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Vasilenko the swan lagged behind in the analysis of the choral work. Vasilenko, Sergey Nikiforovich - the swan lagged behind

The work of the oldest, remarkable Soviet composer Alexander Abramsky is widely known to music lovers.

After graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, a student of N. Ya. Myaskovsky, Alexander Abramsky at the very beginning of his creative way, experienced the charming and domineering power of the influence of folk musical creativity; since that time, everything that the composer created is inextricably, vitally connected with folk musical art, especially with Russian folk music and song. For more than 40 years, while traveling around his native country (Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Ryazan, Moscow, Kurgan and other regions), the composer selected and recorded folk instrumental music, songs; the result was collections: folklore - “Songs of the Russian North”, “Russian Folk Dogs” for children and “Modern Russian ditties” recorded and processed by A. Abramsky, a large cycle “Northern Lights”, based on the musical folklore of the Finno-Ugric peoples. Under the influence of the richest impressions during travels and folklore expeditions, he wrote a five-part suite for the folk choir “I walk on the good land” and music for the folk performance “Strong, Courageous and Skillful”. But not only folk music, the song captivates the composer, he is excited and inspired by topics especially close to the people. One of the most significant works is the many-hour cycle “We sing about Lenin” (for Russian folk choir).

“We, composers, must look closely, listen to folk art in all its diverse manifestations, learn and widely use in our work all the inexhaustible richness of folk musical speech,” says the composer. In search of new expressive means, the composer invariably turns to folk musical colloquial speech. A. Abramsky - composer, tireless creative search; in each of his works there are features of the new, and this new is always prompted by life itself: the oratorio "A Man Walks" is dedicated to the theme of patriotism, labor, love. In the recently created oratorio “Khorovody”, the composer unites the Russian folk choir, its soloists, the academic choir, its tenor soloist and a large symphony orchestra.
A special section of the composer's work is occupied by arrangements of folk songs. A magnificent connoisseur of folk art, Russian ancient and modern folk music, songs, their various genres and regional styles, a composer who owns genuine high skill and invariably impeccable taste, a man in love with Russian "song, who shined her whole life, bound by creative friendship with such choirs, such as the state Northern, Ryazan, Volga folk choirs, the Academic Russian Choir of the All-Union Radio and Central Television.A special, long-standing friendship connects A. A. Abramsky with the latter: the choir is the first performer of the composer's works, which were included in the "gold fund" of sound recording and are often performed on the radio.

Russian folk songs in the arrangements of A. Abramsky can be distinguished from thousands of others by the special charm of music, by its such deeply Russian discreet beauty, which is akin to the beauty of a summer field, a winter steppe, a spring meadow or a bizarre pattern of autumn forest branches. everything is simple, understandable, and infinitely close, dear to everyone who loves a Russian song, as a particle of the great Motherland.
The collection brought to your attention includes choral works based on verses by Soviet poets, songs taken from the repertoires of regional choirs: Volzhsky (“Volga River”, words by V. Bokov, “Volzhanochka Girl”, words by V. Semernin), Ryazansky (“What would life flourished”, “The earth is getting younger”, words by G. Georgiev), Severny (“Northern round dance”, words by L. Vasiliev), Academic folk choir of the All-Union Radio and Central Television (“Steppe Eagle”, broken by D. Martynov, “Neither edge , no end”, words by V. Semernin, “In a clean field”, words by V. Bokov).
The collection also includes folk songs recorded and edited by A. Abramsky: “Vanya bought a scythe”, “You are girlfriends”, “The swan lagged behind” (Arkhangelsk region), “My child, child”, “There is no one to spend the night with "(songs of the Moscow region).
The collection is addressed to Russian folk choirs (professional and amateur), as well as a material for the study of Russian musical folklore.
G. Pavlova

  • 1. Choirs
    • No edge, no end. Words by V. Semernin
    • The earth is young. Words by G. Georgiev
    • For life to blossom, Words by G. Georgiev
    • Volga river. Words by V. Bokov
    • Steppe Eagle. Words by D. Martynov
    • And our river is wide (Northern round dance). Words by L. Vasilyeva
    • Housewarming. Words by V. Bokov
    • My falcon has flown. Words by D. Martynov
  • II. CHORUS, PARTS
    • Balalaika - sister. Words by V. Semernin
    • In a clean field. Words by V. Bokov
    • Girls are Volzhanochki. Words by V. Semernin
    • I won't quit. Words by V. Bokov
    • All the gardens have turned white since that week. Words by V. Bokov
    • Behind the outskirts is a white branch. Words by V. Kuznetsov and V. Semernin.
  • III. RECORDING AND PROCESSING OF RUSSIAN FOLK SONGS
    • My child, child
    • No one to spend the night with
    • Tomorrow is a holiday,
    • The swan lagged behind
    • servants, you are girlfriends
    • Vanya bought a braid,
    • What is the bright month
    • spinner
    • Yavrysh ditties
ANALYSIS of the Choral Work “In the Starry Hour…” Words by E. Remizov music by M. Zakis

Modris Zakis is a Latvian composer. It is known that, in addition to this work, he wrote the choral work “Will He Come Soon”.
Evgeny Remizov is the author of spiritual poems, such as: "Holy Spirit", "Ascension", "Trinity".
This poem has two versions of the text. The first, about a person's personal conversation with God:
At the star hour

In the quiet hour of the night
God and silence are with me.
All the pain of the soul, suffering
And I bring grief in prayer to him.

And pours over me
In that starry hour of the saint
With a wonderful radiance
the eternal light of God.

And I see the path before me
Leading to heaven.
In the starry hour of the saint
God and silence are with me.

The second tells about the birth of Christ:

In the quiet hour of the night

In the quiet hour of the night
In the bright light of the stars
Christ came into the world, Emmanuel,
The heavenly son has come to our world.

The whole world's sin, suffering
And sorrow, and all the guilt of people,
He will bear the pain of the earth.
One whole load of sin
He will take over.

And poured over the earth
In that quiet hour of the saint.
By the radiance of a gentle star, a wonderful light,
that burns above.
And to all the living says:
"From these mangers to the cross
He will make His way."

