The significance of the principle of concert in a modern choral concert (on the example of "Spiritual concert" by M. Skoryk)

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The significance of the principle of concert in a modern choral concert (on the example of "Spiritual concert" by M. Skoryk)

The problem

concert choral composer

The genre of choral concert is one of the most widespread in Ukrainian music. Having overwhelmed moments of golden age and decay, it has revived in recent decades, proving the importance of such phenomenon as genetic memory of the national music culture. The endurance of the genre is due to the birth of new forms of its existence, which correspond to the changed life conditions and are adjusted to the new needs of society. On this path, the genre underwent transformation of some important attributes, which have earlier defined its genre-stylistic essence and eventually lost this meaning due to extraordinarily powerful external influences. These attributes include the concert phenomenon: preserving the genre name "concert", composers quite often deprive their choral works of features of the concert phenomenon. The reasons for this have not been studied.

The analysis of recent researches and publications. Genre of choral concert has been studied in the great amount of scientific works. The concert phenomenon principles as stylistic attribute of part style music language were analyzed in the works by N. O. Herasymova-Persydska. M. Rytsareva, T. Gusarchuk, A. Kutsevych and others wrote about the concert phenomenon in choral concerts by D. Bortnyansky, M. Berezovsky, A. Vedel and S. Dehtyariov. Genre modifications of choral works of Ukrainian composers of the turn-of-the XVIII-XIX-centuries, including the aspect of the concert phenomenon, were studied by L. Parkhomenko, A. Tereschenko, L. Korniy. The problems of the revival of choral concert genre a `Capella in Ukrainian music at the end of XX - beginning of XXI centuries were mentioned in several dissertation researches and scientific publications over the last two decades (L. Ryazantseva, H. Batychko, V, Osypenko, Y. Kyrylenko and others). The examination of the existing scientific literature has shown that the problem we have chosen did not get the proper coverage.

The aim of our research is to define the reasons for conscious or unconscious rejection of immanently attributable concert phenomenon principles by modern choral concerts' authors.

We chose for the analysis work "Sacred concert" by Myroslav Skoryk as its musical language is deprived of concert phenomenon features.

The basic matter. Genre of choral concert in Ukrainian music is deeply rooted. Its beginning is bound with works of the first significantly professional Ukrainian musician Mykola Pavlovych Dyletsky (1630-1690), who lived in Kyiv (according to I. Korneev), the alumnus of Wilno school of church singing. In the second half of XVII century Wilno, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, had multi-religious environment and was integrated with European culture due to the multilevel interactions. That is why the alumni of Wilno school had excellent musical education and were familiar with the latest composing techniques. One of such techniques of the XVII century became the technique of giving concerts, which gave birth to a new style school of musical art. Nowadays, it is known as style concerto, i.e. concert style.

Eastern Orthodox Church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had polyphonic singing, which was developing during XVII century mostly in non-concert forms. At the times of M. Dyletsky, under the influence of secular and church music of the West tradition, which sounded in Wilno, polyphonic singing was enriched with features of concert style. In its depths a new genre was formed - a part song concert with principles of master performance, peculiar to secular instrumental music of Western European Baroque.

Among the main features of the concert style in the Ukrainian choral concert of Baroque and partially, Classicism, N. Herasymova-Persydska, a prominent researcher of that period indicates the following:

1. Polychoirness, operating massive choir sounding, which creates conditions for contrast of dynamics and invoice.

2. Complicated melodics of instrumental type, with prolonged figurative descants.

3. Developed imitation system, based on the principle of "contest" between voices.

4. Rhythmical flexibility of voices.

5. Rapid tempo, extraordinary mobility of every voice, constant insertions and exclusions of parts.

6. Exarticulation of several ensemble syllables (2 soloists + bass) from the choir tutti and their contrasting during the whole composition.

7. Successive joining of choirs, which creates space-phonic effects [2].

The most famous work in concert genre by M. Dyletsky is the eight-voice part song concert "Thy entered the church" ("Вошел єси во церков"). This work embodies all features of the new concert style that is why M. Dyletsky mentioned it in his treatise "Musical grammar". Features of the concert phenomenon can also be found in some other great choral cycles by M. Dyletsky - in the famous Sunday canon and Divine Services, although these compositions do not have direct relation to the genre of part song concert.

