The embodiment of Chinese poetry in the cycle "Songs of a Traveler" by G. Sviridov

Li Lutun ORCID: 0009-0008-9921-4928 PhD in Art History Postgraduate student; Institute of Art Forms (musical art); M.M. IPPOLITOV-IVANOV State Music and Pedagogical Institute 121357, Russia, Moscow, Fili-Davydkovo district, Initiativnaya str., 6 K. 1 979740314@qq.com

The vocal cycle of Georgy Vasilyevich Sviridov "Songs of a Wanderer" based on poems by Chinese poets translated by Y.K. Shchutsky is a vivid example of the interaction of the Russian musical tradition with the poetic heritage of the East. Created in 1942, during the composer's creative maturity, during his stay in evacuation in Novosibirsk with the Leningrad Philharmonic ^[6], this work demonstrates a deep insight into the imaginative world of Chinese lyrics and its original implementation by musical means. It is noteworthy that Sviridov, traditionally perceived as a composer of a deeply national disposition, creates in this cycle a unique artistic space where the Russian musical mentality enters into a dialogue with Eastern philosophy and aesthetics, generating a special form of intercultural synthesis. In this work, the composer does not follow the path of directly borrowing oriental musical idioms, but creates a kind of musical metaphor for Chinese poetry using his own recognizable musical language.

The relevance of this research is determined by the growing interest in intercultural dialogue in contemporary musical art. The problems of Russian-Chinese cultural dialogue in music are widely studied by modern musicologists and cultural scientists, however, many aspects of this interaction remain poorly understood. In particular, in the works of A.N. Timofeeva ^{[11, 12, 13]} devoted to this cycle, the main attention is paid to the history of the creation of the work and the general characteristics of its stylistics, as well as the historical context in which its formation took place. In contrast to these studies, this paper offers a detailed analysis of specific musical means and techniques used by the composer to embody poetic images in specific songs of the cycle, which allows us to identify the specific features of Sviridov's work with Chinese poetry at the level of musical language.

In the context of globalization processes, the analysis of the creative approaches of major composers to the interpretation of foreign cultural texts is of particular importance, allowing us to identify models and strategies of intercultural interaction in musical art. Sviridov's treatment of Chinese poetry is not just a stylization, but a deep understanding of a different cultural paradigm, which makes his experience valuable for understanding the prospects for the development of modern music in a cultural polylogue.

The purpose of the study is to identify the specific features of the musical embodiment of Chinese poetry in specific songs of the "Songs of the Wanderer" cycle based on a detailed analysis of the musical text and the poetic source. The methodological basis of the research is an integrated approach, including musical and theoretical analysis, a comparative method (comparison of poetic and musical texts), as well as elements of semiotic and cultural analysis. This allows us to consider Sviridov's work in a broad cultural context, revealing both the specifics of the composer's musical language and the features of his artistic interpretation of Chinese poetry.

"Songs of the Wanderer" were written by Sviridov in 1942, during the evacuation to Novosibirsk together with the Leningrad State Philharmonic ^[6]. For Sviridov, this period was a time of intense creative search and the development of new genres. The composer's appeal to Chinese poetry during this difficult war period can be seen as a search for spiritual support in the eternal philosophical values of Eastern wisdom, as well as a desire to expand creative horizons in conditions of forced isolation from the familiar cultural environment of Leningrad.

It is important to note that interest in Oriental culture and philosophy was not something exclusive to the Soviet artistic intelligentsia of that time. In the 1930s and 1940s, there was an active expansion of cultural contacts between the USSR and the countries of the East, including China ^[5]. This was reflected in various fields of art, including music. However, Sviridov's approach to Chinese poetry differed from the stylizations and exoticism typical of that time – he sought to deeply comprehend the philosophical essence of oriental lyrics.

