Thirteen Five-Voice Madrigals "From Omar Khayyam's Rubayat" by Sergey Ekimov: on the Problem of the Modern Method of Analysis of Polyphonic Cycles for a cappella Choir

Koshkareva Natalya Vladimirovna PhD in Art History Professor, Head of the Department of Conducting an Academic Chorus, State Musical and Pedagogical Institute named after M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov 109147 Marksistskaya street, Moscow, 109147 Russian Federation nkoshkarevav.@gmail.com Other publications by this author

The pluralism of musical thinking, so characteristic of today, as well as the classical multilevel system of musical education preserved in Russia, influence the rapid development of composer creativity and choral performance. Modern musical Russia is characterized by a constant increase in the number of festivals and competitions (professional and amateur, adult and children's), at which new names are being discovered, premiere performances of highly artistic works are being performed.

The phenomenon of modern choral composition consists in an organic synthesis of two directions — the preservation of the traditions of Russian musical art, the appeal to the parameters of Western European music, as well as the implementation of new techniques of compositional writing and stylistic directions: an example is the work of G. Sviridov, V. Rubin, R. Ledenev, V. Kikta, V. Gavrilin, A. Larin, E. Denisov, S. Gubaidulina, A. Schnittke, R. Shchedrin, A. Larin and many others. In addition, the globalization of cultural processes has influenced the strengthening of the role of polyphony and cyclization in the domestic choral composer's work. This is due to the fact that in polyphonic cycles, musical images are presented not in static, but in the dynamics of development. This fact leads to the question of contextual reading of poems, since the necessary acquisition of true meaning is possible only in the correlation of parts of a single whole with each other (among such cycles are "Dedication to Marina Tsvetaeva" by S. Gubaidulina, "Books of Kanzon" by Yu. Falik and others).

Thus, among the diverse issues of contemporary art criticism, it is the problem of cyclic forms in choral music that is beginning to occupy an increasingly prominent place. However, by now we have every reason to say that the "problem of choral cycles", in particular polyphonic ones, has not yet been posed as an independent one in Russian musicology. In their works, the authors (E. Ruchevskaya ^[13], S. Skrebkov ^[17], V. Bobrovsky ^[2], N. Koshkareva ^[9], V. Krasov ^[10]) sought to somehow understand the very nature of this complex phenomenon, to outline its stylistic boundaries. Some parameters of this topic were included in theoretical developments about the stylistic features of the choral writing of a particular composer (O. Tarasov ^[18], T. Khromenko ^[22], E. Mnatsakian ^[11] and others). At the same time, every scientist who starts studying cyclic forms in choral music has faced the situation that the cycle is not a specific stable structure, but allows an unlimited number of options (in terms of the number of parts, the performing composition, the poetic basis, and so on). The cycle turns out to be a rather unstable phenomenon, as if escaping from the power of strict formulations and definitions.

The appeal to polyphonic cycles for a cappella choir is characteristic of many modern authors, in particular S. Gubaidulina, T. Korganov, V. Agafonnikov and others. The composers go beyond the strict, historically established framework of multi-genre polyphonic diptychs (prelude and fugue, invention and fugue, chorale and fugue). The most popular among modern authors are multi-genre cycles of motets, madrigals, canzones. In this perspective, from the point of view of genre and style parameters of compositional writing, S. Ekimov's choral cycles are especially interesting, which have not yet found proper understanding in scientific works. Separate articles by D. Begunovich ^[1], A. Rybalko ^[14], A. Trukhanova ^[19] are devoted to some issues of S. Ekimov's compositional style, which determines the relevance of the chosen topic. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that it for the first time offers aspects of the modern method of analyzing polyphonic cycles for a cappella choir. The object of our research will be the composition "From the Rubayat of Omar Khayyam" by S. Ekimov, which has not yet been subjected to musicological analysis. The purpose of the study is to determine the parameters of cyclization and methods of updating the ancient form and technique of polyphonic writing in a cappella choral music by modern musical means. The methodology is based on the interaction of two fields of musical science: musicology and choral studies. In this regard, it should be noted that the solution of the tasks set required the study of theoretical works devoted to various issues of polyphony (T. Muller ^[12], Y. Kholopov ^[21], V. Fraenov ^[20], N. Simakova ^{[15, 16]}, I. Kuznetsov ^[8]) and genre-style guidelines of modern Russian choral music (Vysotskaya M. and Grigorieva G. ^[3], Gulyanitskaya N. ^{[4, 5]}, A. Kovalev ^[7]).