A remarkable contribution to the development of concert genre and concert phenomenon was made by another famous composer of the part song period V. Tytov (1650-1715). Until now it is not established, what composing school he belonged to and got musical education, but in the imitative-polyphonic technique of his extremely brilliant polychoir concerts and liturgies, we may feel influences of Italian Renaissance polyphonic school.

In the compositions of the second half of the XVI11 century features of choral concert genre became stable. Concert cycle developed its structure and became a body of several contrasting parts, each of which relied on certain genre ground, which were shown through peculiarities of theme and principles of musical motion. The main significance, as it had been before, was given to the features of the concert phenomenon, which determined a specific character of style of language in choral concert at that time [6]. Unlike during a part song period, a clear differentiation between concert and liturgy appeared. As a consequence, features of a concert style were removed from a liturgical cycle.

If the development of choral concert of the second half of XVII-XVIII centuries comprises the classical period and is labeled by the researchers as Golden Age of Ukrainian sacred music (L. Korniy), then its revival in the-turn-of XX-XXI centuries progresses under the name of neo-style and the genre itself gradually loses its leading position and ties with church liturgical music [5]. This happens due to a significant broadening of the genre grounds of choral music of the XIX-XX centuries. In virtue of that, compositions of concert genre are deprived of their immanent features, which include characteristics of a concert style. We come across examples of such genre transformation of sacred music already at the end of XIX century (we mark as an example famous concert "Do not reject me in senium" ("Не отвержи мене во время старости") by P. Chesnokov for bass and mixed choir). The works of composers of the turn-of-the XX-XXI centuries accelerate and increase this tendency.

As a bright example of the new approach to the definition of notion of the concert phenomenon in genre system of modern choir music we may name "Sacred concert" written by the famous Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. This work was written in 1998 and reflected the inner necessity of Ukrainian musicians in creating sacred music, as it became possible only now, after the notorious times of a long ideological ban on any demonstrations of religiousness and sacredness.

The premiere of the work was on the sixth Ukrainian international music festival "Kiev-Musik-Fest" of 1998 year (the executants are a municipal chamber choir "Kiev", the conductor is Mykola Hobdych). In 2003 the concert was edited in a new redaction.

"Sacred concert" was composed for soprano, tenor and mixed choir. The Ukrainian translations of different canonical texts are the text base. These are liturgical and commemorative prayers (Trisagion, Pater Noster, Ektenia, a requiem) and psalmus ("Who lives under the Almighty God protection", "The blessed innocent who live according to the Lord's obligation"). Some texts are repeated along with the music themes (for example, "Holy God"). M. Skoryk explained that during his work with the composition he interfered in the text to make it closer to the plan:

"I took the text and used the most important to my mind words that fit me in sounding, rhythm. However, at the same time I kept a storyline, an idea, content. <.. .> This corresponds to my tasks" [cited from 3, 421].

T. Gusarchuk calls this Concert a composition of a tragic conception, a concert-requiem where "a master thinks over a persistent problem of life and death, adding to his reasoning the religious ones, seeking agreement and answers, finding and losing them, thereby constantly - from the first till the last measure - keeping the listeners in an intense anticipation, as each of us needs this response" [3, 421].

In the Concert music the restrained emotions prevail, the slow tempos dominate (Lento, Andante, Lar- hetto), among the dynamic marks the priority is given to p mark which is overcome only in a dramatic climax ("I cry and greet") where the true tragic emotions are burst through the external restraint. The inner struggle runs "asymptomatic", varying from the side of hope to the side of disappointment, heartache and moral suffering.

The texture of the analyzed composition distinctly is divided into relief and background. The lead singers are the bearers of the melodious basis. They have separate solo parts that sound accompanied by the choir and only in one structure are united into a duet. The choir performs a background function where a chordal voice-leading with a chorale texture basis prevails. The long-term pedal notes often occur in the choral sections. Against their background the expressive melodic cues of soloists sound. The melodic lines of solo and choral parties are built on simple intonation turns close to the expressive human speech. It does not have complicated masterful vocal and intra component singing warm-up of the jubilus type being peculiar for the native choral concert genre.

