No 4 (2023)
Articles
Capriccio for piano and orchestra by I. Stravinsky (between baroque and modern style models)
Abstract
The object of the study is the work of I. F. Stravinsky of the neoclassical period. The subject of the study is Capriccio for piano and Orchestra, which is a vivid example of the manifestation of the composer's neoclassical approaches. The purpose of the work is to identify the principles of the correlation of "old" and "new" stylistic models in this essay. The research involved theoretical and empirical research methods, including analysis, generalization and systematization of scientific sources, stylistic analysis of I. Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. As a result of a detailed examination of the first part of the composition, some features of the figurative structure, form formation, intonation, harmonic language, texture are revealed. When considering Stravinsky's work, the main attention is paid to the composer's practical mastering of musical dialects of the past and present. In particular, a detailed analysis of the first part of the Capriccio makes it possible to detect manifestations of musical experience of both past eras – Baroque, classicism, Romanticism, and modernity (first of all, at the level of pitch and metrorhythmic features of the work). It is concluded that, taking as a basis the compositional idea of a baroque concerto, assimilating stylistic models of various epochs within one composition, Stravinsky creates an independent, modern composition, which is one of the variants of the composer's "neoclassical" reading of the concert genre.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(4):1-10
1-10
Piano duet. The existence of the genre in the nineteenth century
Abstract
The study of the history of any musical genre implies its detailed characterization in certain historical epochs associated with changes in artistic and social orientations. Such a separate epoch is the XIX century – the age of Romanticism, the time of modification of a number of well-known musical genres. The genre of the piano duet is undergoing a similar transformation at the specified time. The subject of research in this article is the specifics of the existence of a piano duet in the context of a significant rethinking of the semantic and stylistic thesaurus of musical art in general, which occurred in the XIX century. It is emphasized that the genre not only changes the specifics of its performance (there is a gradual transition to the concert stage), but also undergoes internal stylistic transformations. For the first time in musicology, attention is paid to the reasons for the spread of the genre in the XIX century, a classification of duet compositions (concert and chamber types) is created, the features of the content, form, texture, tempo, performing techniques characterizing a piano duet at a specified time are considered, and the reasons for the modification of its genre features are also named. The works of S. Geller, E. Grieg, L.M. Gottschalk, K. Reinecke and a number of other composers are presented as examples. As a conclusion, the reasons for the disparity of duet compositions of the XIX century in artistic terms are noted.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(4):11-23
11-23
Traditions of Sichuan chuanju opera in piano pieces by Song Mingzhu and Jia Daqun
Abstract
The subject of the study is the piano compositions by contemporary Chinese composers Song Minzhu (triptych "Musical Suite of the Sichuan Opera") and Jia Daqun (miniature of "Chuanqiang" from the cycle "Three Preludes for Piano"), written under the influence of the traditions of the Sichuan opera chuanju. The unique multi-composition of the origins of the South Chinese drama predetermined the originality of the typical quipai tunes and their modal coloring, the style of singing in a high register, the features of the stage action, the timbre composition of the accompanying percussion ensemble. The purpose of the article is to study the specifics of the refraction of the traditions of Sichuan opera in the modern piano repertoire. Research methodology: comparative typological and analytical methods make it possible to substantiate the uniqueness of the selected piano miniatures, due to the influence of the chuanju style. Piano compositions by Song Minzhu (triptych "Musical Suite of Sichuan Opera") and Jia Daqun (miniature "Chuanqiang" from the cycle "Three Preludes for Piano") are considered in Russian musicology for the first time. The main conclusions of the study are as follows. The stylistic features of the traditional Sichuan opera manifested themselves in the piano pieces of Song Minzhu and Jia Daqun at different levels: at the level of quoting typical tunes of gaoqiang, kunqiang, pihuanqiang, common in the southern region of the country; at the level of modal organization of tunes associated with pentatonic and heptatonic (zhengsheng and qingshang modes); at the level of imitation on the piano of the timbres of string and percussion instruments of the chuanju opera (violins huqin, gaibanzi, banzi rattles, gongs and drums); at the level of textural organization, due to the interaction of the soloist and the choir in the opera chuanju gaoqiang.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(4):24-35
24-35
Witold Lutosławski as an innovator in the field of symphonic thematism (on the example of the Third Symphony)
Abstract
W. Lutosławski (1913-1994) was an outstanding Polish composer, one of the inventors of the principle of limited (controlled) aleatorics. In his symphonic music, aleatoric and sonoric types of material interact with the thematism of the traditional type. The article is devoted to the analysis of this interaction and the identification of the dramatic role of non-traditional thematism in the musical form. The Third Symphony (1983) serves as the research material. The author of the article characterizes the expressive possibilities of aleatorics of the texture, identifies two types of sonorism, and also describes 8 types of traditional thematism used in the symphony. The "dialogue" of the two main pitch structures in the epilogue of the symphony is traced. The study allows us to conclude that non-traditional thematism prevails in the introduction and in the first part, i.e. where different types of material are exposed. On the contrary, in the second part of the symphony, the personal principle intervenes in the organization of the thematic process. The composer's will, which develops the material, collides it with each other, builds dramaturgy and leads to a certain outcome. And here (with the exception of development), traditional thematism strongly prevails. Awareness of the balance between different types of material leads to the ability to follow the plot of the symphony, which manifests itself not only in the disposition of themes, but also in the interaction of various interval complexes with each other.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(4):36-48
36-48
Taoist music of China in the context of the religious practice of Taoism
Abstract
The subject of the research is the music of Chinese Taoism, which was formed as an integral part of religious rituals in Taoist monasteries. In the depths of the ancient culture of Taoist monasticism, a stable system of genres, a stable circle of melodies and a set of ritual instruments has developed. The purpose of the study is to consider Taoist music in the context of the centuries-old spiritual practice of Chinese Taoism. The object of the study is the music that voices the rituals and ceremonies of Taoism as an integral religious system. The ideas of Taoism as a philosophical system are touched upon indirectly. For the first time in Russian-language musicology, a periodization of Taoist musical culture has been developed, two levels of interaction between music and ritual, determined by the type of worship, have been identified and analyzed, varieties of vocal intonation of Taoist prayers have been identified, and the connection between Taoist music and local folklore traditions of China has been substantiated. The main conclusions of the study: in the history of Taoist music, five periods can be distinguished, the change of which is due to the development and complication of the ritual practice of Taoism, the expansion of instruments, the spread of liturgical tunes outside the monasteries; the religious traditions of Taoism predetermined the selection of temple instruments, among which the timbres of percussion and wind instruments predominate; the functioning of music in spiritual rites is determined by the internal (in the monastic circle) or external (in the secular environment) type of ritual; in the musical practice of Chinese Taoism, four types of vocal intonation can be distinguished - chanting, scan, recitation, vocalized speech; Taoist music is closely connected with the folklore culture of various provinces of the country.
PHILHARMONICA. International Music Journal. 2023;(4):49-59
49-59