THE WORKS OF D. SHOSTAKOVICH AND I. STRAVINSKY – TWO IMPLEMENTATION VECTORS OF OSTINATO FORMS
G.A. Demeshko, K.S. Khrapov
Abstract. Ostinato is an essential and interesting phenomenon in modern musical practice. Its complexity, as well as the stylistic and technical originality of implementation in music of the 20th–21st centuries require consistent and deep study. The main goal is to answer the following questions: What are the new options for interpretation of variation ostinato forms developed in the past? What are their similarities and fundamental differences? Russian art provides a wide variety of such interpretations and, at the same time, limitless semantic and technical possibilities for ostinato. The article attempts to demonstrate that all modern ostinato modifications are based on two stylistically opposing but equally important figures – I. Stravinsky and D. Shostakovich. On an example of passacaglia implementation the authors show its cultural reinterpretation uniting both artists despite their utterly different stylistic interaction with the Baroque tradition. Shostakovich is noted to be more focused on adapting the “genre intonation” of passacaglia to a new context (Symphony No. 8), while Stravinsky is more concentrated on finding a balance between the latest systems of techniques and old-genre principles (Septet). The artists have different values in mind when interact with the tradition – its “actualization” in the former case and “alienation” in the latter. But even more important is perhaps the commitment of Stravinsky's works to the “off-genre” status of ostinato in its various interpretations. At the same time, he uses a wide range of ostinato historical prototypes and is not limited to Baroque forms. In a broad sense, the vector of the “new” ostinato of Shostakovich's works can be characterized as classical. As for the non-classical direction, it is closer to the works of I. Stravinsky and the brilliant assemblage of neo-ostinato forms and formation principles in the 20th–21st centuries, which were systematized by T. Frantova, a researcher from Moscow.
Keywords: ostinato, ostinato principles, basso ostinato, passacaglia, style interactions, variation ostinato forms, genre intonation, ostinato syntax, assimilation, alienation
Conflict of interests. The authors declare the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Demeshko, G.A., Khrapov, K.S. (2025), “The works of D. Shostakovich and I. Stravinsky – two implementation vectors of ostinato forms”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 9–19.
DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-9-19.
THE BARCAROLLE IN THE PIANO OEUVRE OF GABRIEL FAURÉ
A.V. Merzlova-Нorbach
Abstract. The article is devoted to the evolution of the piano barcarolle genre in the works of Gabriel Fauré. A review of studies on the composer's work shows that, despite the variety of approaches to studying Fauré's legacy, the nature and significance of his piano barcarolles in the evolution of the genre remain unclear, which determines the relevance of the article. The aim of this work is to examine the development of the interpretation of the piano barcarolle in Fauré's oeuvre. Based on the historicism method and the chosen periodisation of the composer's barcarolles, it has been established that, unlike his piano compositions in other genres, there is no gradual evolution in the barcarolles, which is due to the long intervals between pieces. At the same time, Fauré demonstrates his fundamental adherence to the tradition of the genre of the barcarolle. As the musical material of each piece is examined, it is concluded that the barcarolle, which is not the leading genre in the composer's piano works, fully reflects the evolution of Fauré's style and the genre of the 19th century piano barcarolle itself – from F. Mendelssohn's Venetianisches Gondellieder to pieces by A.G. Rubinstein, A.K. Lyadov, A.K. Glazunov, S.M. Lyapunov. Fauré's last barcarolles show that the composer rethought the traditional characteristics of the genre, gravitating towards polyphonic linearity and minimalism of facture.
Keywords: barcarolle, G. Fauré, evolution of genres, personal style
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Merzlova-Нorbach, A.V. (2025), “The Barcarolle in the piano oeuvre of Gabriel Fauré”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 20–30. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-20-30.