Sviridov's appeal to the translations of Y.K. Shchutsky is also of particular importance. Julian Konstantinovich Shchutsky (1897-1938) was an outstanding sinologist, the author of the classical translation and study of the I Ching (The Book of Changes). In 1923, under the editorship of academician V.M. Alekseev, the Anthology of Chinese Lyrics of the VII-IX centuries A.D. was published with translations by Shchutsky ^[1], which probably served as a source of texts for Sviridov. The tragic fate of the translator, who was repressed in 1937 and shot in 1938, gives an additional dimension to this work as a kind of creative monument to an outstanding scientist.

The "Songs of the Wanderer" cycle includes six parts:

1. "Sailing" (based on the poems of Meng Haoran)

2. "Overnight in the mountains" (based on poems by Lee Bo)

3. "In a Foreign Land" (based on Du Fu's poems)

4. "Spring Return" (based on poems by Meng Haoran)

5. "Song on the River" (based on Zhang Ji's poems)

6. "Homecoming" (based on poems by He Zhizhang)

Dramaturgically, the cycle is structured as a single narrative reflecting the spiritual path of the lyrical hero: from going on a journey through loneliness and homesickness to the final return. This composition has deep archetypal roots, going back to the universal motif of travel as a symbol of the spiritual transformation of personality. In the context of the Chinese philosophical tradition, this can be interpreted through the prism of the Taoist principle of cyclic return to the source, as well as the Confucian idea of "correcting names" – returning to the true meaning of things and phenomena. In Russian culture, this theme resonates with the tradition of "wandering" as a special spiritual path, which creates an additional semantic dimension of the cycle.

This article focuses on the analysis of the songs "In a Foreign Land" and "Homecoming", which are of particular interest from the point of view of embodying the themes of wandering and return, which are key to the cycle of figurative spheres. These two parts occupy a special position in the drama of the cycle, forming peculiar emotional and semantic poles.: the maximum distance from one's native home (spiritual and physical) in "In a foreign land" and the final return, coupled with a philosophical understanding of one's life path, in "Returning to one's homeland".

The poetic basis of the cycle is the lyrics of Chinese poets of the Tang epoch (VII-IX centuries) translated by Y.K. Shchutsky. Tang poetry is distinguished by its conciseness of expression, deep philosophical content, and special attention to the themes of nature, wandering, and contemplation. Sviridov's choice of Tang poetry was not accidental – this was the period of the highest flowering of Chinese literature, when the canons of poetic art were formed, which retained their significance over the following centuries.

Shchutsky's translations are notable for their desire to convey not only the literal meaning, but also the deep philosophical implications of Chinese poetry. This is especially important for understanding Sviridov's creative intent, who, working with translations, sought to penetrate into the essence of the Chinese worldview.

It is noteworthy that Shchutsky, unlike other translators of Tang poetry (such as A. Akhmatova, L. Eydlin), did not so much strive to preserve the formal features of the original as he tried to convey its inner musicality and philosophical depth. This created a favorable ground for the musical embodiment of these texts, focused on revealing their immanent melody and rhythmic organization.

For example, Du Fu's poem "In a Foreign Land" conveys a feeling of homesickness and loneliness.:

The bright moon of my country,

I think about those who are my family.

At home, in a foreign land, we are alone,

We are languishing with a similar longing now.

In Du Fu's original text, this quatrain belongs to the genre of "juejui" ("broken lines"), a concise poetic form that requires the utmost concentration of meaning and emotion in a minimal amount of text. When analyzing the poetic source, attention is drawn to the understatement characteristic of Chinese poetry, the subtext that creates a space for reflection. The moon here acts not just as an element of the landscape, but as a symbolic connection between separated people – this is a traditional motif of Chinese poetry, dating back to ancient mythological concepts. Sviridov, in his musical interpretation, subtly captures this symbolic ambiguity of the image of the moon, giving it a special sound embodiment.

He Zhizhang's poem "Homecoming" reveals the theme of returning after many years of wandering:

In his youth, having left his father's house,

I return as a gray-haired elder.

My speech has remained the same, but

How much hair appeared on the temples!

The children who met me,

They did not recognize the gray-haired wanderer,

Saying with a gentle smile:

"Where are you from, wanderer, keeping your word?"