The general arrangement of the Concert arises from the sequence of various text music structures, some of them are repeated over a distance. Harsh contrasts are absent here, each successive utterance as if grows from a prior one and continues it. A large number of little structures are combined into three large sections (A, B, C) that are alternated like rondeau form (А - В - А1 - С - А2) with the features of reprise (between A and А2). Such structural models are not typical for the choral concert genre which aims at rhythmicity and contrast.

T. Gusarchuk analyzing this Concert points out that the composition reflects M. Skoryk's tendency to a conscious prop on the native choral music traditions - a part concert, M. Berezovsky, Bortniansky and A. Vedel's legacy, and notes that a composer tried "to slightly refresh these traditions by the new harmonies and modulations, unexpected and keen ones", as "a transition from a canonical tradition to the new harmonies, modulations and sonsonance should be gradual" [3, 435]. The prop on the traditions causes, to a researcher's mind, the manifestation of two factors of the concert phenomenon: the first is texture-timbre dramaturgy, the second is the availability of cetrifugated arrangements. In addition to this, each of the concert phenomenon factors is embodied in a new way: the texture aspect is realized by combining a choral tut- ti, solo parts (soprano and tenor) as well as the soloists of the ensemble (a duet of soprano and tenor), imitation is embodied for reproducing the recurrent verbs dealing with the transfer of energy movement ("will save", "won't stumble", "will come") [3, 433].

The mentioned above factors can only indirectly be considered manifestations of the concert phenomenon that are typical to a choral concert genre as they are very extremely common in music and happen in the compositions of various genres. To our mind, a composer deliberately prevents the typical features of a concert phenomenon in "Sacred Concert" to reproduce the necessary figurative-emotional state associated with the penitential-requiem theme and to reflect the frankest feelings of a person who addresses to God in a rough time: a desire to pray, faith, requests, expectations, desire for the salvation of a soul, a desire to become stronger and wiser despite the tribulations.

The artful concert phenomenon would be absolutely irrelevant in such figurative-thoughtful context. The preservation of a genre name "concert" reflects a specific, individual interpretation of the genre in the works of a contemporary author. This resulted in the selection of only a few genre traits, the features of the concert phenomenon in the traditional sense turned out to be redundant.

M. Skoryk's "Sacred Concert" according to content and imagery completely comes under a definition "music of sorrow". M. Gogol wrote about music of sorrow that "it does not sound anywhere in a way it sounds at the Ukrainians" [cited: from 1], in this sense it approaches to the figurative-emotional concepts of A. Vedel's choral concerts.

The conclusions. The analysis of M. Skoryk's "Sacred concert" showed that the features of concert phenomenon indirectly typical for this genre are represented rather indirectly and this is connected with the author's individual interpretation of the choral concert genre which preserves the inner generalized philosophical pithiness and the depth, but changes the outer manifestations and techniques to reflect the informative concepts. Such aspirations are observed in the works of other composers and these are the reasons of the absence of the strongly expressed features of the concert phenomenon in the choral concerts of our times.

Thus, at the present stage of the evolution of a choral concert genre the principles of the concert phenomenon are gradually losing the sense of the obligatory genre attribute. This does not downplay the genre, but rather expands the genre boundaries by the individual understanding of its specificity and verbal and stylistic innovations.

Література

1. Герасимова-Персидська Н. О. Хоровий концерт на Україні XVII-XVIII ст. / Н. Герасимова-Персидська. - К.: Музична Україна, 1978. - 181 с.

2. Гусарчук Т. "Духовний концерт" Мирослава Скорика: концепційна трансгресія та її інтонаційне втілення / Т. Гусарчук // Науковий вісник НМАУ ім. П.І.Чайковського. - К., 2013. - Вип. 86. - С. 419-436.

3. Кияновська Л. Мирослав Скорик: творчий портрет композитора в дзеркалі епохи / Л. Кияновська. - Львів : Сполом, 1998. - 216 с.

4. Рязанцева Л. Про еволюцію жанру хорового концерту в російській та українській музиці XVII-ХХ століть / Л. Рязанцева // Музичне мистецтво [Упоряд. Т. В. Тукова, О. В. Скрипник]. - Донецьк : Юго-Восток, 2006. - Вип. 6. - С. 51-60.

5. Шуміліна О. А. Стильова динаміка української духовної музики XVN-XVIN століть (за матеріалами рукописних колекцій): Монографія / О. Шуміліна. - Донецьк : Браво, 2012. - 299 с.

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