The Symbolism of the Caravaca Cross in the Work “Crux Christi Salva Nos” by Szymon Godziemba-Trytek

Relevance of the study. The author’s commentary of Szymon Godziemba-Trytek concerns the role of sacred symbol in his work “Crux Christi Salva Nos” for mixed choir, soloists, horns, double basses and percussion (2017). This study for the first time acquaints the Ukrainian audience with the creativity of a modern Polish composer, who fruitfully works in the field of symphonic, chamber, and especially vocal and choral music. Main Objective of the article is to show the author’s way of interpreting sacred symbols in the composition and drama of his work; to reveal the role of a symbol as a tool for integrating a composition into an intercultural context that arises on the basis of musical and extra-musical listening experience. Methodology/How the study was done. The empirical and analytical methods used in the research reflect the two sides of the author’s activity — he is a composer and a scientist. From the Christian symbol of Caravaca Cross that inspired him — to the compositional idea and its implementation in sounds: these are the stages of the creative process described in the article. Results/Findings and Conclusions. The composition of the work «Crux Christi Salva Nos» was determined by two aspects of the European Christian symbol Caravaca Cross — its graphics and the history of its existence in culture. The external feature of the Caravaca Cross is the mnemonic signs applied to its surface, they fix the sequence of prayer lines. The sequence of the placement of these signs forms the architectonics of Godziemba-Trytek’s musical work. The symmetry in the arrangement of the signs corresponds to the symmetry of the music composition. In the history of the existence of Caravaca Cross in European culture, the composer is most attracted by the emergence of various religious cults associated with it. They origins often are in folklore. Reflections on the process of acceptance of theological ideas among the people led the composer to some decisions in the field of drama, performing resources, stylistics. Specially, composer use the text of the Polish traditional Lent Song as the epilogue of his work. This epilogue becomes the quiet climax of the composition. The choir’s location and the way haw it is used in the work are also symbolic: within each subsequent movement, the choir is situated closer to the listener. Stylistic means reflect the idea of giving the dogmas of faith a human dimension.

Borrowed and Original Techniques in the Trio by Leonid Hrabovsky

Relevance of the study. During several years that preceded the creation of the Trio (1964), Leonid Hrabovsky wrote many other works in various genres and forms, ranging from suites and a sonata for solo instruments, a song cycle, and a cappella choruses, to large-scale compositions for orchestra and for mixed choir with orchestra, and even two one-act operas (piano scores). The composer’s stylistic priorities had been rapidly and strikingly evolving from “social realism with a human face” as evident in the Four Ukrainian Songs, towards a much more radical “sharp” expressionism and constructivism. This evolution caused the necessary changes in the techniques utilized by the composer. Hrabovsky was deeply impressed by the article Genealogia nowej muzyki (Genealogy of the new music) of the Polish musicologist Tadeusz Zieliński that was published in the magazine Ruch muzyczny, n. 20–21, 1963. Zieliński stated that, after historical periods of monody, polyphony and functional harmony, a new sonoric and timbral era had come. These ideas inspired Hrabovsky to move towards the radical avant-garde. The object of this research is the Trio by Leonid Hrabovsky. The purpose of the study is to reveal the inherent features that differentiate the piece from other avant-garde works of the early 1960s. Methods of research include technical analysis of the musical form and its dependence upon the pitch organization of the work, as well as comparative analysis. The results and conclusions. Being composed during several days in the spring of 1964, Trio became the first piece of Hrabovsky’s written in a definitely avant-garde style. It was premiered in 1966 and since then has become one of the composer’s most frequently performed works. The reason for such a success lies in the original concept of the piece that essentially differs from the other avant-garde works of that time. When discussing Trio, Hrabovsky always stresses the influence of the Polish avant-garde music attracting him during that period. Indeed, he borrowed a lot of devices from Miniatures for violin and piano by Krzysztof Penderecki, a score Hrabovsky knew and studied at that time. However, a comparative analysis of the two works reveals serious differences between them. While Penderecki operated with purely timbral (sonoric) objects and did not pay special attention to the pitch organization, Hrabovsky composed almost a classical three movement suite with the first movement in a ternary form and the last movement in the binary form. The classical principles of the pitch organization and the distribution of the pitch structures in Trio are similar to those in tonal music. These principles have been unusually applied to the sound material that has nothing in common with tonality. A combination of the traditional and new approaches to the form provided Hrabovsky’s Trio with unique qualities which made it not only an interesting artifact of the avant-garde period but one of the most valuable and artistically perfect works in the Ukrainian chamber music.