This poem belongs to the "shi" genre, a more detailed poetic form that allows for greater narrative and emotional depth. The central theme here is the conflict between the inner immutability of the human personality ("my speech has remained the same") and the external transformations caused by the passage of time. This conflict becomes especially acute at the moment of returning to his homeland, when the hero discovers that he has become a stranger in his native places.

The paradoxical situation, when a return turns into a new discovery of the unknown, reflects a deep philosophical thought about the impossibility of a literal return to the past. This idea is reflected in the Taoist principle of "eternal return," where return is understood not as a mechanical repetition, but as a new realization of the primordial essence at a higher level of awareness. Sviridov's musical embodiment of this philosophical paradox represents one of the composer's most profound insights into the essence of Chinese thought.

It is these philosophical motives that become the basis for musical embodiment in Sviridov's cycle. The composer sensitively captures not only the external imagery of Chinese poetry, but also its deep philosophical implications associated with the ideas of variability and permanence, loneliness and unity with the world, the transience of human life and the eternity of nature.

The song "In a foreign land" is a laconic musical miniature created in a verse-variation form. Du Fu's poetic text tells of the homesickness experienced by the lyrical hero under the light of the moon.

The piano intro (bars 1-4) immediately immerses the listener in the atmosphere of nocturnal contemplation. Sviridov uses a transparent texture here with characteristic quartz and fifth intonations, creating a sense of open space. The harmony is dominated by minor triads and seventh chords, interspersed with quartz harmonies, which gives the music a special coloristic coloring without direct imitation of pentatonics.

It is noteworthy that the composer refuses to directly quote or stylize oriental music, avoiding typical "oriental" cliches such as pentatonics or characteristic rhythmic figures. Instead, he creates his own musical language, which at a deep level corresponds to the aesthetic principles of Chinese poetry. The quartz and fifth consonances in the introduction can be interpreted as a kind of sound metaphor for "emptiness" – the most important category of Eastern aesthetics, implying not the absence of content, but a special state of consciousness in which it is possible to directly comprehend the essence of phenomena.

The textured solution of the introduction is based on the principle of "sparsity" of the sound fabric, which creates an effect similar to the technique of "white space" in Chinese painting, where unfilled areas of the canvas play no less important role than the objects depicted. Just as in Chinese painting emptiness is not a simple absence of an image, but is an active element of the composition, pauses and sparse harmonies in Sviridov's music create a special sound space filled with inner tension and meaning.

In the climactic section (bars 15-20), Sviridov uses a richer texture and expands the range of the vocal part. The words "We are languishing with a similar longing now" receive a special expressive meaning due to the upward movement of the melody and the strengthening of dynamics. It is characteristic that the composer avoids bright, open expression, preferring a restrained but deep emotional utterance, which fully corresponds to the aesthetics of Chinese poetry.

The climax of the song is notable for the fact that it achieves a special effect of emotional resonance, when external restraint of expression only enhances internal expression. This technique echoes the principle of Chinese aesthetics "jingze" – the concept of "artistic atmosphere", according to which the true beauty and depth of a work of art lies not in the directly expressed content, but in the emotional and intellectual response that it evokes in the perceiver. Sviridov masterfully embodies this principle, creating music that speaks more with its pauses and subtexts than with direct utterance.

The piano accompaniment in the song performs not only an accompanying function, but also creates a special sound space. Sviridov uses a wide range of pianos, from deep basses to high registers, which creates the effect of a surround soundscape. Pauses between musical phrases play a special role, emphasizing the significance of each word and creating an atmosphere of meditative contemplation.

Harmonically, attention is drawn to the use of a "floating" key with frequent deviations and modulations, which creates the effect of tonal "flickering", echoing the image of moonlight in the poetic text. At the same time, Sviridov does not completely abandon functional harmony, but transforms it by introducing elements of modality and free chromatics. This approach can be interpreted as a musical analogy to the philosophical principle of "yin-yang" – the unity of opposites, the interpenetration of heterogeneous principles.

