The old song in dialogue with a work by a modern composer (dedicated to the 165th anniversary of the birth of the Russian songwriter Matvei Ozhegov)

The article is dedicated to Matvey Ozhegov's 165th birthday. The article is devoted to the popular Russian song Mezh krutyh berezhkov ["Between the steep banks"]. Modern Russian composer Vladimir Ryabov used this music to create variations. It is noted that the author of this song is Matvei Ozhegov, a self-taught songwriter who worked at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries. He was born into a peasant family in Vyatka province. The process of popularization and cultural diffusion of his songs is described. Throughout his life, Matvei Ozhegov composed over a hundred and fifty «songs in the spirit of his native region’s people», as he put it himself, some of which have become an integral part of Russian musical culture. It is marked, Russian composers Igor Stravinsky and Dmitry Shostakovich quoted other song melodies by Matvei Ozhegov. The style of Vladimir Ryabov's compositions is characterized, in particular, his piano works in purpose to demonstrate the interaction of his variations with the melody of Matvei Ozhegov's song. The statements of authoritative experts in this field are given. An overview of his variation cycle "Twenty-five Russian folk Songs", consisting of two opuses, one of which includes the considered variations on the theme of the song Mezh krutyh berezhkov ["Between the steep banks"]. It is claimed that Ryabov doesn’t merely turn to the well-known melody of the song but treats his variations as a coherent musical and poetic work. The analysis of the substantial basis of the above-mentioned variations is carried out, for which the facets of the form and the elements of texture are correlated with the text of the song by Ozhegov. Offering own "program" of the work, the article proves that the composer not only managed to create virtuoso variations on the theme of the song, but also accurately convey the plot of the poetic text of Matvei Ozhegov in music.

Matvei Ozhegov, Vladimir Ryabov, song, Between the steep banks, variations, piano music, The song cycle, the substantional basis, Russian song, the program of a piece of music