The relevance and specificity of using choral works by modern composers in the class of «choral conducting»

Movchan Larisa Anatol'evna Professor, Department of Choral Conducting, Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory 125009, Russia, Moscow, Bolshaya Nikitskaya str., 13 movchanlarser@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Movchan Sergei Mikhailovich assistant professor, Department of Choral Conducting, Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory 125009, Russia, Moscow, Bolshaya Nikitskaya str., 13 movchanlarser@mail.ru

In modern music pedagogy, the art of collective music making occupies one of the most important places. It exists not only as a specialty (instrumental ensembles, children's and youth orchestras, choral classes; opera classes are also available in universities and colleges), but also as part of other, more broad-profile subjects. For example, solfeggio lessons cannot do without singing together. Instrumental ensembles are also present on them – let's recall K. Orff's methodology with its noise orchestras.

However, vocal groups are much more relevant in this regard. The composers of the XX – early XXI century created a lot of choral music of different genres and styles, having a different texture, voice range; intended for different performing compositions. It is mandatory to study choral compositions in the choral conducting class. This is primarily an analysis of scores, which is necessary for a student of this specialty to correctly identify conducting gestures. The conductor's tasks also include the selection of a repertoire for a singing group, which requires a high level of knowledge in the field of choral art.

The methodological problem posed in the article states the following fact. The educational repertoire of choral students and the list of choral works performed by vocal groups at concerts/competitions/festivals have little overlap. If concert performers increasingly include music by contemporary authors in their program, then classical music still makes up a larger percentage of the repertoire in educational institutions.

The purpose of the article is to draw attention to the actualization of the works of modern composers in the educational process of students of choral departments of music universities.

Tasks:

- to review the choral work of composers of the late XX – early XXI century;

- to get acquainted with innovative techniques in the field of expressive means of musical language;

- to determine the role of modern academic music in the educational process.

The object of the research is to work with students of choral departments of musical educational institutions. The subject of the study is the use of works by contemporary composers in teaching choral students.

The main research method used in the article was the theoretical method of holistic and stylistic analysis.

Research materials. We turned to the works of such musicologists as E. Batovskaya ^[1], A. Vyaznikov ^[2], T. Zhurbinskaya ^[4], A. Uvarova and S. Bozhko ^[11]. The article also reviewed choral works by contemporary composers written in the period from the late 1990s to the present ^[8].

The choral work of composers of the second half of the XX – beginning of the XXI century is extensive, but not all authors become popular in the performing repertoire of choral groups. This is due to the fact that some avant-garde composers create works with complex harmonic language, rhythm, texture, etc.

Among the composers of the XX – XXI century who created works for chorus, one can name V. Gavrilin, G. Sviridov, A. Schnittke, R. Shchedrin, E. Podhaits, G. Struve, R. Boyko, A. Larin, A. Tchaikovsky. Among the younger authors, we will mention A. Ananyev, A. Viskov, K. Bodrov. The harmonic language of the choral works of these authors is distinguished by aesthetic expressiveness, comprehensibility for perception and performance. However, along with traditional tonal music, there is a place for modern visual media in their work.

The masters use in their music not only the extended tonality characteristic of the turn of the millennium, artificial frets, signs of authentic folklore, but also completely new techniques. "The modern choral score increasingly includes various effects (sound, light) and non-traditional performing techniques, etc. Therefore, choral music of our time often remains misunderstood and difficult to perceive" ^{[2, pp. 99-102]}.

Sound effects are used, for example, by Gavrilin in "Chimes" and "War Letters"; Shchedrin in "Bells". Boyko has authentic folk melodies in his cantata Vyatka Songs. Also, you can add Larin's oratorio "Russian Passions" to this list – here, as in Boyko's cantata, there are features of authentic folklore, in particular crying, lamentation. The composition of the instrumental accompaniment of this oratorio is also interesting: the composer included a flexaton, a rattle, a tambourine, Valdai bells and church bells. One of the instruments "invented by the composer himself is a monetophone, a small wooden box with coins placed in it" ^[7]. V. Kikta in his "Transcarpathian triptych" uses the timbre of a boys' choir and a piccolo flute.

Due to the renewal of the musical language, the use of complex harmonic, textured and metrorhythmic techniques in the choral works of composers of the early 21st century, there is a need to improve the conducting technique and expand the possibilities of the voice. These features also play a role in the correct selection of the repertoire. "The head should always keep in mind the capabilities of a particular team, its qualitative composition" ^{[10, pp. 80-82]}

Intonation in modern music is also subject to significant complications. Dissonances, unprepared detentions, combinations of homophony and polyphony, and a sharp contrast between syllabic and melismatic singing styles are often present in the works of young composers. This is often due to the spread of the tendency to follow the musical text for the content and form of the poetic text (which is often free, sometimes without rhymes – for example, a subscript translation from a foreign language).