Sergey Viktorovich Ekimov (born 1974) is a St. Petersburg composer and choral conductor (graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory — class of Professor F.M. Kozlov), simultaneously studied composition in the class of Yu.A. Falik. He is the Dean of the Faculty of Composition and Conducting, Head of the Department of Choral Conducting at the N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, Professor at the A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University, Artistic director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory Students' Choir, the Concert Choir of the Institute of Culture and the Women's Choir of the N.A. Rimsky St. Petersburg Music School-Korsakov ^[6]. Among the most significant works by S. Ekimov are "Missa brevis" for soloists, chamber choir and instrumental ensemble (2002), "Stabat Mater" (in the Bright memory of A. Petrov) for soloists, two choirs and instrumental ensemble (2006), "Miserere" (in Memory of M. Rostropovich) — a composition for cello and female choir (2007), Three choral concerts — to poems by E. Yupashevskaya (1992), F. Garcia Lorca (1993-96, 2nd ed. — 1998) and "The Last Dedication" to poems by A. Akhmatova (2006, 2nd ed. - 2009), "The last Happiness is You ..." — four canzones for mixed chorus a cappella on poems by Nikolai Gumilev (1993-94), "Endless Autumn" — eight five-verses from ancient Japanese lyrics for soprano, mezzo-soprano and piano (2002).

The choral cycle for the female vocal ensemble a cappella "From the Rubayat of Omar Khayyam" in the translations of G. Plisetsky, S. Lipkin, O. Rumer is unique in modern choral music, since none of the domestic composers had addressed the poetic heritage of the eastern poet and philosopher before Sergei Ekimov (work on the cycle went from 2009 to 2012)

Omar Khayyam's rubai are poems of philosophical content, dedicated to the meaning of life and human existence, touch upon eternal questions of human existence, relevant today. In his poetry, the cult of wine and love, contrasted with the impotence of the human mind, reveals a clear similarity with Sufi ideas. The praise of wine and love are metaphors: wine means spiritual joy, and love means enthusiastic devotion to God.

The use of the word "madrigal" in the title becomes a sign of an exquisite and high lyrical genre. The multi-part monogamous cyclic composition is conditioned by the complex world of Omar Khayyam's rubayat. The key cyclization number becomes "3". The sacred meaning of numbers, in particular the idea of the trinity, forms the basis of many ancient philosophical and religious teachings.

In the center there are nine madrigals united by the theme of love. They can be divided into three three-part mini-cycles (¹¹ 3-5, 6-8, 9-11). In each, the culmination is the last (third) madrigal: No. 5 "When the nightingales sing the song of love" — lyric and philosophical center; No. 8 "Between firm faith in God" - religious and philosophical; No. 11 "We know that love is trouble" — lyric and philosophical. The central numbers are framed by three-part mini—cycles corresponding to each other: 1. two madrigals glorifying wine ("Wine!..", "When I took the charm with my hand"), and an Interlude; 2. two madrigals - reflections on the meaning of human existence, faith in the Divine presence ("Like the sun, burning, without burning, love", "... We will all leave here without a trace...") — and an Interlude. The similarity of the selected tempos and tonal centers is found in the form of peculiar arches between the numbers. If we hypothetically exclude the central numbers, then the final three numbers represent an almost exact crustacean sequence of the first three. Interludes-vocalizations, like instrumental "intermissions", appear at the boundaries of the cyclic form. The postlude, like a ritornel, intonationally corresponds with the first madrigal, giving completeness to the whole cycle. This is how a geometric form based on numerical proportions arises. (Table 1).

Table 1.

The aphorism of the poetic utterance is reflected in the musical architectonics of each madrigal: the first two lines of the rubai rhyme are connected to the last, and the third is a free line. Against the background of laconic forms, the chorus "When the nightingales sing the song of love" stands out, written in a three-part reprise form.

In the linear thinking of S. Ekimov, the clear direction of the line is of paramount importance. Lyrical melodism is based on flexible and expressive intonation. Focusing on the ancient modal structures, the composer abandons the classical tonality: chooses a separate tone as the central element, builds a whole based on the expanded melodic model of the fret, thinks over the functionality of polyphony according to the logic of the text-musical form.

S. Ekimov strives to reflect the poetic intonation of Omar Khayyam's rubayat as accurately as possible: almost every musical stanza is characterized by flexible agogics, contrasting dynamics and strokes. The musical form is end—to–end with a final ritornel (the so-called "madrigal" form) with the features of a "motet", a characteristic feature of which is the imitation development of themes in all voices. The composer gives each line of the text its own small theme (soggetto).