Oh, how the star burns!
God gave Christ to the world
And there is salvation!
Praise and praise
Christ for all his love!

In the star hour of the night
Quiet God bless
God speaks to the earth:
"God is with you!"
Peace be with God, and holy peace.

Although the second text is more meaningful, I think that in terms of the content of the musical material and the text, the first is the most appropriate.
It speaks of prayer, the conversion of a person to God and the grace that descends on people who sincerely pray, the comfort that prayer brings.

II. Musical-theoretical analysis

The choral work by M. Zakis “In the Finest Hour” was written for a mixed 4-voice choir a capella.
The genre of the work is song.
A simple 3-part reprise form with a coda.
The chordal texture prevails throughout the work.
Part I - a period consisting of two sentences of 10 measures.
Part II - a period consisting of three sentences, the first is 10 measures, the second - 6 measures, the third - 11 measures.
Coda - a sentence of 9 measures.
The predominance of chord texture.
melodic line. In each part, in different voices, the same motive is repeatedly repeated, but it sounds in different keys: the leitmotif of the night. It is built on the sounds of a major triad - this gives stability to the theme. In the first movement and coda, the motif starts from the first beat, in the middle - because of the bar:

In the first part, the melody sounds alternately in different voices (bars 1-5). After showing a theme consisting of a leitmotif that sounds 4 times, the melody becomes more dynamic due to ascending eighth moves. This creates a tension that resolves in bars 8-10 first in a downward movement, then on a single note:

Then the melody moves to the violas (10-14). There are few jumps in it, only in bars 11 and 13 there are fourth-fifth jumps, which gives the melody a dramatic effect. And the theme of the violas ends with a subdominant quint-sextaccord with increased prima without permission from the whole choir.

Then the melody again passes to the first sopranos, and the chord only in the 15th measure comes to its resolution.
The melody moves without jumps, tension is achieved by repeating m.2, which is uncharacteristic for e-moll (raising 4 steps) in 15-16 bars and melodic minor in the cadence (bar 19):

The second movement begins with a double introduction of the main theme in the keys of G-dur and C-dur due to the beat of the soprano:

characteristic feature the second part is the undulation of the melody: the alternation of ascending and descending strokes. During the climax, the melodic line reaches its peak, then the echo of the climax (its appearance begins with a jump to b.6, measure 44) ends with a gradual descent of the melody at the women's choir. And it ends with a constant melody in the tenor third range, the rest of the choir holds one note:

The coda begins with four passages of the theme, towards the end the whole choir sings two motives on one note, which are separated from each other by 5 in the soprano. Within the first motive there is a transition from natural to harmonic.
The work ends with the singing of the second sopranos (the second division of the soprano, the first - at the climax) while the whole choir pulls a note.

Rhythm. The first and third parts are characterized by a certain rhythmic pattern:

Another, sharper, rhythmic pattern is characteristic of the second sentence of the first part and the entire second:

Tempo - Adagio. In the second part, the tempo becomes more mobile (piu’ mosso). The agitated movement, the increase in dynamics, the undulations of the melody and the lyrics all create tension that builds towards the climax. After the climax, the tempo becomes Adagio again, which tells us about the calm. At the very end of the work, the tempo slows down even more and leads us to complete peace after a tense climax.

Dynamics. The product begins with p and in the first part does not increase by more than mf. The first part is a demonstration of the situation in which the author is: there is silence around, he turns to God to alleviate suffering - there is no need for loudness here.
But in the second part there is a dialogue with God, who sends his grace-filled light to the one who asks, and the light fills the author, inspires, illuminates him - all this is also expressed in dynamics: a gradual increase from mf to ff at the climax.
In the third part, peace sets in, harmony with oneself, silence again, so the dynamics gradually subside to pp.
tone plan.
The work is written in a parallel-variable mode (e-moll - G-dur), which is due to the content: the minor sounds in the first part, which tells about the suffering of a person, major - in the second, which tells about God's light that descended on the prayer .
At bars 25 and 40 there is a deviation in C-dur, which resulted from the sequence. The deviation gave the sound more solemnity.
Harmonic analysis.

III. Vocal-choral analysis
The range of the 4-voice work "In the Finest Hour" is expanded, which corresponds to its character.
Range:
Soprano: Tenor:

Alto: Bass:

Tessitura conditions, in general, are convenient for execution. All parties sing in their own range. Basically, the approach to the extreme notes of the range of sopranos and basses is carried out gradually, without jumps.

However, the bass part often contains fifth and octave jumps, which can be difficult to perform, so you need to study these places separately. For training, while singing, it is recommended to sing exercises for fifths and octaves with a delay on the top note.

In the soprano part, the approach to the climax on A of the second octave should not be difficult, since the approach to it is gradual and without jumps, it is sung on ff, which is convenient when singing high notes, and since this is the culmination of the work, she is on a spiritual upsurge sing easily.

Structure is an artistic and expressive category, and intonational shades of vocal sound are one of the means of musical expressiveness. The members of the choir must be brought up and trained in such a way that they are able to quickly tune in to the tonality set by the choirmaster, can be sensitive to the need to raise, “sharpen”, or slightly lower, adjust to the general tone, tempo, rhythm, dynamics. For a good unaccompanied choir, two conditions are important:
the need for preliminary tuning (setting the tone by the choirmaster);
the need for constant active vocal-auditory (intonation) control in singing by the choir members and the conductor.

melodic structure. In this work, all parties are full-fledged and have a number of common difficulties:
1) Descending singing of a major triad - there is a desire to sing the prima lower than it is, therefore, when singing, it is necessary to create a feeling of the proximity of each note and singing with overstatement:

2) Singing one note for a long time can also lead to an understatement, so you need to sing with a feeling of elevation. The same applies to singing several syllables on one note:

3) Execution of second intonations down (see example 12). As an exercise, you can use the singing of scales on tetrachords up and down.

In the parts of the male choir, it may be difficult to sing jumps from part 4 to part 8 separately. Difficult places should be taught separately; singing octaves is recommended as an exercise.

