Some features of the performance of Russian secular choral miniatures a cappella lively by V.L., Alikina E.V. Topic seven: musical genres associated with words (vocal genres) Main vectors of genre development

Pedagogical goal: to form an idea of ​​the features of the musical miniature genre using the example of a choral arrangement of “An Old French Song” from P.I. Tchaikovsky’s “Children’s Album”.

Objectives: to trace the relationship between different musical genres through understanding the content of the composer’s artistic intent; to achieve high-quality sound of children's singing voices in the process of learning and performing a song through conscious perception of music.

Lesson genre: thematic.

Type of lesson: learning new material.

Methods: immersion method(allows you to understand the value and semantic significance of a musical work in a person’s life); phonetic method sound production(aimed both at developing the qualitative characteristics of the singing voice and at developing vocal and choral skills); method of playing music(connected with the mastery of elements of musical fabric and methods of performing music based on the internal activity of students); the method of “plastic intonation” (aimed at the holistic perception of musical tissue through the motor skills of one’s body).

Equipment: portrait of P.I. Tchaikovsky, music collection “Children’s Album”, illustration of a sunset on the river (at the director’s choice), cards with musical terms “Climax”, “Reprise”.

By the time of the lesson, the children have already become acquainted with the work of P.I. Tchaikovsky in music lessons and should easily recognize the portrait of the composer, which the choir director shows them.

Leader: Guys, you have already studied the musical works of this brilliant composer in school music lessons. Who remembers his name and what nation he belongs to?

Children: Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Leader: Yes, indeed, this is the great Russian composer of the 19th century P.I. Tchaikovsky, and I am glad that you recognized him! Pyotr Ilyich’s music is known and loved all over the world, and what works of his do you remember?

Students give expected answers:

Children: “March of the Wooden Soldiers”, “The Doll’s Sickness”, “Polka”, “Waltz of the Snowflakes” and “March” from the ballet “The Nutcracker”.

Leader: Guys, Tchaikovsky created a lot of wonderful music for adults and children in various genres, from such large ones as opera, ballet and symphony to very small instrumental pieces and songs. You have already mentioned some of them today. For example, “March of the Wooden Soldiers” and “Doll Disease.” Do you know for whom the composer wrote these plays? For my little nephews who were learning to play the piano. Unfortunately, Pyotr Ilyich did not have his own children, but he loved his sister’s children very much. Especially for them, he created a collection of short pieces for piano, which he called “Children’s Album.” In total, the collection included 24 plays, including “March of the Wooden Soldiers” and “The Doll’s Disease.”

The leader shows the collection to the children and, turning through its pages, pronounces some of the names of the plays, focusing on the following:

Leader: “German song”, “Neapolitan song”, “Old French song”... Guys, how can this be? Did a Russian composer write plays with these titles?

Children, as a rule, find it difficult to answer, and the leader comes to their aid:

Leader: Traveling to different countries, Pyotr Ilyich studied the music of different peoples. He visited Italy, France, Germany, England, other European countries and even went across the ocean to North America. The composer embodied his impressions of the folk music of these countries in his compositions, conveying its beauty and originality. This is how the “German Song”, “Neapolitan Song”, “Ancient French Song” from the “Children’s Album” and many other works appeared.

Now I will perform for you on the piano one of my favorite pieces from the “Children’s Album” - “An Old French Song”, and you will be an attentive listener and try to understand why the composer called the instrumental work a “song”?

Task: determine the vocal beginning of the piece by the nature of the melody.

After listening to the music, students give expected answers:

Children: The melody is smooth, drawn-out, legato, songlike, the piano seems to be “singing.” That's why the composer called this instrumental piece a “song.”

Leader: Guys, you are absolutely right. It is not for nothing that in our time the modern poetess Emma Alexandrova, sensing the song beginning of this music, composed the words to the “Old French Song”. The result is a piece for a children's choir, which we will learn today in class. Please listen to this vocal work and determine its content. What is this song about?

Students listen to the “Old French Song” performed vocally by the teacher to the accompaniment of the piano.

Children: This is a picture of nature, a musical landscape of an evening river.

Leader: Of course, you're right, guys. This is obvious from the poetic lyrics of the song. What mood does the music express?

Children: Mood of peace and light sadness. But suddenly, in the middle of the song, the music becomes agitated and impetuous. Then the mood of peace and light sadness returns again.

Leader: Well done, guys! Not only were you able to determine the mood of this music, but you were also able to see how it changed throughout the song. And this, in turn, will help us determine the musical form of the “Old French Song”. What is a musical form?

Children: Musical form is the structure of a piece of music in parts.