Of particular note is the composer's work with the texture of the piano accompaniment. The piano part is dominated by widely spaced chords and intervals, creating the effect of spatial depth and perspective. This can be seen as a musical analogy to the principles of Chinese landscape painting "Shan-shui" ("mountains-waters"), where spatial perspective is created not by linear constructions, but by comparing different plans and scales of the image.

"Homecoming" based on the poems of He Zhizhang represents the culmination of the entire cycle, where the theme of wandering and returning to the roots receives the most complete and profound expression.

The piano intro (bars 1-18) creates an atmosphere of deep thoughtfulness and nostalgia. The slow tempo, combined with the predominance of minor harmonies, including the characteristic use of small sexts and reduced seventh chords, conveys the complex emotional state of the hero returning to his native places after many years of absence.

The expanded piano intro performs not only an expositional function, but also is a kind of philosophical prologue that sets the listener up to perceive the central theme of the work – the theme of time and its impact on human life. The harmonic language of the introduction is characterized by a delicate balance between tonal certainty and modal freedom, which creates the effect of temporary uncertainty, a kind of "floating" between the past and the present.

The change of size in the 17th measure from 4/4 to 3/2 gives special expressiveness, which creates a feeling of temporary freedom and blurred boundaries between the past and the present. This technique helps to convey the complex psychological state of the lyrical hero, who is simultaneously located in two time layers – the past (youth) and the present (old age).

The metrical transformation can be interpreted as a musical embodiment of the philosophical concept of time in Chinese thought, where linear and cyclic understanding of time coexist in dialectical unity. The transition from an even meter (4/4) to an odd meter (3/2) symbolically reflects the transition from "earthly", measurable time to "heavenly", infinite. This corresponds to the Taoist view of the dual nature of time: on the one hand, as a sequence of events (shi), on the other, as the eternal present, the "great unity" (tai yi).

The melodic line of the vocal part (from measure 19) organically grows out of the piano intro. In accordance with the poetic text "In my youth, after leaving my father's house, I return as a gray-haired elder," the composer uses a smooth, unhurried unfolding of the melody based on second and third intonations. This creates a sense of natural speech intonation, which is a characteristic feature of Sviridov's late style.

The words "My speech has remained the same, but how much hair has appeared on my temples!" become particularly expressive. The composer emphasizes the contrast between the immutability of a person's inner essence and the changes that occur to him over time, using contrasting piano registers: the high register symbolically correlates with the image of youth, the low register with the image of maturity.

This contrast can be interpreted through the prism of Confucian philosophy, where the central place is occupied by the concept of "zhong yun" ("the middle way"), suggesting a harmonious combination of opposites. In the musical embodiment of this fragment, Sviridov achieves an amazing balance between variability and constancy, youth and old age, creating a musical image that embodies the idea of vital integrity in all external transformations.

At this stage, the piano part is dominated by consonant intervals (thirds, fifths, octaves), creating a sense of inner harmony. This textured solution generates the effect of spatial perspective and meditative concentration, characteristic of Chinese landscape lyrics.

In the development of the musical form, three main sections can be distinguished, corresponding to the semantic development of the poetic text:

1. The exposition section (bars 19-32) – the story of the return

2. The middle section (bars 33-44) – reflections on the past tense

3. The final section (bars 45-56) is a philosophical generalization.

This three–part structure has deep archetypal roots going back to the universal formula "thesis - antithesis – synthesis". In the context of the Chinese philosophical tradition, this corresponds to the concept of "san tsai" ("three principles"): Heaven, Earth and Man, which are in a state of dynamic equilibrium. The musical form of the song thus becomes the embodiment of the fundamental cosmological concepts characteristic of Chinese culture.

In the middle section, corresponding to the words "The children who met me did not recognize the gray-haired wanderer," Sviridov uses a richer texture using seventh chords and non-chords, which increases emotional tension. This corresponds to the text about the experiences of the hero, who discovered that he was not recognized in his hometown.

Harmonic development, based on the juxtaposition of chords in distant tonal ratios, becomes particularly expressive in this section. This approach creates the effect of tonal "wandering", which can be interpreted as a musical metaphor for the alienation of the hero from his native places. At the same time, the composer avoids overt drama, preferring more subtle means of expression, which corresponds to the aesthetic principle of "han xu" ("restraint and emptiness") in Chinese art.