Harmonic build. The work encounters difficulties with
from the point of view of the harmonic system: change of keys (see example 14), harmonic and melodic mode (see example 9), long chanting on a closed mouth of one note (see example 12).

Working on difficult places requires special attention. Among the main methods are:
1) Intonation "out of rhythm", i.e. by the conductor's hand, using a fermat on separate, difficult-to-build chords.
2) Singing solfeggio, per syllable, with a closed mouth, which helps to timbre build musical material.
3) The alternation of intonation "to oneself" with intonation aloud, which contributes to the development of internal hearing.
A good order in the choir is the result of the conductor's constant attention to it, the correct vocal education of the singers, and the creation of an atmosphere of increased auditory control not only for intonation, but also for all means of musical expression.

Metro-rhythmic ensemble. There are no complex rhythmic patterns in the work. Throughout the whole work there are two rhythmic formulas that should not be difficult to perform, it is only possible not to listen to notes with a dot (especially in the second part due to the acceleration of the tempo), loss of pulsation on a long note:

Work on the meter-rhythmic ensemble in the choir begins with the development of a sense of pulsation in the singers, the alternation of strong and weak beats, and then the development of a sense of the ratio of durations. The formation of a metrical ensemble in the choir is closely connected with the development of the skills of simultaneous breath taking, the beginning of singing (introduction) and sound removal (ending), with the mastery of various meters and rhythmic groups.
The following techniques can be used in the work on the metrorhythmic ensemble:
1) Slamming the rhythmic pattern of vocal parts;
2) Pronunciation of the musical text by rhythmic syllables;
3) Singing with tapping of intralobar pulsation;
4) Solfegging with the division of the main metro-rhythmic beat into smaller durations;
5) Singing at a slow tempo with a splitting of the main metric beat, or at a fast tempo with an enlargement of the metric beat.

Tempo Ensemble. Tempo (from Latin Tempus - time) - the speed of performance, expressed in the frequency of alternation of metric parts. The tempo determines the absolute speed of the performance of the piece, as opposed to the relative speed. This is an important expressive means in a choral work. Deviations from the correct tempo lead to a distortion of the musical image, mood. When building a tempo ensemble in a piece, the conductor must find the optimal speed of performance. The first part is sung calmly, the second - with movement, the third - also calmly and slows down at the end. The choir needs to watch the conductor's hand so as not to diverge in tempo, this is especially important when changing tempos. And the conductor, therefore, needs to accurately show the speed of each tempo and the transition from one tempo to another.

Dynamic ensemble - balance in the strength of voices within the party and consistency in the loudness of the sound of choral parts in the general ensemble. The dynamics of this work is contrasting: from pp to ff. The dynamics of the first and third parts are not louder than mf. The climax, which takes place in the second movement, is held on ff.
Each part should achieve a simultaneous culmination and equivalent dynamic shades, in which none of the parts will stand out from the composition and will listen to the sound of the rest. The tenuto in measure 16 must be taken into account. When singing on pp, sluggish, toneless singing should be avoided. Breathing should be active, diction - clear and intelligible.

Timbre Ensemble. The brightness of the timbre colors of the choir depends, as well as on the natural singing voices, and on the vocal work carried out by the conductor. In a novice choir, work on a timbre ensemble is aimed at eliminating timbre variegation in choral parts and creating integral timbre combinations. The conductor should remember that this problem can be solved only if the parties develop one manner of forming the vocal sound.
The attack of the sound is soft, there is a slight, barely perceptible beginning of singing, characterized by a soft convergence vocal cords. When using a hard attack, the choirmaster must carefully monitor that the singers do not have a moment of reconnection of the chords, which is expressed by the sound being compressed, acquiring an unpleasant throaty shade. The whole work requires saturation, filled with timbre sound, in order to show the whole deep philosophical meaning of the work.

Dictionary Ensemble. It is necessary to achieve a clear, simultaneous, intelligible and, most importantly, meaningful pronunciation of a literary text.
The first technical task of the choir in working on diction is to develop the correct and simultaneous pronunciation of the words of the choral combination. It is necessary to comprehend the text: correctly place logical stresses in phrases.
Diction
To achieve good diction, you must:
1) Sing a syllable with a covered rounded sound;
2) Clearly pronounce the endings of words without pushing or shouting them out. All consonants at the end of words are pronounced especially clearly and definitely (words: sorrow, wonderful, light, heaven).
3) Work on the pronunciation of whistling and hissing consonants, they must be pronounced briefly and carefully (words: holy, light).
4) According to the rules in the word “God”, the ending will not be [g] or [k], but [x].
5) Attach the last consonant to the first consonant of the next word.
In order to achieve dictional clarity in the choir, it is necessary to read the text expressively. choral work in the rhythm of the music, highlighting and processing difficult-to-pronounce phrases. It is useful to sing various tongue twisters as exercises.

Breath. Singing breathing plays a huge role in sound formation. This piece uses chain breathing.
With chain breathing, the singers of the choir do not take at the same time, but sequentially one at a time. The use of the chain breathing technique lies in the fact that it is a collective skill, which is based on the upbringing and feeling of the ensemble among the singers.
Basic rules of chain breathing:
1) Do not take a breath at the same time as a neighbor sitting next to you;
2) Do not take a breath at the junction of musical phrases, but only if possible inside long notes;
3) Breathing to take imperceptibly and quickly;
4) To merge into the general sound of the choir without a push with a soft attack intonation accurately “without an entrance”;
5) Listen carefully to the singing of your neighbors and to the general sound of the choir;
Breathing should be easy, but not shallow, as there is a danger of a sluggish, dull sound without support, which should be avoided.