Liu Yanqi
Abstract. The article examines the phenomenon of the exceptional popularity of the Russian romance by A.A. Alyabyev “The Nightingale” based on the poem by A.A. Delvig in the European musical culture of the 19th century. The main attention is paid to the specifics of its embodiment in vocal and instrumental transcriptions of foreign musicians. The specifics of the embodiment of “The Nightingale” were also strongly influenced by the principles of bel canto with its vocal ornamentation. The key role in the popularization of the romance was played by touring European opera prima donnas G. Sontag, P. Viardot, J. Basque, A. Patti, A. de Belocca, who included it in the program of their concerts. No less important was the development of a virtuoso type of performance, formed in the work of concert soloists, primarily pianists and violinists. The compositional features of the romance (tempo contrasts, figurative program) provided rich opportunities for demonstrating technical brilliance in both vocal and instrumental versions. The melody of “The Nightingale” became the basis for numerous virtuoso instrumental transcriptions. The author examines in detail the works of F. Liszt (emphasis on piano technique, tempo contrasts, imitation of singing), Ch. Neustedt (imitation of vocal ornamentation), as well as violin arrangements of “The Nightingale” by A. Vieuxtemps and A. Kontsky (demonstration of extreme violin virtuosity: flageolets, double notes, trills in high positions). The article emphasizes the role of “The Nightingale” as an example of successful cultural transfer. The Russian melody, having retained its national flavor, was organically integrated into the European professional tradition, as it vividly embodied national identity, interest in which became an important factor in the development of the art of Romanticism.
Keywords: Russian song, “Solovei” by Alyabyev, transcription, bel canto, virtuoso soloist, romanticism
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Liu Yanqi (2025), “A. Alyabyev «Nightingale» in transcriptions of european composers of the XIX century: specificity of embodiment”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 31–41. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-31-41.
Zhou Wanyi
Abstract. The article is devoted to some stylistic and artistic principles of the cycle “Macrocosmos” by the outstanding American composer of modern times George Crumb. The metacycle “Macrocosmos” is considered in a number of other piano works by the composer. Particular attention is paid to the timbre style characteristic of the cycle, in the context of the importance of the sonoristic landscape for understanding the figurative world of the composition. The article examines the performance techniques and features of the graphic notation of the first notebook of the metacycle, however, it is noted that the main patterns of the extended technique and musical graphic symbolic notations will be traced in other parts of “Macrocosmos”. Piano music by George Crumb is unique in its unusually diverse timbre palette, the composer reveals those sound resources of the instrument that maximize its sonoristic potential. The expansion of technical and artistic sound capabilities occurs both due to the playing itself (in all possible playing zones of the piano) and by connecting the performer's voice. The use of sound amplification, the so-called “amplification”, brings new shades to the timbre palette of the composition, expanding the dynamic boundaries of the instrument's sound. The stylistic features of the macrocycle reflect the features characteristic of Crumb's compositional writing, such as polystylistics, timbre detail, symbolism of sound and graphic representation, refinement of the metro-rhythmic organization of the texture and multi-layered crosscorrelations between parts of the whole, both at the level of individual numbers and within the entire metacycle. The concept of the first notebook is presented as an immersion in Crumb's sound cosmogonic system, in which subtle connections are established between man and the universe. Music thus becomes a guide to the mystical, unknown, metaphysical world of the Spirit.
Keywords: Makrokosmos, Georg Crumb, extended piano playing techniques, graphic musical notation
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Zhou Wanyi (2025), “About some stylistic and artistic principles of the cycle «Macrocosmos» by George Kram (using the example of I notebook)”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 42–50.
DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-42-50.
М. Хайнеман
Аннотация. «Лебединая песнь» Генриха Шютца, его последнее произведение, может быть понята как попытка объединить три «слоя» музыки: музыку прошлого, проявляющуюся, прежде всего, в псалмодии (на интонационном уровне и как cantus firmus prius factus), а также в технике Kantionalsatz и ранней классической вокальной полифонии; музыку настоящего – в развитой двухорности «венецианского» происхождения и сочетании различных стилистических уровней; наконец, музыку будущего, в которой структуры музыкального развития – в конечном итоге только средства организации звучания. Философское обоснование такого сочетания трех временных уровней можно найти в «Исповеди» Августина.
Ключевые слова: Генрих Шютц, барокко, Лебединая песнь, Opus ultimum, магнификат, Псалм 100, Псалм 119, классическая вокальная полифония, техника разделения хоров, анализ музыки, духовная музыка
Конфликт интересов. Автор заявляет об отсутствии конфликта интересов.
Для цитирования: Хайнеман М. «Лебединая песнь» Шютца / пер. с нем. А.А. Мальцевой // Вестник музыкальной науки. 2025. Т. 13, № 3. С. 51–66. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-51-66.