It is noteworthy that Sviridov uses the timbre capabilities of the piano to create the effect of "enlightenment" when speaking with a gentle smile. Here, the composer transfers the texture to a high register, using "transparent" consonances, which creates the effect of a sudden "enlightenment" among the general gloomy atmosphere. This technique can be considered as a musical analogy to the concept of "wu wei" ("non–action") in Taoism - achieving harmony through accepting the natural course of things.

The final section (from measure 45) is marked by a return to the transparent texture of the beginning. The use of octave unison at the end is particularly expressive, creating the effect of a gradual dissolution of the sound. This technique can be interpreted as a musical embodiment of the philosophical idea of the transience of all earthly things, characteristic of Chinese poetry.

The final resolution of the musical fabric into a consonant chord, sounding in a wide arrangement, creates the effect of spatial perspective and at the same time temporal completeness. This corresponds to the Taoist concept of "returning to the source" (gui yuan), symbolizing the closure of the circle of life and the attainment of inner harmony. The interpretation of silence following the final chord is especially significant here – it is perceived not as the absence of sound, but as a special state of sound matter, a kind of "sounding silence" that echoes the Chinese concept of "wu" (non-existence). as an active, creative beginning.

The analysis of the songs "In a Foreign Land" and "Homecoming" allows us to identify the main musical techniques used by Sviridov to convey the figurative structure of Chinese poetry.:

1. A specific melody that combines the lilt of Russian romance with laconicism and declamation. The composer avoids broad melodic leaps, preferring a smooth, undulating movement, which corresponds to the contemplative nature of Chinese lyrics. Noteworthy is Sviridov's use of so–called "intonation arches" - framing melodic turns that create the effect of a closed form, which can be considered as a musical analogy to the structural features of the Chinese lyushi poetic genre, where the first and last lines often overlap in meaning and imagery.

2. A special work with piano texture, where spatial effects created with the help of register and timbre contrasts play a significant role. Sviridov uses a wide range of pianos, from deep basses to high registers, which creates the effect of a surround soundscape. An important aspect of the textured solution is the principle of "sparsity" of the sound fabric, especially in the upper register, which creates the effect of "enlightenment" and airiness, characteristic of the aesthetics of Chinese painting with its concept of "breathing" ("qi") as the basis of artistic expression.

3. A harmonic language combining traditional functionality with elements of modality. The composer avoids direct imitation of pentatonics, but creates a special flavor with the help of quartz harmonies, non-quartz structures and special fret turns. It is noteworthy that Sviridov uses a "floating" key, which creates the effect of tonal "flickering", which can be interpreted as a musical analogy to the Taoist concept of "tao" – an eternally changeable, but basically unchangeable path. Bifunctional consonances and polylade structures play a special role in the harmonic language of the cycle, reflecting the idea of the unity of opposites, characteristic of Chinese philosophy.

4. Metrorhythmic freedom, manifested in changing sizes, using pauses and flexibility of agogic nuances. This allows you to achieve the effect of meditative contemplation, characteristic of Chinese poetry. Unlike many Western composers who turned to oriental themes and often used ostinate rhythmic formulas as a sign of "orientation," Sviridov follows the path of rhythmic freedom and flexibility, which is closer to the very essence of Chinese poetry with its attraction to asymmetry and the natural flow of time.

5. Dynamic restraint with a predominance of quiet and medium nuances (p, mp, mf), which corresponds to the aesthetics of Eastern culture with its avoidance of overexpression. Sviridov's work is particularly revealing with dynamic gradations within the limits of quiet sonority, where the composer achieves an amazing variety of emotional shades with an outward restraint of expression. This approach echoes the principle of "yu-hsien" ("hidden strings") in Chinese aesthetics, where the true depth of feeling is expressed not in emotional outburst, but in subtle nuances and semitones.