IV. Performance Analysis
The work of M. Zakis “In the Finest Hour” sets artistic tasks for conveying content to listeners.
The performance of a work requires not only unconditional mastery of technical skills, but also a high vocal and general cultural level.
To reveal the holistic artistic image of the work, its content, it is necessary to consider the semantic points that need to be approached. Phrasing and dynamics are clearly visible in the work, which most often includes a movement to the top of the phrase and a decline in development. Such a wave principle emphasizes the main word, the idea that you need to come to.
The top of the first wave falls on the 16th beat. The monologue of the violas leads us to it. It was not in vain that the author entrusted the words: “I bear all the pain of the soul, suffering and sorrow in prayer,” - the viola. Their low rich timbre is the most suitable for conveying to the listener all the pain of a person. And the choir, supporting them by singing with a closed mouth, creates intimacy, emphasizes the depth of the torment of the worshiper. Then, like a cry from the heart, the whole choir picks up the singing of the violas and the climax of the first movement sounds. To make the climax more dramatic, small seconds, an octave jump in bass, high tessitura in tenors, and accents on each syllable in the word "suffering" are used:

After the climax, the intensity subsides, but the tension remains and the sadness does not go away, it only becomes a little lighter due to the consonance and melodic harmony.

The whole second part tends to the climax of the work. This is expressed in the tempo, tessitura, dynamic shift and expansion of the score. In bars 32-35, the sopranos already solo, which is also justified: their high, bright voice is associated with spiritual purity, grace, and the choir, as it were, shows the path where the soul is moving.

In bars 42-43, the long-awaited culmination of the work comes, because the whole second part of the music aimed precisely at them, tension grew, but not negative, but precisely the expectation of God's light, which is about to shed on the worshipers. It has everything: the high tessitura of the entire choir, the dynamic explosion, and beautiful words.

The emotional intensity of this climax is so strong that it can lead to forcing. This work does not accept screaming, there are no passions here, it is sung about a high spiritual uplift. The soul does not cry out to God - it asks. For a greater sensual understanding of the culmination, it is recommended to sing it on the pp, as was often used by Rachmaninov, the so-called "silent climax". From this, the performers will feel the trembling of the soul during prayer, and they will no longer have the desire to force the sound. Having sung in this way, you need to ask to remember the feeling and reproduce it when singing on ff.
The conductor must emotionally, vividly and prominently show these culminations. An important task faces the conductor in showing the content through the conductor's gesture. Sound shaping culture should match the mood and reflect sublimity. Therefore, the gesture should be smooth, soft. The shape of the brush should remain covered, "dome-shaped", which indicates a covered, academically high sound position.
Legato techniques are performed with a soft, "melodious" hand, similar to the bow of a stringed instrument, which allows you to combine a phrase, perform changes in harmonic consonances in one wide breath. Depending on the nature of the work, the dynamics, changes will be observed inside the legato gesture. Light legato on p and pp is carried out with a small amplitude gesture, as if with a “weightless” hand. On f, on the contrary, wide and energetic.
In order to create a vivid artistic image when performing, the conductor must be very precise in his gestures: accurately show the introduction of choral voices, sound removal, breathing, accurately and expressively convey all dynamic shades. The gesture should be neat, clear, collected. Particular clarity should be present in the shade pp. The conductor's hand should also reflect the melodic pattern of the parts.
For active and good breathing of the members of the choir, preparedness, clarity of introductions and withdrawals are required, achieved by comprehending phrasing, compositional structure and understandable auftacts. The role of auftaktov here is especially great - in particular, in the exact display of the introduction of voices, as well as at the end of phrases for consonant sounds.
It is important for the conductor to determine the role of each voice in the general choral texture. In the general choral sonority, there is no division into any solo part, only at some moments it is necessary to give the opportunity to sound a specific part so that it is not drowned out by others.
Important in performance is proper breathing and sound attack. In this work, an economical and uniform exhalation should be used. When performing high sounds in the soprano part, it is necessary to expend the least amount of breath. Otherwise, the sound will be harsh and noisy. The attack of the sound should be soft.
If you build the work correctly, then the main performing principle - integrity, continuity of movement - will be achieved with the greatest success.
Starting to learn compositions with the choir, first of all, the performers need to talk about the theme and range of images embodied in this work. You need to introduce them to both the author of the words and the author of the music. Then it is recommended to play the entire score on the piano, thereby introducing the performers to specific musical material. To achieve an artistic performance of a work, it is necessary, first of all, the attitude of the singers themselves to this composition. Understanding, penetration into its content will contribute to the expressiveness of the performance.
The conductor plays a huge role in the work on the work - he is the main performer. Each sound, each phrase, each word, the general mood in the work must be promptly prompted to the choir with your gesture, facial expressions.
Before starting to work with the choir, the conductor independently studies the work, "nursing" it, develops a conductor's gesture that reflects the musical concept of the work. When learning this composition begins, you need to work with the team separately on each part. Solmization is needed, and then solfegging of voices based on pulsation, work on the purity of intonation in especially problematic places in terms of vocal technique, as well as rhythm. If, in each part separately, the sound of the unison in the intonation, timbre, rhythmic ensemble corresponds to the conductor's intention, you can start working on the ensemble, building in a holistic choral sound. The next stage of work is learning with a literary text. Pay attention to difficulties in subtext, work on competent diction (according to all the previously mentioned laws of vocal pronunciation of the text). It is also necessary to do phrasing, take into account agogics, tempo changes, comprehend the nature of the work, expressively perform each musical idea and the entire composition as a whole in accordance with the gesture of the conductor.
The problem of the relationship between artistic and technical elements in choral performance occupies an important place in the work on a choral work. Many choirmasters believe that the artistic period in the work should begin after the technical difficulties have been overcome: first one should learn the notes, and then work on the artistic finish. It is not right. The most correct and effective method of work will be such a method of work in which the conductor, learning, for example, the part with the violas, gradually brings it closer to the character, which, according to the composer's intention, is close to a concert performance. Most importantly, when working on vocal and choral technique, the conductor must see one goal in front of him - the masterful disclosure of the ideological and artistic essence works and associate with this purpose the nearest technical tasks.
Only by achieving the coherence of the ensemble and the meaningfulness of the performance, it is possible to truthfully and fully convey the content of the work to the listener.
Thus, the performance of this choral work requires both the conductor and the choir team to have a high musical and aesthetic culture, flexibility of sensitivity based on professional skills and choral technique.