This is especially striking in the choral work of E. Podhaits. One of the principles of the composer is to use such texts that have a close, harmonious connection with musical drama. It is transmitted not only through ladoharmonic and intonational components, but is also present in metrorhythmic nuances [see about this: 13, p. 11].

Sonoristics, aleatorics, and partly synesthetic onomatopoeia are very characteristic of choral music by composers of the third millennium: for example, it can draw images of nature, emotions and feelings of lyrical characters. In modern musical art, the novelty of these techniques lies in the fact that they also convey the surrounding atmosphere, the variability and impermanence of the real world. This is important, including not only for musical, but also for moral education, since the reflection of what is happening in music can be interpreted as a response to the ability to adapt to the instability of surrounding realities. An example is the choral works by contemporary young composers written in the 2010s and early 2020s and compiled the two-volume "Voices of the Premieres". The music following the poetic text is used in the chorus "In the State of Shadows" by N. Saikovich (2008); innovative sound effects are found in the work "Miracle Mirror" by V. Zaitseva (2014). The second part of the collection ends with S. Levin's essay "Ce la faremo", written in 2022. It was a response to one of the dramatic events in modern history – the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author himself writes the following in the annotation to the work:

"I wrote the piece Ce la faremo in 2020 for piano. Do you remember that Italy was the first in Europe to encounter a new virus that came from Wuhan, China. At that time, I really wanted to join the fight against this ill-fated virus with the help of music, and I turned to a friend of the poet Julia Pikalova, who lives in Italy, with a request to offer me a suitable phrase in Italian, which would contain the maximum number of letter designations of notes. She immediately offered a short and succinct phrase – Ce la faremo, which means "we will cope", "we will overcome". There were five notes in it at once: C (to) | E (mi) | La | Fa Re. These notes make up the musical phrase, which is invariably repeated throughout the piece" ^{[8, p. 82]}.

It should be noted that the newest, recent compositions for choir with their difficult musical language are popular at concerts, but have not yet mastered the repertoire of educational institutions. They can and should be included in the student education program. However, it is important to study choral music that is more traditional in terms of the composer's style: with a predominance of consonant consonances, homophonic texture, rhythmic poetic text, and a relatively homogeneous way of performance. Such are, for example, the choral works by R. Boyko based on poems by A. Pushkin, F. Tyutchev, S. Yesenin.

To broaden the musical horizons of students, different genres of both secular and sacred music are used. Modern composers have many works of the spiritual genre, among which there are prayers and chants to canonical texts. They can be performed not only during church services, but also in concerts. Among those suitable for concert performance, the researcher of choral music S. Khvatova notes the following religious works of our contemporaries: "To the Lady of the Blessed" by L. Blinov, "Concert from the Lenten Triodion" by V. Dovgan, "10 spiritual Chants", "6 spiritual chants" by N. Karetnikov, "The Penitential Psalm of St. Dmitry Rostovsky", "The Song of the Most Holy Theotokos", "Many Summers" by V. Kikta, "Holy Russia" and "Spiritual Triptych" by A. Kulygin, "4 spiritual Chants" and "6 fragments of the All-Night Vigil" by H. Ledenev, "My Soul" by Y. Machine, "Trisagion" and "The Lord's Prayer" by I. Matsievsky, "Psalms of King David" by E. Podhaits, "3 spiritual Chants" and "8 spiritual Chants" by A. Ryndin, "Six Liturgical Chants" by V. Ryabov, "Three Choirs to cult texts" by V. Sokolov, "Prayer" by Y. Falik, "Seven Chants to the texts of Vespers" by H. Hodosh, "Six spiritual hymns" and "From the first epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Coryphenians" by A. Eshpai, "Cherubic Song" and "Symbol of Faith" by B. Tselkovnikov" ^{[13, p. 33]}. However, there are works on spiritual subjects that were not created based on canonical texts, for example, choirs based on poems by Russian poets: "Eight spiritual choirs in memory of B. Pasternak" by A. Korolev, "Prayer" by M. Stavisky, "Concert for Choir based on poems by G. Narekazzi" by A. Schnittke, choral opuses by A. Eshpai, N. Ledenev, V. Dovgan, V. Kikta and many other authors.