Te Deum for mixed choir a cappella by Dmytro Stetsiuk in the context of Ukrainian religious music

The purpose of the article is the insert to the scientific research the complete analysis of masterpiece by known Ukrainian composer Dmytro Stetsiuk Te Deum for mixed choir a capella and draw the attention of the choir conductors, who would like to insert to their music collectives a masterpiece, written in the tendencies of modern music and that can be performed either in the liturgy or in concerts. The methodology of the exploration is based on the combination of the general scientific (historical and comparative) and special musicological( of the genre, general and the dramaturgical-intonational analysis), that gives the opportunity to regard the historical basics of the Catholic liturgic tradition, and from another side-see the ways of its development and renovation. Scientific Novelty. The research is the first analysis of Te Deum for the mixed choir in the context of the modern tendencies of Ukrainian composers. Conclusions. The analysis of Te Deum for the mixed choir a capeella by Dmytro Stetsiuk in the context of religious music and in the sphere of the creative search of the modern Ukrainian composers proves the fact, that this masterpiece is written in the liturgic tradition and develops it in the intonational side. Componist completely uses the canonic text, but gives his own regard for it, also understanding of the main idea. The traditional melody of Te Deum from one side gives the unity of the composition, from another gives the basics for the modern stylization, because of intonation, voice tembre (the unity of the different groups of the choir), harmonical, factual (harmony and polyphony). This way are revealed individual traits of the composer and also the modern regard on the medieval liturgic text. The exploration of the masterpiece`s score gives the reason to be sure, that it is not only in the liturgical tradition, but also can be performed in the concert hall.

Կոմիտասին և հայոց ցեղասպանությանը նվիրված Տիգրան Մանսուրյանի երկերը

Among the works, dedicated to Komitas and the Armenian Genocide, the oeuvre of the outstanding contemporary Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian (born 1939) holds a special position. T. Mansurian addressed this topic back at the end of the 1960s. Most notable are, however, his large-scale compositions, created over the past decade, such as Concerto No. 4 for cello and string orchestra, "Where is thy brother Abel?" (2010), Requiem for soloists, mixed choir and chamber orchestra (2011), Sonata da chiesa for viola and piano (2015). The musical language and stylistic peculiarities of the above works testify to the fact that T. Mansurian is a direct successor to Komitas' creative traditions and an innovator, too, whose works have largely enriched contemporary Armenian music, imparting a new quality to the Armenian compositional thought.

Կոմիտասից դեպի Բեթհովենյան տիրույթի որոշ տարրեր

Հոդվածը քննարկում է Կոմիտասի կրած գերմանական ազդեցությունների որոշ հարցեր։ Մասնավորապես՝ քննարկվում է գերմանացի կոմպոզիտոր Լ․վ․ Բեթհովենի Op. 57 սոնատի թեմատիկ մոտիվի ակնհայտ նմանակումը Կոմիտասի լարային կվինտետում, որը Բեռլինում ուսանելիս իրականացված աշխատանք է։ Քննարկվում է նաև գերմանացի գրող Վ․ Գյոթեի երկու բանաստեղծությունների երաժշտական մարմնավորման հանգամանքը ինչպես Կոմիտասի, այնպես էլ Բեթհովենի կողմից։ Եթե Կոմիտասը ստեղծել է երկու առանձին երգ դաշնամուրային նվագակցությամբ, ապա Բեթհովենը երկու բանաստեղծությունների հիման վրա ստեղծել է մեկմասանի կանտատ երկսեռ երգչախմբի և սիմֆոնիկ նվագախմբի համար։ The article discusses some issues regarding the German influence on Komitas. In particular, the author focuses on the resemblance of the subject of L. v. Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 (known as Appassionata) to that of Komitas’s string quintet, which he wrote while studying in Berlin. The article also examines the musical embodiments by both Beethoven and Komitas of the German writer, poet J. W. Goethe’s two verses. Beethoven composed a single-movement cantata for mixed choir and symphony orchestra, while Komitas, basing on the same two verses, created two separate songs with piano accompaniment.

13. Transfigurations and Interferences of the Ballad Master Builder Manole with the Opera Genre. Choral Polychromies

One of the fundamental myths of the Romanian literature, Master Builder Manole had various approaches in the opera genre. On individual stylistic paths as musical language and show formula, Alfred Mendelssohn, Gheorghe Dumitrescu, and Sigismund Toduță reinterpreted the myth of the human sacrifice, in an extremely nuanced approach of the transfiguration of the ancient folklore. The choral inserts are polychromatic, having different forms and formulas: men choir, female choir, mixed choir, choral conglomerations. The three composers wrote a romantic music, in terms of content, and a classic one, in terms of the formal elements themselves.