Conclusion
In the work of M. Zakis “In the Finest Hour”, written for a mixed 4-voice choir a capella, the skill of the composer was manifested, who managed not only to create a composition harmonious in form and rich in content on the basis of small poetic lines, but also was able to penetrate amazingly subtly into the content of the literary text. The content of the musical material follows directly from the content of the poetic source.
Simplicity and clarity of presentation, combined with the masterful use of various vocal and choral performing means, complement the sincere warmth of the artistic image and the expressiveness of the musical language.
Learning works of this type enriches and develops the musical horizons of performers and listeners. Overcoming various vocal and choral difficulties in the process of working on a work enhances professional skills, helps to acquire many skills and abilities necessary for further improvement.
The choir that has chosen this work for learning and performance must have a significant vocal and choral culture and great emotionality.
The ideal conditions for the transmission of artistic content and the idea of ​​composition are high musical, aesthetic and universal culture, musicality in the broad sense of the concept, sensitivity to artistic images and interpretation of the conductor, his gesture and facial expressions.
It is also necessary for the conductor to strive to achieve the correct standard of choral sound from the ensemble, which he ultimately wants to achieve. The ability of the artistic director to properly organize all the singing activities of the team is very important.

Saint Petersburg state institute culture

Faculty of Arts

Department of academic choir

abstract

According to the discipline "Conducting"

Topic: Choral work analysis

S.I. Taneyev poems by Ya. P. Polonsky

"Evening"

Completed by a 5th year student

FIS/BZ 161-5/1 Rogoza S.V.

Associate professor class

Polyakova V.Yu

St. Petersburg, 2017

Introduction.

The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries for Russian music were sometimes unusually fast, rapid development and the emergence of new forces and trends, which is associated with a general reassessment of values, a revision of many ideas and criteria of aesthetic evaluation that had been established in the previous era. This process proceeded in sharp disputes and clashes of various, sometimes converging, sometimes opposite tendencies, which seemed irreconcilable and mutually exclusive.

The genre of landscape lyrics was formed in Europe in the 18th century in the era of sentimentalism. In the 19th century, the era of romanticism led to numerous works by composers in this genre. Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century, representatives of the "Mighty Handful" and the "Belyaev Circle" laid a rich and fruitful base, which allowed a large number of composers to grow and develop creatively, who made a huge contribution to the formation and development of choral genres.

Sergei Taneyev, Viktor Kalinnikov and Pavel Chesnokov were prominent representatives of Russian choral music at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, who managed to preserve and develop the experience gained in their work. Each of them turned in his work to the genre of landscape lyrics, using the choir a cappella and with accompaniment, mixed and homogeneous.

Sergey Taneyev wrote choral music of exclusively secular content. At the same time, his works cover a wide variety of topics: from conveying thoughts about the meaning of life through images of nature to revealing deep philosophical and ethical problems.

Sergei Ivanovich Taneev

13 11.1856 - 06 06.1915

Russian composer, pianist, teacher, scientist, musical and public figure from the noble family of the Taneyevs.

The boy's early talent was supported in the family, and in 1866 he was appointed to the newly opened Moscow Conservatory. Within its walls, Taneyev became a student of P. Tchaikovsky and N. Rubinshtein, two of the largest musical figures in Russia. A brilliant graduation from the conservatory in 1875 (Taneyev was the first in its history to be awarded the Grand Gold Medal) opens up broad prospects for the young musician. This is a variety of concert activities, and teaching, and in-depth composer work.

His work is distinguished by the content and perfection of the forms of musical embodiment. One of the most extensive sections of Taneyev's work is compositions for the choir. He wrote 37 acapella choirs and about ten vocal ensembles, often performed as choirs. In the cantatas for choir and orchestra and large choirs, the highest mastery of the composer's polyphonic skill was manifested.

The cantata "John of Damascus" (1883) was written to the words of the poem of the same name by Alexei Tolstoy, which tells about the fate of the Byzantine theologian, philosopher John of Damascus. An important role is given to the choir in the opera trilogy "Oresteia" (1984) based on the ancient plot of the tragedy of Aeschylus. Here the choral numbers are distinguished by monumentality, majestic simplicity, and epic power. The composer's last major choral work was the cantata After Reading the Psalm (1914) to verses by Alexei Khomyakov.

If we consider only a cappella choirs, their appearance can be conditionally attributed to two periods. The first period is approximately from the late 1870s to the early 1890s. This period includes the choirs "Pine" (words by Mikhail Lermontov, 1877), "Serenade" (lyrics by Afanasy Fet, 1877), "Venice at Night" (lyrics by Afanasy Fet, 1877), "Merry Hour" (lyrics by Alexei Koltsov , 1889), “King Regner’s Song” (words by Nikolai Yazykov, 1881), “I drink for Mary’s health” (words by Alexander Pushkin, 1881), “Fountain” (words by Kozma Prutkov, 1881), “Evening Song” (words by Alexei Khomyakov, 1882) and others. The choirs of this period are similar in content and form to the choral miniatures of Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Caesar Cui, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and others. Also, the choirs of Sergei Taneyev during this period do not differ in philosophical depth of thought, they do not stage especially challenging tasks before the performers. But already here one can notice a number of features characteristic of the a cappella choirs of the second period. This refers to expressive melody (“Serenade”), the alternation of chordal texture and elements of polyphony (“Venice at night”), the reception of the end of the work in the major of the same name (“Pine”) and others.

Large mixed choirs are much more complex in form and means of musical expression: "Sunrise" (lyrics by Fyodor Tyutchev), "Stars" (lyrics by Alexei Khomyakov). They are dominated by a polyphonic beginning, through musical development.

Sergei Taneyev's choral writing reaches full perfection in the cycle "Twelve Choirs a cappella", written in 1909 for mixed choirs to the words of Yakov Polonsky. In these choirs manifested most fully character traits creativity of Sergei Taneyev: expressive melodic language, colorfulness and saturation of harmony, polyphonic mastery, monumentality of form, excellent knowledge of the vocal capabilities of voices and hence the perfection of voice leading, the use of a cappella choir as an independent performing organism with unlimited possibilities of artistic expression.