ORGAN BUILDING IN DANZIG-GDANSK IN THE 16th – 18th CENTURIES
T.R. Bochkova
Abstract. The article is devoted to the issues of organ building in the urban space of the Polish city of Danzig-Gdansk in the 16th–18th centuries. The article examines the prerequisites that stimulated the development of culture and art in one of the richest and most economically developed cities of the Baltic region; ethnic features of the musical circles of Gdansk, in particular, the dominance of the German community, which contributed to the progress in the development of choral and instrumental, primarily organ music. The article builds a panorama of the development of organ building in the main religious communities of Gdansk – in the churches of St. Mary and St. Catherine; the names of the masters who took an active part in the construction and reconstruction of Danzig instruments are highlighted, in particular Blasius Lehmann, Julius Friese, the Nitrowski dynasty, Andreas Hildebrandt and others. The emphasis is on the North German tradition in the development of organ building principles in the design and construction of instruments in the main religious and musical centers of the city in the 17th–18th centuries. In particular, the emphasis is placed on following the sound ideal of the organ baroque sound, manifested in the orientation towards the principles of the hierarchy of the principal pyramid in accordance with the departments of the organ. The repertoire and principles of notation of the first manuscripts for the organ are considered, including the “Tabulature of Jan of Lublin”, “Gdansk Tablature”, dating back to the 16th century. They mainly present intavolatura of choral and vocal compositions, organ preambles, secular works, in particular dances, as well as opuses of contemporary composers without indication of authorship.
Keywords: Gdansk, Danzig, organ building, Nitrowski dynasty, Andreas Hildebrandt, St. Mary's Church, St. Catherine's Church, Arp Schnitger, tablature
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Bochkova, T.R. (2025), “Organ building in Danzig-Gdansk in the 16th – 18th centuries”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 67–76. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-67-76.
ON THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MISSING LINK IN THE ANONYMOUS OMNITONAL CYCLE OF THE 18th CENTURY
M.A. Serebrennikov
Abstract. One of the most important activities of a modern musicologist, which is directly related to practice and is at the service of performing musicians, is the preparation of musical texts for publication. Like any other creative activity, editorial work with musical texts is often unpredictable. In some cases, it may be limited to “cosmetic” changes (arranging accidentals, articulation, etc.), while in others it may require serious research work and even composition skills. Musical monuments lacking part of their text for one reason or another are particularly difficult to publish. The anonymous cycle of Gigues and Fughettas in all keys for the clavier, created, apparently, by someone from J.S. Bach’s musical circle around the middle of the 18th century, is one of them. The only known handwritten copy of this cycle to date, which is a part of the Mus. ms. Bach P 803 (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin), lacks the Gigue in the 7th pair of pieces. The article examines and scientifically substantiates possible ways of reconstructing the missing piece, argues in favour of their validity and provides musical samples of their implementation.
Keywords: musical textual criticism, reconstruction, omnitonal works, G.Ph. Telemann, gigue
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Serebrennikov, M.A. (2025), “On the reconstruction of the missing link in the anonymous omnitonal cycle of the 18th century”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 77–90. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-77-90.
ON THE PROBLEM OF INTERPRETATION OF THE CONCEPT OF “SQUARE” IN ENGLISH MUSIC OF THE XV–XVI CENTURIES
E.V. Svirskaya
Abstract. The article is devoted to the study of the concept of “Square” in the English music of the XV–XVI centuries, which reflects a peculiar approach to composition in that era. The paper examines the origin, possible historical origins and various interpretations of this definition proposed by foreign and domestic researchers. In modern British musicology, it is used to refer to both specifically formed monophonic melodies and compositional techniques. An analysis of the first provision allows us to trace some of the features of the use of liturgical and nonliturgical chants in English musical culture. The second one makes it possible to note a number of characteristic features of the formation of polyphony in “island” music. Examples of Squares formation and their use in the works of English composers are given, which made it possible to cover the masters of different centuries: John Dunstable, Lionel Power, Nicholas Ludford, William Mundy, and William Whytbroke. Special attention is paid to the Apon the Square Masses from Giffard's Partbooks, which are an example of the use of the Squares as a cantus prius factus in the liturgical cycle. It is emphasized that many aspects of Square remain poorly understood, and there is potential for new discoveries in this area.
