Musical Essay in the Samuel Barber’s Output: Genesis and Specificity of the Genre

Первая половина ХХ века в истории эссе примечательна тем, что этот изначально литературный жанр, преодолевая рамки слова, переносится в новый, невербальный формат: в кинематограф, фотографию, изобразительное, а также музыкальное искусство. Первенство в создании музыкального эссе принадлежит американскому композитору постромантического направления Сэмюэлу Барберу (1910–1981). Его творческое наследие включает, по меньшей мере, три очевидных случая использования новой жанровой модели: это Эссе для оркестра № 1–3 (1937, 1942, 1978 соответственно). В статье предпринимается попытка установить причины, побудившие композитора обратиться к совершенно новой для композиции жанровой сфере, выявить механизм ее воплощения в формате непрограммного инструментального сочинения, а также определить место эссеистских опусов в жанровой иерархии барберовского творчества. In the essay’s history, the first half of the 20th century is notable by the fact that such originally literary genre breaks the frameworks of the word and is transferred to a new, non-verbal format: in cinema, in photography, in fine art, as well as in musical art. The lead in the creation of the musical essay belongs to the American post-romantic composer Samuel Barber (1910–1981). His heritage includes at least three obvious cases of using the new genre model: Essays for orchestra No. 1–3 (1937, 1942, and 1978 respectively). In this article, an attempt is made to find out the reasons that encouraged the composer to turn to a completely new genre of the musical composition; to identify the mechanism for its implementation in the format of a non-programmatic instrumental composition, and to determine the position of essayist opuses in the genre hierarchy of Barber’s output.

“Capricorn Concerto” by Samuel Barber: Content and Genre-Style Dimensions

Relevance of the study. Samuel Barber’s musical legacy is unevenly covered in musicological literature, in particular, “Capricorn Concerto” is on the periphery of scientific attention — the work that is not only bright and interesting, but also indicative of the composer’s creativity as a whole. In addition, researchers, as a rule, do not associate the semantic and stylistic features of a concert with its genre specificity, which ultimately determines the integrity of the artistic structure.The main objective of the study is to identify the relationship between genre, style and content parameters of Capricorn Concerto.The methodology of the research includes the historical and biographical approaches used to study the circumstances of S. Barber’s life and creativity during the period of work on the “Capricorn Concerto”, as well as structural-functional, genre-style and intonational-dramatic methods necessary for a comprehensive analysis of this work.Results and conclusions. “Capricorn Сoncerto” by S. Barber is considered in the unity of content, style and genre characteristics. The existing hypotheses about the links between the program content of the work and the name of the composer’s house in Mount Kisco are presented. The character and dramatic functions of musical themes representing the house and its inhabitants are analyzed, the idea of the personification of the wind instruments’ timbres and the reflection of the generalized program of the work through the game thematic logic and timbre dramaturgy is put forward. The stylistic influences in “Capricorn Сoncerto” are characterized. The connections with baroque music and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 by J. S. Bach, presented at the timbre, textured, compositional, intonation levels, as well as in the methods of melodic development, are traced. The unification of the Baroque style elements with modern means of musical expression, in particular those associated with the music of I. Stravinsky, is emphasized. The place of “Capricorn Сoncerto” in S. Barber’s concert legacy is designated. The correspondence of all his four concerts to the basic requirements of the genre is noted, and at the same time specificity of “Capricorn Сoncerto”, manifested in its instrumental composition (three solo wind instruments and a string orchestra), structural organization (subordination of the compositional structure to the through development of the concert principle of dialogue) and the ratio of parties (multilevel dialogical processes) is emphasized. The interrelation of content, style and genre features of “Capricorn Concerto” is substantiated. It is concluded that the most important intentions of S. Barber’s work are reflected in this work: careful preservation of genre traditions, genetic connection with the styles of previous eras, deeply hidden, but always tangible resonance between personal biography and creativity

Samuel Barber

Samuel Barber (1910–1981) was one of the most important and honored American composers of the twentieth century. Writing in a great variety of musical forms—symphonies, concertos, operas, vocal music, chamber music—he infused his works with poetic lyricism and gave tonal language and forms new vitality. His rich legacy includes such famous compositions as the Adagio for Strings, the orchestral song Knoxville: Summer of 1915, three concertos, and his two operas, the Pulitzer Prize–winning Vanessa and Antony and Cleopatra, a commissioned work that opened the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in New York. Generously documented by letters, sketchbooks, original musical manuscripts, and interviews with friends, colleagues, and performers with whom he worked, this book covers Barber’s entire career and all of his compositions. The biographical material on Barber is closely interspersed with a discussion of his music, displaying Barber’s creative processes at work from his early student compositions to his mature masterpieces. The book also provides the social context in which this major composer grew: his education; how he built his career; the evolving musical tastes of American audiences; his relationship with Gian Carlo Menotti and such musical giants as Serge Koussevitzky, Arturo Toscanini, Vladimir Horowitz; and the role of radio in the promotion of his music. A testament to the significance of neo-Romanticism, Samuel Barber stands as a model biography of an important American musical figure.