Choir "Evening" refers to the works of landscape lyrics by Sergei Taneyev. By means of music, the composer subtly depicts pictures of nature, reproduces its sounds. The reflections of the evening dawn, reflected in the dewdrops, the fading ringing of bells, the distant song of the drivers, the swaying of sea foam near the shore - all the captivating beauty of the southern evening arises in the imagination when this choir sounds.

Of the poets, F.I. Tyutchev and Ya.P. Polonsky enjoyed the greatest love of Taneyev. Much in the creative image of these poets was close to the composer. Faith in a bright future, striving for an ideal, understanding of human sorrows (Tyutchev - "Sunrise", "From land to land, from city to city ...", etc.). Optimism and will in work, understanding the meaning of a human gift and ethically high beginning in relations between people, the desire to philosophically understand the life of the universe, often an allegorical interpretation of the images of nature (Polonsky "On the Ship", "Prometheus", "On the Grave", "Stars", "Evening", etc.) - all this was accepted, it was rethought and experienced by Taneyev himself as an artist.

Yakov Petrovich Polonsky

06 12. 1819- 18 10.1898

Russian writer, known mainly as a poet.

In the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski in 1840 he published his first poem. Participated in the student almanac "Underground Keys". At this time, he met I. S. Turgenev, whose friendship continued until the death of the latter.

After graduating from the university (1844) he lived in Odessa, then was assigned to Tiflis (1846), where he served until 1851; Caucasian impressions are inspired by his best poems, which brought the young official all-Russian fame.

The first collection of poetry - "Gammas" (1844). The second collection "Poems of 1845" published in Odessa caused a negative assessment of V. G. Belinsky. In the collection "Sazandar" (1849) he recreated the spirit and life of the peoples of the Caucasus. A small part of Polonsky's poems belongs to the so-called civil lyrics ("To tell you the truth, I forgot, gentlemen", "Miasm" and others). On the slope of his life, he turned to the themes of old age, death (collection "Evening Ringing", 1890). Among Polonsky's poems, the most significant is the fairy tale poem "The Grasshopper the Musician" (1859). Since 1851 he lived in St. Petersburg, edited the journal "Russian Word" in 1859-60.

Many of Polonsky's poems were set to music by A. S. Dargomyzhsky, P. I. Tchaikovsky, S. V. Rakhmaninov, S. I. Taneyev, A. G. Rubinstein, M. M. Ivanov and became popular romances and songs. "Song of a Gypsy" ("My fire in the fog shines"), written in 1853, has become a folk song.

Musical-theoretical analysis.

The musical form of this work is strophic, but it can also be said of a three-part form with a mirror reprise. The tempo of the work is Andantino, a quarter with a dot is 72. The size is variable - 6/8 and 9/8. The key is B-dur.

The tonal plan in the first measures represents plagal phrases – T-S(I-IV). In the next 10 measures, in addition to T-S, there appears different kinds seventh chords of the dominant group and II degree with a reduced VI degree. From bar 16, a sequence of 2 links begins: 16-17 m., with a deviation in c-moll.

In bar 29 the dominant is to g-moll and before bar 36 there is a deviation in g-moll. From the 37th to the 42nd measures - deviation into the harmonic G-dur. Bars 43-44 are the general culmination of the work and deviation: in the key of Es-dur and c-moll. From bar 47, the main key returns - B-dur.

The work begins with the introduction of three parties, without tenors - in the bass party there are long durations on the tonic in B flat, and in the women's parties there is a melodic movement in third and sixth. The tenors enter only in the 6th measure and there is a roll call with the basses. Further, their roll is picked up by the soprano part, forming in measure 10 the opposite melodic movement with the tenor part. The local culmination of this section is bars 12-13, with a melodic ascending movement in the soprano and syncopations in the alto part.

The second section begins with a tonic triad from the lead-in to a grand augmented seventh chord on the 1st beat, which deviates into c-moll; the sequence in bars 18-19 brings us back to the main key -B-dur. In the 20th measure, a seventh chord of the II degree sounds from the lead-in, and on the 1st beat of the 20th measure, a dominant triad sounds. In 21 measures, on the organ point of the basses, on the sound of the F of a small octave, the eighths of the duration of the remaining three parties sound, moving in parallel with the sixth and fourth sixth chords of the IV and V steps. In the 24th measure, the basses switch to the B-flat sound of a small octave, continuing to hold the organ point until the 27th measure. And at this time, it sounds in the tenor solo in the main key, in the nuance of em f. In the 27th measure, for the last eighth of the third beat, all parts, except for tenors, fall silent. Only on the 2nd beat of the 28th bar does the female group enter on the sounds of the VI degree, and in the 29th on the dominant to g-moll. Here there is a deviation in g- of the 37th measure.

In the 30th measure, on the organ point D in the tenor part, the female parts sound, moving in parallel thirds along the sounds of the dominant and tonic of the G minor, in the 31st and 32nd measures, the melodic minor sounds, as the lowered VI step G flickers in the part of the violas minor.

The bass solo from the lead-in to the 33rd measure is a melodic movement within the third from the IV to VI degree of the natural G minor, and in the 35th measure the melody gradually comes to the g-moll tonic.

In the lead-in to the 37th measure, the soprano part sounds in B-becar, but at the same time, the tenors sound E-flat on the 1st beat, which deflects the key into harmonic G major.

On the 2nd beat of the 42nd measure, a triad of the III degree to Es-dur sounds. On the 1st beat of the 43rd measure, a seventh chord of the II degree of E-flat major sounds, on the 3rd beat, it sounds passing from the dominant seventh chord to the quintsextachord, which resolves in the 44th measure into the Es-dur triad. In the 45th measure, there is a deviation in c-moll through a large enlarged seventh chord of the III degree. In the 47th bar, the tonality returns to the main -B-dur- on the 1st beat, a small minor seventh chord of the II degree sounds, and on the 3rd beat in the bass part, the G-flat -VI reduced step in B-dur sounds. Further, the harmony is repeated, as at the beginning of the work (10-14 vols.).