Keywords: English Church Music, Renaissance Polyphony, Square, Masses Upon the Square
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Svirskaya, E.V. (2025), “On the problem of interpretation of the concept of «Square» in English music of the XV–XVI centuries”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 91–101. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-91-101.
MUSICAL FIGURES OF JOHANN CHRISTOPH STIERLEIN AS AN ATTRIBUTE OF MUSICA THEORICA
A.A. Mal’tseva
Abstract. The article introduces the reader to the treatise of the Stuttgart composer, organist and court vicekapellmeister Johann Christoph Stierlein Trifolium musicale consistens in Musica Theorica, Practica & Poetica (Stuttgart, 1691), which for the first time became the object of special research in musicology. Due to the small circulation and inaccessibility of this source, it was practically not taken into account by foreign specialists in the discourse on lists of musical figures similar to rhetorical ones. It is also noteworthy that the list of figures, partially borrowed by Stierlein from the work of Christoph Bernhard Ausführlicher Bericht vom Gebrauchen Conund Dissonantien, the Stuttgart vice-kapellmeister places not in the section Musica Poetica, as, at first glance, one would expect, but in the section Musica Theorica. This circumstance gives reason to reflect on the dynamics in the interpretation of “theoretical music” in the Italian musical theory of the 17th century, which influenced Germany, where, as German researcher R. Groth observes, there was a gradual turn towards the meanings of teoria della musica pratica and teoria della composizione. On the one hand, this brings the updated interpretation of musica theorica closer to the “Protestant” musica poetica, and on the other hand, it allows Stierlein to demonstrate his commitment to both Italian tendencies in line with the binary classification of music, and German ones, given the presence of the third part of the treatise – Musica Poetica, which does not, however, contain a list of figures.
Keywords: Johann Christoph Stierlein, German musical baroque, treatises on music, theory of music baroque, musica theorica, musica practica, musica poetica, doctrines of musical figures, Figurenlehren
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Mal’tseva, A.A. (2025), “Musical figures of Johann Christoph Stierlein as an attribute of musica theorica”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 102–113. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-102-113.
DIVERTIMENTO AS AN INTRA-CYCLIC COMPOSITION IN HARPSICHORD SUITES BY J.F. DANDRIE
L.D. Pylaeva
Abstract. The article deals with the phenomenon of divertimento in the French Baroque, which has been relatively little studied in musicology. Here are considered some examples of divertissements belonging to one of the representatives of the French harpsichord school – Jean-François Dandrieu. Their analysis makes it possible to clarify the ways of formation and evolution of the divertissement genre in keyboard music and to identify the compositional features of the works representing it. The relationship between suite and divertimento, as well as the divertimento features as an internal cyclical composition, more or less independent, are of particular interest. Within the divertissement itself, its movements perform a number of functions, the degree of severity of which varies. By including divertiments in harpsichord suites, Dandrieu perfectly demonstrates the variety of solutions, which is typical for French harpsichord composers in this field. On the other hand, the “coexistence” of the suite and the divertimento within the whole turns out to be important for the fate of the divertimento, which later, as we know, will be emancipated from the suite. Special attention is paid to the J.-F. Dandrieu’s divertimento “Les Caractères de la Guerre” (“The Images of War”), which has its own creative biography and an exceptionally original compositional idea. A comparison of the two author’s versions of this opus (for orchestra and for harpsichord) gives reason to regard it as an important step towards turning the divertimento into an independent genre of instrumental music: some of its essential features are revealed in present article.
Keywords: divertimento, suite, Jean-François Dandrieu, French Baroque, internal cyclical composition
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Pylaeva, L.D. (2025), “Divertimento as an intra-cyclic composition in harpsichord suites by J.F. Dandrie”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 114–125. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-114-125.