"EPIGRAPH BY COUNT TOLSTOY TO HIS NOVEL "ANNA KARENINA" BY R. SHCHEDRIN: PARADIGM OF POLYPHONIC THINKING

Rodion Shchedrin's choral work represents the most interesting area of modern musical culture. The object of the analysis is the composition "Epigraph by Count Tolstoy to His Novel "Anna Karenina" for mixed choir a cappella as a demonstration of the key feature of Rodion Shchedrin's compositional style — polyphonic thinking. This aspect becomes an argument for the relevance of the topic. Through the synthesis of research methods, the parameters of musical composition are studied: literary source, musical form, texture, and melody. In addition, the author reveals the "Russian theme" in the choral work of R. Shchedrin, identifies the specifics of the composer's individual choral style, and defines the aspects of polyphonization of the means of musical language. The "Epigraph" explains the main idea of L. Tolstoy's novel and concentrates on the most important contextual continuum development of all the events that take place. A wide semantic field of textual basis becomes an impulse for polyphonization of all musical expressive means. Polyphony as an idiom of R. Shchedrin's composer's handwriting is born, among other things, in the fusion of artistic trends and styles. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the literary basis of the "Epigraph", woven from historical, theological, philosophical, artistic and poetic layers, required a synthesis of traditional and innovative musical expressive means — "a new polyphonic word" in the author's expression of the main paradigms of the Russian theme by R. Shchedrin.

ARTISTIC IMAGES OF S. SIROTIN'S POEM "THE DEATH OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE": SATIRICAL TRAGIC ASPECT

The work of the Russian composer Sergei Ivanovich Sirotin (1941–2014) occupies a unique niche in modern music. However, there is not much information either about the composer or about his choral work. The article focuses on Sirotin's poem "The Death of Ivan the Terrible" written for a mixed choir. The essay chosen for research clarifies the degree of reflection of the aesthetic categories of the tragic and the comic. The author analyzes the artistic images through the prism of these categories. Special attention is paid both to the identification of the tragic beginning in plot collisions of the work and its images, and to the comic in its various forms. The choral poem presents elements of folk laughter culture (parody, grotesque), as well as a character that performs a carnival and ritual function. In conclusion, the author states that the images embodied in the poem are the bearers of both tragic and satirical tragic elements, and indicates the features of musical characteristics that contribute to their expression in artistic images. It is argued that at the conceptual level of the work, the tragic and satirical tragic beginnings are opposed to each other.

Mixed Choir and Instruments in the Composition of the Worship Music of the Stations of the Cross

The station of the cross is an event of the Passion story of Jesus Christ carrying the cross from the Pilate’s palace to the hill of Golgotha. On that journey, Jesus endured torture and humiliation, both from Roman soldiers and Jews. Based on this story, the objective of the research is to describe the process of developing a new compositional composition based on the story of the journey in the format of a choir and a musical ensemble. The research method used in this research is descriptive qualitative. Data collection was carried out through observation, interviews, and documents. After all data has been collected, the next process is to determine the use of scales, instrumentation, and composition based on rhythmic and melodic motifs, time signature, key signature, tempo, and composition of song texts. The choice of musical signs is adjusted to the meaning of the lyrics used. The composition of the Song of the Station of the Cross which is composed is a combination of a mixed choir consisting of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass with a musical ensemble. The novelty of the composition of the Song of the Station the Cross lies in the use of the style of baroque passions (1600-1750), aria, and recitative combined with modern harmonies, namely the use of the seventh tone, the ninth tone, and the thirteenth tone of a chord, and the use of Indonesian as the whole text of the composition

János Jagamas’ Folk Song Arrangements

"The aim of the following study is to present János Jagamas’ vocal folk song arrangements by analyzing the melodies and the compositional methods used within the works. During his scientific work at the Folklore Institute of Cluj-Napoca, the outstanding folk music researcher uncovered and recorded reliable data by collecting, recording, analyzing, and classifying not only Hungarian but also Romanian and Bulgarian melodies. He processed some of the melodies he gathered using a variety of compositional procedures. The works are recommended for children, youth, and amateur choirs, so it is important to get to make them known among music teachers and conductors. Keywords: folk song adaptations, homogeneous and mixed choir works, polyphonic and homophonic editing techniques."