From the 53rd measure to the end of the work, plagal RPM T-S, as at the beginning of the work on the tonic organ point in the bass and viola parts. Only in bars 55-56 and 58-59 the melody, as at the beginning of the work, sounds in the part of soprano and tenors, forming a parallel movement in third and sixth.

Vocal-choral analysis.

This work was written for a four-part mixed choir.

General range of the choir:

Range of choral parts:

At the very beginning of the work, the female choir group has a low tessitura, and therefore the sound should be round and voluminous, relying on breathing, since the middle tessitura very often provokes breathless singing and a flat sound. In the very first phrase of the musical text in the soprano part there is a jump to the sixth in the 2nd and 4th measures. The conductor needs to work out these melodic moves with the singers so that the sound D does not sound louder than the rest of the sounds of the phrase due to the high tessitura. These jumps should sound calm, smooth, in a high vocal position, on the same dynamics as the whole phrase. The same applies to tenors in bars 6, 8, and basses in bar 7.

The introduction of tenors in measure 6 should sound on the mp speaker, not loudly, but expressively. Their phrase is echoed by the basses in the 7th measure, which should also sing their phrase softly and gently (as indicated by the composer -dolce), in the mp nuance. The sopranos in measure 7 should enter softly, neatly weaving into the overall sound, accompanying the roll call of the male parts. But already in measure 9, the sopranos echo the tenors, and then they lead the phrase together.

By bar 12, the entire chorus on the crescendo should be in mf dynamics. In the part of violas for 12-14 measures it is necessary to hear syncopations. Tenors also have a syncopation in measure 15 on the sound fa¹, which they must sing not with a cry, but easily, in a falsetto, accurately.

From the 16th measure, a new phrase begins in the poetic text, and in the musical one, it seems, also a new phrase, but it resembles the melody of the beginning of the work. Here, all parts in the nuance of mp enter from the beat, but the soprano melody, where the composer indicated the term above their part in this placeespressivo, which means "expressively". Sopranos should sound soft, light, the sounds of the upper tessitura should be formed by the singers in a high vocal position. The same applies to the tenors, who pick up the melody from the upbeat in bar 17, also in the upper tessitura. In the 18th bar, only the soprano part in the nuance p enters from the out-beat, and the rest of the parties enter on the 1st beat of the 18th bar. This second phrase is, as it were, the second link of the sequence - the melody of the 16th bar, but a third lower.

Before the lead-in to the 20th bar, the composer staged a caesura only in the tenor part, because. they end the phrase at the eighth duration. But the conductor of the choir can show the caesura to the whole choir here before a new phrase. In the 20th measure, all parts sound in the middle tessitura, which corresponds to the poetic text - “calmed down”. And with the help of a staccato stroke, three parts - except for the basses holding the organ point on the dominant - imitate "bells" from the poetic text, and rhythmic syncopations depict "discordant speech":

In measure 26, against the background of a tonic "lull", the solo of the tenor part sounds on mf, which should depict "the ringing song of the drivers" with the help of free, expressive singing. But on the diminuendo, their phrase comes to the nuance of piano on the words “lost in the dense forest”, where their part sounds alone, without the accompaniment of other parts. But on beat 2 of bar 28, the female group neatly steps in, accompanying the end of the tenor solo. And from the 30th measure, the sopranos and altos lead their phrase to pp in the middle tessitura, which resembles a phrase of 20-22 measures, but with a legato stroke, and at that time the tenor part has an organ point at the III step until the 32nd measure. The melodic jumps to the upper tessitura in the women's parts are due to the poetic text "the noisy seagull flashed and disappeared" - fourth and sixth jumps musically depict this "flickering".

From the 33rd measure, a solo begins in the bass part, accompanied by a dominant third to G-moll - F# and A. The basses should sing their solo phrase in a muffled, neat, tremulous, translucent sound, as if afraid to wake up “a sleeping child in the cradle”. Their melodic movement resembles the swaying of waves, corresponding to the poetic text: "white foam sways near the gray stone ...". The composer also added a small diminuendo on each downward movement and a piano dynamic coming to the ppp at the end of the phrase.

Three parts with the words “like pearls” enter from the bar to the 37th bar, except for the basses, which have the syllable “-nok” on the 2nd beat of the 37th bar and then the organ point on the sound G of a large octave. The female group and tenors need to pronounce the poetic text very clearly from the 37th to the 41st measure, since a lot of sound cannot be given on the ppp speaker, but due to good diction, you can compensate for this and make a phrase that is very quiet in sound, but very expressive due to the text. . "To ato p e-R lyR o-sy o-St. e-and and-t f-flaxy ka -pliP about-in and-if on whether-st yax ka - PCS a-na "- all consonants in the endings of words when singing must be attached to the next syllable.

At the culmination of the whole work (bars 43-44) in the nuance mf, and then forte, good diction is added to the rich, dense and voluminous sound: “Andv[f]k a-railway aboutth r o[ra]-With and-nk etr e[three]-P e-sch et h a-R andd Oh yeah]-G o[ha]-R a-yu-sch eth pl a-me." It is very important when singing to take into account the rules of orthoepy. Some vowels and consonants are not pronounced the way they are written. The soprano’s word “trembles” has the sound sol², which must be sung roundly, volumetrically, in the upper vocal position. Here, the correct formation of the vowel “e” in singing will help, which must be sung as [e], so that the sound is not flat and direct.

Performance analysis.

This work in the artistic sense is a picture of a summer evening, the beauty of the evening dawn, tranquility, peace.

The general dynamics of the work is piano, mp, so the conductor should be dominated by a smooth legato gesture, in a small amplitude: the fingers are connected together, but not pressed, the palms are slightly rounded, the thumb is not connected to the index finger, but freely adjacent to the hand. In 6/8 time, this work uses a two-part scheme.