The heyday of sacred music in the works of composers of the late XX – early XXI century can rightfully be called the "second religious Renaissance" (by analogy with what happened at the beginning of the twentieth century – in the works of N. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. Grechaninov, S. Rachmaninov, S. Taneev, P. Chesnokov, A. Kastalsky). The most important historical date had the greatest influence on him – the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, celebrated in 1988. The Soviet ideology significantly complicated the spiritual quest in Russian art, but did not interrupt them. A special place in the religious musical culture of our time is occupied by Sviridov's pupil, composer A. Viskov (born 1965). He collaborates with the Blagovest Sacred Music Ensemble, for which he wrote a number of hymns of the Liturgy and the All-Night Vigil. This composer also explores Russian folklore, primarily spiritual poems; participates in the restoration of unfinished scores by authors of past eras.

It is impossible to ignore the experimental genre that has penetrated into modern choral art. For example, the choral music of the Ukrainian composer V. Manzhil differs in innovative moods. "Masterfully using traditional means of expression, the composer captures in his works the acutely perceived atmosphere of our time. Choral opuses by V. Manzhil represent innovative and experimental achievements in the field of "modern musical phonetics" and pointillistic technique" ^{[1, pp. 65-69]}. In the work of this author, such techniques are used as a combination of traditional and modernist performance; elements of performance (interaction of performers and listeners, a different perception of reality, a new look at aesthetics). In general, polystylistics, which originated in Schnittke's work, is still very popular with composers.

The repertoire of students of choral departments is constantly, although not quickly, replenished with similar works. The main principle of choosing the compositions performed is the variety of genres, forms, and styles characteristic of the music of the turn of the XX – XXI centuries. Choirmaster students scrupulously study the author's text (compositional and poetic), delving into the peculiarities of the musical language and organically combining the performing interpretation with the author's.

The choral work of foreign composers is also not ignored in Russian musical educational institutions. These are authors from Europe, as well as the USA, China, Japan, and the Philippines. Their music is often played at international choral competitions. Let us note the following feature of foreign choral creativity: "Composers do not just take into account the technical capabilities of singers and, in principle, the human voice, but also keep in mind the difficulty levels of the musical material that they will offer amateur groups to perform" ^{[9, p. 1]}.

Traditionally, the works of both Russian and foreign masters are intended for a cappella performance; it is also not uncommon to use instrumental accompaniment. At the same time, sound effects, sonoristics, which were mentioned above, can be present in both the orchestral and vocal parts. Thus, the expansion of the choral repertoire and the inclusion of modern works with new visual techniques opens the way to the active use of modern teaching methods (including innovative digital technologies). They are used in the training of both singers and instrumentalists. 

Do not forget about the aesthetics of the texture. A combination of complex polyphonic imitations with characteristic features of the Russian drawl song and sub-vocal polyphony is found in R. Shchedrin's choral fugues. The composer actually fulfilled M. Glinka's dream – he united Western European and domestic polyphony "by the bonds of a legitimate marriage". Modern choral music, especially spiritual music, is also characterized by meditativeness and contemplation. As an example, we can recall the chorus parts in K. Bodrov's masses.

Nowadays, composers are increasingly adding electronic instruments to ordinary acoustic instruments, one of such authors is A. Kiselyov (1948-2020). He is also known for a number of Orthodox vocal and choral works: "Hail to the Virgin Mary," the cycle "The Weeks of A. S. Pushkin" based on the poems of the great Russian poet. At one of the composer's anniversary concerts, his "All-Night Vigil Chant" was performed. The use of organ and string orchestra in choral compositions on spiritual subjects is present in the works of A. Ananyev "Renovatio mundi" ("Rebirth of the World") for soloists, mixed choir and organ and "Prayer of the Holy Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky" for mixed choir and string orchestra.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the study. Works for a cappella choir have been one of the leading genres in the works of many modern composers for several decades. The popularity of secular choral music is associated with the development of collective musical education in educational institutions, as well as with the active participation of vocal ensembles in concerts, competitions and festivals. Religious compositions are also heard no less often, which is explained by the desire of composers and performers for spiritual pursuits that revived at the end of the twentieth century.

The capabilities of the human voice allow composers to apply various innovative technologies in choral music. First of all, these are non-trivial combinations of cantilena and recitative, syllabics and melismatics, singing and melodrama (speech to music). Greater diversity in the sound background is achieved with the participation of instruments – both acoustic and electronic. However, these techniques are also possible in works performed unaccompanied.

Updating the repertoire, enriching it with works from the turn of the millennium plays an important role in the education of students of musical universities. This is not only the study of innovative ideas of modern composers, the use of innovative technologies in teaching, but also the moral and ethical side. We have noted that in the music of the XXI century, the tendency to reflect reality and its constant changes is often applied. The performance of works of this kind has a beneficial effect on improving the level of singing skills and professional competencies of future singers and choral conductors.