M.T. Agibaeva, E.V. Pankina
Abstract. This article examines the compositional and stylistic model of French secular cantatas from the first half of the 18th century. The origins of the genre can be traced back to the libretto, whose standard structure – three recitatives and three arias – was established by the French poet Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, following the Italian cantata model. From the perspective of metrical organization, all structural components of the cantatas are analyzed: three types of recitatives (declamatory, accompanied, and mesuré) and arias (three-part da capo, two-part, and one-part). Rousseau’s successors – writers such as Louis Fuzelier, Antoine Danchet, Pierre-Charles Roy, Antoine-Louis de Chalamont de La Visclède, Menesson (or Mennesson), Jean de Serré de Rieux, François-Augustin de Paradis de Moncrif, and others – created cantata librettos that either closely adhered to Rousseau’s model or introduced variations through compositional expansion, reduction, or significant individualization. Building on Rousseau’s framework, the cantata found musical expression in the works of leading composers of the period, including André Campra, Nicolas Bernier, Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, Charles-Hubert Gervais, Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, Thomas-Louis Bourgeois (also known as Joseph Bourgeois), Jean-Baptiste Morin, Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and others. The musical language of their compositions embodies the principle of goûts-réunis – a fusion of French and Italian styles – which lies at the heart of the French secular cantata.
Keywords: French music, French secular cantata, cantata, recitative, aria, Jean-Baptiste Rousseau
Conflict of interest. The authors declare the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Agibaeva, M.T., Pankina, E.V. (2025), “Compositional and stylistic model of the French secular cantata of the first half of the 18th century and its variations”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 126–135. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-126-135.
ON ALBERT SCHWEITZER’S WAGNERIANISM
R.A. Nasonov
Abstract. The phenomenon of Albert Schweitzer’s Wagnerianism is of particular interest in light of the role the Alsatian thinker played in the reception of J.S. Bach’s music. This article aims to explore the influence of late-Romantic musical aesthetics – especially Wagner’s ideal of the music drama – on Schweitzer’s monograph on the great composer. Two central problems in Schweitzer’s writings on Bach are examined: musical pictorialism and the contradiction between the number opera and other late Baroque vocal genres and the music’s inherent inclination toward continuous development. A general tendency in the evolution of Schweitzer’s views is identified. In the first, French edition of the monograph (1905), he plays on the ambivalence of the relationship between the works of Bach and Wagner, drawing the two figures closer together. This is largely motivated by a practical aim: to popularize Bach’s music by highlighting its expressive character through analogies with Wagner and the composers of program music. In the expanded German edition of the book (1908), Schweitzer sets out to sharply differentiate, even at the conceptual level, the creative natures of the two geniuses. This leads to the development of an original theory of musical expressivity, in which Bach is characterized alternately as a “poet,” a “painter,” and a “dramatist,” thereby aligning him in part with other Romantic composers, notably Berlioz and Schubert. Schweitzer is aware of the provisional nature of these parallels, yet refrains from considering the “pictorialism” of Bach’s music as a phenomenon specific to Baroque musical culture. Even more unhistorical is his critique of the vocal forms of the mature Bach and the poetic texts set to music in his mature works. According to Schweitzer’s paradoxical theory, Bach’s genius served as a kind of justification for the dogmatic structure of number opera that prevailed in his time, thus significantly delaying the movement of German music toward its ideal realization: Wagner’s music drama. At the same time, Bach’s persona is mythologized. On the one hand, he is portrayed as a conservative and conformist (in sharp contrast to Wagner); on the other, as a kind of inner émigré – a creative figure alien to his era.
Keywords: Albert Schweitzer, Richard Wagner, Johann Sebastian Bach, Guido Adler, Hermann Kretzschmar, sir John Eliot Gardiner, cantata, Passion, musical rhetoric, composer’s biography
Conflict of interest. The author declare the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Nasonov, R.A. (2025), “On Albert Schweitzer’s Wagnerianism”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 136–149. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-136-149.