6. The special importance of silence and pauses as structural and expressive elements of the musical fabric. Sviridov's pauses become not just temporary caesures, but active elements of musical narration that create the effect of "breathing" a musical form. This corresponds to the Chinese aesthetic category of "xu" ("emptiness"), where unfilled space is considered as an active, creative element of the composition. It is noteworthy that Sviridov often uses the technique of "fading" sound, when a musical phrase does not end definitively, but rather "dissolves" into silence, which creates the effect of incompleteness, openness of musical thought.

7. Musical and speech intonations as the basis of melodic development. Sviridov carefully follows the intonation structure of the poetic text, revealing its inner musicality. At the same time, the composer creates peculiar melodic formulas for keywords and images that act as musical "hieroglyphs" – symbolic sound complexes with independent expressive meaning. This approach can be considered as a musical analogy to the ideographic principle of Chinese writing, where each sign carries a complex, multilevel meaning.

8. Semantic ambiguity of musical language, manifested in the use of polysemantic sound complexes that allow for different interpretations depending on the context. This technique echoes the principle of "yijing" ("meaning beyond the image") in Chinese aesthetics, where the true meaning of a work of art is revealed not in its literal content, but in those associations and meanings that arise beyond it.

The analysis of G.V. Sviridov's Songs of the Wanderer cycle shows that the composer created an original musical interpretation of Chinese poetry, relying not on the external attributes of Oriental music, but on a deep understanding of the philosophical and aesthetic essence of Tang lyrics.

Unlike previous studies by A.N. Timofeeva ^[13], which focused mainly on the historical context of the creation of the cycle and the general characteristics of its style, this work offers a detailed analysis of specific musical means and techniques used by the composer to embody poetic images in specific songs of the cycle. This allows us to identify the specific features of Sviridov's work with Chinese poetry at the level of musical language.

The novelty of the research also lies in the comparison of the poetic source and its musical embodiment, which makes it possible to trace how the composer translates the key images and ideas of Chinese lyrics into the musical fabric of the work. It is especially significant to identify parallels between Sviridov's musical techniques and philosophical and aesthetic categories of Chinese culture, such as "yin-yang" (unity of opposites), "wu-wei" (non-action), "xu" (emptiness) and others. This allows us to talk about Sviridov's peculiar "musical sinology", his intuitive insight into the essence of the Chinese worldview.

The contribution of this research to musicology also lies in the proposed methodology for analyzing intercultural interactions in music, where the emphasis is not on external borrowings of stylistic elements, but on deep correspondences between musical structures and philosophical and aesthetic principles of different cultures. This approach allows us to go beyond the traditional understanding of "orientalism" in music as a superficial stylization and see more complex and interesting forms of intercultural dialogue.

The composer achieves an organic synthesis of the Russian musical tradition and the philosophical depth of Chinese poetry, creating a work of universal sound, which reflects the eternal themes of human existence – wandering, time, memory, return to the roots. This experience of intercultural dialogue in music is of considerable interest both for performing practice and for modern musicology.

It is especially important that Sviridov does not follow the path of simple stylization or imitation of oriental flavor, but creates an original musical interpretation of Chinese poetry based on a deep insight into its figurative structure and philosophical essence. In this way, the composer demonstrates the possibility of a genuine intercultural dialogue in music, where the interaction of various traditions takes place at the level of deep semantic structures, rather than superficial stylistic borrowings.

In the modern context of globalization processes, which often lead to the leveling of cultural differences, Sviridov's experience acquires special value, showing the possibility of preserving national identity while being open to dialogue with other cultures. The "Songs of the Wanderer" cycle is a vivid example of how the national can become universal, without losing its specificity, but enriching itself through interaction with other cultural traditions.

The prospects for further research of the topic are related to the expansion of the analytical material by including other songs in the cycle, as well as a comparative analysis of the approaches of Sviridov and other Russian composers to the interpretation of Oriental poetry. An interesting area of research may also be the reception of the "Songs of the Wanderer" cycle in the Chinese cultural environment, which will make it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of intercultural dialogue in terms of its perception by representatives of the culture to which the composer refers.