It is necessary to show an accurate and understandable auftact in the nuance of the piano - a wave of the hand in a very small amplitude, the brush should show a “point” to the 1st beat of the 1st measure. It is very important to maintain a small amplitude of the gesture until the 6th measure, since the dynamics and character of the sound do not change here. In the 6th measure from the lead-in, it is necessary to show the backtact of the tenor part, which then in the 7th and 8th, 9th measures echo the basses and sopranos, who also need to show the back steps.

In bar 10, the conductor can gradually increase the gesture, showing crescendo to bars 12-13, where the nuance increases to mf. In bars 12 and 14 it is very important to show the syncopations in the viola part. This can be done by sharply lowering the hand to the 3rd eighth of the 2nd beat in bar 12 and in the same way emphasizing the 3rd eighth of the 1st beat in bar 14 in the same way. Here, in the 14th measure, it is necessary to reduce the gesture to show diminuendo to the nuance of the piano in the 15th measure and change the two-beat scheme of the 6/8 time to the three-beat scheme, since the time signature changes to 9/8. After the removal in the 15th measure, it is immediately necessary to give the chorus an auftact to the off-bar chord to the 16th measure in the nuance of mp. The second phrase must be started in the nuance of piano and the auftact should first be shown to the soprano parts (with one hand) from the out-beat, and on the 1st beat of the 18th measure, show the introduction to all the other parts (with both hands), also on the piano dynamics.

Before the 20th measure, it is necessary to show a caesura with a gesture before the off-bar introduction of all parts in the nuance pp. In measure 21, the gesture should change in the stroke – legato is replaced by staccato. The conductor's hand must make sharper up and down movements in order to convey the desired stroke, and by the 23rd bar it is necessary to slightly increase the amplitude of the gesture on the crescendo and be sure to show syncopation, but in the same legato stroke. And in the 24th bar, again reduce the gesture to the piano nuance. In the 25th bar after showing the 2nd beat of the female group, it is immediately necessary to give an auftact to the tenor part in a three-beat scheme, since the time signature changes to 9/8, in the mf nuance, with a free and melodious gesture, to legato, in the middle amplitude - this is the introduction out of step can be shown with one hand. In the 28th measure, the amplitude of the gesture decreases, and after showing the auftact to the female group on the 2nd beat in the piano nuance, it is necessary to show the 2nd beat to the tenors in the 29th measure already in the nuance pp. After that, it is necessary to show a caesura in the female parts and an aftertact to the introduction from the out-beat to the 30th measure, in the same nuance -pp. Until the 32nd measure, the gesture remains unchanged in the nuance pp.

The tenors in measure 32 must be shown to withdraw, and the auftact to the basses should immediately appear from the withdrawal gesture when they enter from the lead-in to measure 33 in the piano nuance. It is very important to choose the right, appropriate gesture in this episode, since the basses always sound thick, rich and quite loud in timbre. And in this place, a muffled, accurate sound is needed, so the conductor's gesture must correspond to the required sound - a small amplitude, the movement of the whole arm, and without separate wrist movements, the palms are open, but the fingers are collected. The gesture is to show the melodic "waves" that sound in the bass part, with the help of small crescendo and diminuendo. In bars 35-36, the indicated emphasis of sounds must be shown by hand and even a slight tempo slowdown should be made.

But in the 37th measure the tempo resumes and it is necessary to show a neat, very quiet, in the nuance of ppp, the introduction of three parts, except for the basses. At bars 38-39, the staccato stroke appears again, which must be conveyed through gesture - this phrase resembles the phrase of bars 21-22. You can make a sound thinning using a gesture for the syllables "per-", "ka-", "-ta-". But in general, over the course of 37-41 bars, the dynamics remain extremely minimal -pp, ppp.

On the 2nd beat of the 42nd bar, there is an almost sudden change in dynamics, character - mf, time signature 9/8, three-beat scheme, a free gesture of large amplitude with a crescendo to the 44th bar. In the 44th bar, the conductor must very accurately show the removal to the syncopation - the 2nd eighth of the 2nd beat - by moving the brush down and closing the fingers. This is followed by an uptact from the out-beat to the 45th measure in the mf nuance with the same free gesture.

Only in the 46th measure the dynamics decreases by diminuendo, the time signature 6/8 returns and the two-beat pattern returns. In the 47th bar, the time signature is again 9/8, and it is necessary to show the auftact first from the out-beat of the soprano part, and on the 1st beat of the 47th bar - to the entire choir, everything in the nuance of piano. In the 48th size change again to 6/8. In measure 49, the gesture gradually increases in amplitude, showing a crescendo towards measure 50. This phrase (48-52 vols.) repeats the phrase at the beginning of the work (10-14 vols.).

In measure 53, the time signature changes again to 9/8, and the gesture reduces the amplitude, since in the diminuendo chorus and in measure 54 the dynamics must be pianissimo. In the 53rd bar to the 2nd beat, it is necessary to show the transition to the tenors with a gesture with a minimum amplitude, and from the lead-in to the 54th bar, the alto and bass parts. In the 55th bar in the nuance pp, the soprano and tenor enter from the out-beat, conducting the phrase, as at the beginning of the piece, so the gesture should be minimal, unchanged, showing a gradual diminuendo towards the end of the piece.

In the last two bars of the work, the time signature changes to 9/8 and the conductor must finish the work in a three-beat pattern, in minimal dynamics, slightly restraining the tempo towards the end.

Conclusion

In Russian music at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, S. Taneyev occupies a very special place. However, the main work of his life, composing, did not immediately find true recognition. The reason is not that Taneyev is a radical innovator, noticeably ahead of his time. On the contrary, much of his music was perceived by his contemporaries as outdated, as the fruit of "professorial learning", dry office work. Taneyev's interest in the old masters, in J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, seemed strange and untimely, he was surprised by his adherence to classical forms and genres. Only later did the understanding of the historical correctness of Taneyev come, who was looking for a solid support for Russian music in the pan-European heritage, striving for a universal breadth of creative tasks.

S. Taneyev has a great merit in raising the a cappella choir genre to the level of an independent, stylistically separate type of musical creativity. His compositions were the highest achievement in Russian pre-revolutionary choral art and had a huge impact on the galaxy of Moscow "choir composers" who represented a new direction.

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