SYNESTHETIC-SOMAESTHETIC MECHANISMS OF INTERTEXTUALITY IN MUSIC: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
T.A. Kornelyuk
Abstract. The article is devoted to intertextuality in music. Of primary importance to the topic of the article, as seen by the author, is the problem of the causes of intertextuality, which always relate to the sphere of the invisible (subjective and irrational-sensory). The hypothesis of the article is the following statement: the causes of intertextuality in music are hidden in synesthetic mechanisms, which the author defines as a system of external and internal (according to B. Galeev) human feelings that form the basis of the subjectivity. To analyze the problem under study, a synesthetic-somaesthetic approach is proposed, which allows one to link the causes of the dialogue between texts with common meanings, and common meanings with common feelings. Musical themes from the following compositions are given as examples: “Musical Offering” by J.S. Bach, Fantasy and Sonata in c-moll by W.A. Mozart (KV 475, KV 457) and the First String Quartet op. 51 c-moll by J. Brahms, as well as Waltz in c-moll op. 64/2 by F. Chopin and “October. Autumn Song” from “The Seasons” by P.I. Tchaikovsky. The synestheticsomaesthetic perspective of studying these themes brought about the following conclusions. The reasons for the intertextual connection of the pathetic themes of the composers of three eras are rooted in the common feelings of darkness / heaviness / tension / burden, which create a non-verbal image of feelings and thoughts heavy as chains, enriching the understanding of the pathetic as rhetorical in musical art. Common feelings in the works of F. Chopin and P.I. Tchaikovsky are understood through the graphic drawing of a wave as an image of breathing and the idea / feeling of immersion in oneself. The synesthetic-somaesthetic subjective invisible, manifested in the objective visible – musical texts – is the basis of common feelings and common meanings that determine the reasons for intertextuality in each specific unique musical text.
Keywords: intertextuality, musical art, synesthetic-somaesthetic mechanisms, text, subjectivity, synesthesia, somaesthetics
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Kornelyuk, T.A. (2025), “Synesthetic-somaesthetic mechanisms of intertextuality in music: statement of the problem”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 150–159. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-150-159.
STICHERA OF THE TROITSKIY CHANT (ON THE FEAST OF PENTECOST)
Korotkikh Pavel (hieromonk)
Abstract. This work continues the study of ancient Russian singing schools as trends of musical art. It examines the spread of the local chant that originated in the monastery of St. Sergius of Radonezh outside this monastery. The object of the study was the stichera of the 2nd ichos on “Gospodi vozzvach” on the Feast of Pentecost, with the title “Trinity perevod”, i.e. version. Several new copies of these chants are being introduced into scholarly circulation. They were found not only in the manuscripts of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery library and other monuments of Moscow Rus, but also in one of the South Russian Irmologions, probably created in the vicinity of Lviv. This fact helps to better understand the nature of cultural ties between southwestern and northern Russia in the field of church singing in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, even before the beginning of Patriarch Nikon's church reform. The analysis of the chants showed that there are a number of differences in their formulaic structure from the normative (“stolpovoy”) chant. Using the example of the stichera of Pentecost, at the intersection of syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis of different manuscripts, the peculiarities of musical and rhythmic formulas were revealed. As a result, the characteristic features or “markers” of the “Trinity perevod” have been identified.
Keywords: znamenniy chant, melodic-rhythmic formula, schools of Ancient Russian singing art, maister singing, Trinity Sergius Monastery
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Korotkikh Pavel (hieromonk) (2025), “Stichera of the Troitskiy chant (on the Feast of Pentecost)”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 160–179. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-160-179.
METHODS OF TEACHING CHURCH SINGING IN RUSSIA IN THE XVIII CENTURY (ACCORDING TO THEORETICAL MANUALS)
N.B. Zakharina, M.D. Kramarenko
Abstract. The aim of the article is to detect traces of vocal teaching of the late 17th – 18th cc. The object are exercises (prouchki) in Musical ABC’s, that were complex manual of solfeggio, vocal technique and reading of notation. The researchers task is to extract vocal part of the exercises. These type of source appeared in the 80s of the 17th c. In the next century it divided into three kinds. Exercises written with znamenny neumes were used by priestless Old-Believers. Priested Old-Believers had ABCs furnitured with the same neumes with priznaki or written with experimental notation. Ones with staff five-line notation belong to the Synodal branch of Russian Orthodox church. These three kinds of sources had never been studied together. Despite of different ways of musical writing all ABCs shoes the same or similar vocal exercises: singing of Church Gamut, intervals, and free melodies. This fact shows that in the late 17th c. Russia the vocal teaching method was formed. It is confirmed by the highest level of Old Russian choirs. Then, in the New Time, the domestic school was preserved and developed.
Keywords: vocal exercises, Chant ABCs, tradition of Old-Believers, Synodal tradition
Conflict of interest. The authors declare the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Zakharina, N.B., Kramarenko, M.D. (2025), “Methods of teaching church singing in Russia in the XVIII century (according to theoretical manuals)”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 180–192. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-180-192.