Caesures precisely verified by the composer (indicated in the musical text by a pause, a fermata, a comma) become important for vocal and performing intonation. Basically, asemantic pauses are used: amplifying (located before or behind a word bearing logical stress, and representing one of the acoustic means of increasing the intensity of logical stress) and situational (slowing down the spoken text) ^[23]. Both types, for example, are found in the madrigal "Mercy, do not seek my heart" in the last (fourth stanza) to highlight the words "reconcile" and "do not seek".Along with this, the most important means of sound renewal is the sonorous and aleatoric writing technique.

Sonorous "transfers" of melody sounds and the transfer of syllables of the text from party to party are a means of dynamization of dramatic processes in free (third) stanzas of madrigals "When I took the charm with my hand", "Silk of hair", "Whose heart does not burn with passionate love for the dear", "Like the sun is burning". To enhance the expressiveness of the utterance, S. Ekimov uses the vibrato technique on the consonant sound "b" (ending No. 7 "Do not seek mercy, my heart"), as well as finger clicks (ending No. 10 "Whose heart does not burn with passionate love for the sweet"). Emotional agitation in the madrigal "You are not the only one unhappy" is expressed through the gradual layering of four aleatoric sections.

A special role in the compositional solution of the cycle is assigned to polyphony. S. Ekimov appeals to three vectors that determine the application of polyphonic principles in the choral texture. The first is to create a texture oriented to the Western European polyphonic tradition. For example, at the beginning of the first "Interlude", an infinite canon sounds in the two upper voices, which then develops into a three-voice mensural canon. The second vector implies the polyphonization of the homophonic texture. Thus, in the extreme parts of the madrigal "When the Nightingale Sings a love Song", the composer gives a polyphonic meaning to the elements of homophonic music. Attention is focused on the expressiveness of the smallest elements of musical speech. It is working with small (almost singing) thematism that allows you to test and improve a variety of development techniques (treatment, crustacean). The third, most widely represented vector is the traditional polyphonic principles in the conditions of sonorous texture. In this case, in the conditions of five homogeneous voices, the technique of polyphonic composition is similar to D. Ligeti's micropolyphony. The essence and innovation of this technique consists in an extremely compressed arrangement of voices in height. At the same time, the score has the structure of a canon, but the voices move at different tempos and rhythmic patterns, forming dense and continuously changing clusters. It is important that a new acoustic result arises: the interaction of voices gives rise to a moving cluster, and the accuracy of the canonical presentation can be traced only visually ("Guilt!", "You are not the only one unhappy", "Whose heart does not burn with passionate love for the sweet", "Like the sun is burning"). Sonorous canons are formed due to the fusion of a large number of voices, densely located to each other. With the polyphonic conjugation of melodic lines, individual sounds are indistinguishable, only the general sound mass is distinguished by hearing, like a moving cluster. Thus, S. Ekimov demonstrates a view of the Western European polyphonic tradition through the prism of modern composition techniques (sonorica, aleatorica).

In addition, the reflection of the madrigal tradition of the XIV century is solved by S. Ekimov due to the instrumentalization of the choral texture. Let's explain this thesis. Ancient madrigals were composed for two or three voices accompanied by a musical instrument. In the madrigals of S. Ekimov, the instrumental beginning is felt in the interpretation of the choir as an instrument with new colorful possibilities that expand the usual ideas in this regard. It uses sound acuity, vocal imitation of the sound, intonation, strokes, the manner of playing this or that instrument ("When I took the charm with my hand", "When the nightingales sing a song of love", "Do not look for mercy, my heart", "Whose heart does not burn with passionate love for the sweet", "We know, that love is trouble)"

Let's summarize the main genre-style features of madrigals "From the Rubayat of Omar Khayyam", dividing them into two categories: traditional and innovative (Table 2).

Table 2.

All of the above about the cycle of madrigals "From the Rubayat of Omar Khaimah" indicates that S. Ekimov, paying tribute to tradition, demonstrates a modern view of the musical and poetic heritage of previous eras. Choosing rubayat — lines that have never been used in choral music — the composer strives for novelty, independence of the musical interpretation of the chosen theme. Thus S. Ekimov becomes the author of the first musical reading of the great poet-philosopher Omar Khayyam. In rubayat, each line is a separate image. The artistic power of the impact of short fragments of text increases significantly due to the means of musical expressiveness. From a rational, thoughtful interweaving of contrapuntal voices, then pure and balanced sounds arise, then fragments of expressive increases, dramatic contrasts and climaxes. The music of the St. Petersburg composer combines intonational expressiveness, harmony of musical form, synthesis of traditional and innovative writing techniques.