice, are little known to domestic performers and have not been considered in musicology. This publication is the first study of A. Longo's piano cycles in the light of the implementation of romantic trends. As a result of the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the piano cycles of the non-sonate type by A. Longo continue the established traditions in the implementation of this genre, which is manifested in the appeal to certain principles of cyclization: tonal logic, genre, tempo, tonal, emotional-figurative connections between the pieces. At the same time, they reveal an identity peculiar to both the Italian national culture as a whole and to this author, which is manifested in melodiousness, melodiousness (including in cycles of sketches), as well as emotional saturation and theatricalization.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(6):48-56
48-56