K.A. Ardasherzoda
Abstract. This article presents, for the first time, a description of the collection of music for the Tajik transverse flute, the nai. The recordings, created between 1905 and 2021, are preserved in the Golden Fund of the Archive of the Committee for Television and Radio under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. The collection comprises 158 samples recorded by 30 prominent nai performers (nainavozov). The analysis is based on several parameters: chronological periods, performers and their regional traditions, instrumental ensemble types, repertoire, and their relation to either traditional or academic music culture. Three recording periods are identified. The first includes traditional nai pieces from 1905 and 1933, performed by the renowned master Abdulqodir Ismoilov (b. 1888). The second period (1954–1989) features 61 nai pieces recorded from 10 performers, including 44 traditional compositions. Biographical data on four musicians – Naim Azimov (b. 1910), A’zam Kamolov (b. 1912), Nison Shoulov (b. 1925), and Qurbonali Yoqubov (b. 1949) – were found in additional sources. The third period (1990–2021) includes 96 pieces performed by 20 musicians. Biographical notes are provided on three of them: Khurshed Nizomov (b. 1967), Nurali Shermatzoda (b. 1964), and Masharif Homidov (b. 1963). Of the total, 55 pieces represent traditional music, while 41 compositions reflect the academic style. The collection of traditional recordings (101 items) offers insight into two regional traditions of Tajik nai music: the northern Sogdian and the southern Khatlon traditions.
Keywords: Golden Fund of the Archive of the Committee for Television and Radio under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, traditional instrumental music, archival audio collection of Tajik nai music, Tajik nai performers
Conflict of interest. The author declares the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Ardasherzoda, K.A. (2025), “Nai music in the audio collection of the Golden Fund of the Archive of the Committee for Television and Radio under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 193–199. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-193-199.
A.K.I. Zabulionite, Jiang Tao
Abstract. In order to determine to which aesthetic direction (chinoiserie / postmodernism) the pop song “The New «Drunken Beauty»” belongs, we analyze the music, performance and video of the pop song. It is shown that pop song music organically merges two musical streams: elements of traditional Chinese Peking opera with the rhythms of Western pop music (R&B, rock music).The analysis shows that the pop song music achieves the artistic state of “i-ching” that is in line with traditional Chinese aesthetics, psychology and philosophical tradition. Composer Hu Li turns to traditional musical techniques – he uses the yinqiang resonator sound characteristic of Beijing opera, melodic techniques typical of Chinese musical culture, and turns to agogic. On top of the emotionally holistic expression of the Chinese spirit that forms the basis of the musical text, Western elements are layered, giving a modern colouring to the recurring eternally true images of the Chinese perception of the world. The conducted analysis shows that in Hu Li's pop song there are no signs of postmodernist deconstruction and fragmentation of the Chinese national tradition, and the only technique that could be interpreted as postmodernist – the theme of return (set both in the lyrics and in the music, performance and music video) in fact cannot be defined as a postmodernist technique of déjà vu, because it is not supported by other fundamentally important features of postmodernism. The analysis shows that there are no signs of postmodern deconstruction and fragmentation of Chinese national tradition in Hu Li's pop song, and the only technique that could be construed as postmodernist – the theme of return (set both in the lyrics and in the music, performance and music video) cannot actually be defined as a postmodernist technique of déjà vu, for it is not supported by other fundamentally important signs of postmodernism. The return to the past and, in general, the appeal to the classical tradition is inherent in the modern Chinese aesthetic trend of chinoiserie, the essence of which we defined as stylization, which plays an important communicative role in culture. The peculiarities of recreating classical images in the pop song “The New «Drunken Beauty»” revealed in the analysis do not lead to the disintegration of classical images, nor to the violation of the holistic perception of the world. In this song we encounter a reinterpretation of tradition in the form of its stylization, thus it should be attributed to the aesthetics of chinoiserie, but not to the aesthetics of postmodernism.
Keywords: pop music, chinoiserie, postmodernism, stylisation, traditional Chinese culture, contemporary Chinese music
Conflict of interest. The authors declare the absence of conflict of interests.
For citation: Zabulionite, A.K.I., Jiang Tao (2025), “Reinterpretation of the classical tradition in the song of Hu Li and Li Yugang «The New ‘Drunken Beauty’». Part 2”, Journal of Musical Science, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 200–214. DOI: 10.63219/2308-1031-2025-3-200-214.