Leader: In what form are most of the songs you know written?

Children: In verse form.

Leader: Can we assume that the “Old French Song” also has this form? After all, this is an unusual song. Remember how it was created, and remember how many times the mood in this “song” changed?

Children: This song has a three-part form, as the mood of the music changed three times.

Leader: This is the correct answer. “An Old French Song” has an unusual form for the vocal genre, since it was originally written by P.I. Tchaikovsky as an instrumental piece for piano. From your answer we can conclude that the number of parts of the form of a musical work corresponds to the change in mood in the music.

Leader: By what means of musical speech did the composer convey the mood of the “song”?

Children: Legato sound design, minor scale, smooth rhythm, calm tempo in the extreme parts of the song, acceleration of the tempo and increased dynamics in the middle part.

Before the next listening to the “Old French Song,” students are shown an illustration for the song - a sunset on the river, and are offered a verbal picture - a fantasy about the feelings of the composer who composed this music.

Leader: Look carefully at this illustration and imagine as if the composer himself was sitting on the banks of the evening Seine in the outskirts of Paris, admiring the beauty of the surrounding nature and the colors of the setting sun. And suddenly vivid memories of his distant, but so dearly beloved Motherland came flooding back to him. He remembers his native open spaces, wide rivers, Russian birch trees and, like his mother’s voice, the ringing of church bells...

The director places a portrait of P.I. Tchaikovsky on the piano.

Leader: Guys, imagine that the composer himself is listening to this music with you.

After listening to vocal music again, students share their impressions of the music they heard.

Leader: Guys, Pyotr Ilyich loved Russia very much, and do you love your Motherland?

Expected student answers:

Children: Yes, of course, we love her very much too and are proud of our great country!

The leader distributes the lyrics of the song to the children.

Leader: Guys, of course, you noticed how little text there is in this song. Despite this, he very vividly and figuratively paints a picture of evening nature and the changing moods of a person:

In the evening there is coolness and peace over the river;
Whitening, the clouds recede into the distance.
They strive, but where? Flow like water
They fly like a flock of birds and disappear without a trace.

Chu! The distant ringing is shaking, calling, calling!
Is it not the heart that gives the heart the message?

The water runs, the water gurgles, the years go away,
But the song still lives, it is always with you.

After reciting the text of “An Old French Song,” the leader gives a definition of the genre of musical miniature:

Leader: A small piece of music for voice, choir, any instrument and even an entire orchestra has a beautiful French name miniature. Guys, does “Ancient French Song” by P.I. Tchaikovsky belong to the genre of vocal or instrumental miniature?

Children: “An Old French Song” by P.I. Tchaikovsky belongs to the instrumental miniature genre because the composer wrote it for piano. But after the “song” had words, it turned into a vocal miniature for a children's choir.

Leader: Yes, indeed, “An Old French Song” is both an instrumental and a choral (vocal) miniature. Did you guys like this song? Would you like to learn it? Certainly! But before that, we need to sing so that your voices sound beautiful and harmonious.

2-stage. Chanting.

Children are given a singing instruction.

Leader: Guys, show me how to sit correctly when singing.

Children sit up straight, straighten their shoulders, place their hands on their knees.

Leader: Well done, guys. Don't forget to watch your body position while singing.

Students are invited to perform a set of exercises to develop vocal and technical skills:

1.Vocal breathing and choral unison exercise.

Extend the syllable “mi” at the same height for as long as possible (sounds “fa”, “sol”, “la” of the first octave).

When performing this exercise, it is necessary to ensure that children do not raise their shoulders and take breaths “from the tummy, like frogs” (lower costal breathing).

2.Exercises on legato (smooth coherent sound production).

The combination of syllables “mi-ya”, “da-de-di-do-du” is performed step by step up and down – I – III – I (D major – G major); I – V – I (C major – F major).

3.Exercise on staccato (selective sound production).

The syllable “le” is performed according to the sounds of a major triad up and down (C major – G major).

4.Vocal diction exercise.

Singing patter:

“The cool little lambs walk in the mountains and wander through the forests. They play the violin and amuse Vasya” (Russian folk joke).

Performed on one sound (“re”, “mi”, “fa”, “sol” of the first octave) with a gradual acceleration of the tempo.

3-stage. Learning a song in the form of the game “Musical Echo”.

Goal: to form a comprehensive understanding of the song.

Method of playing the game: the leader sings the first phrase of the song, the children repeat quietly along the leader’s hand, like an “echo.” The second phrase is also performed. Then the leader sings two phrases at once. Various execution options are played out:

• the leader sings loudly, the children sing quietly;
• the leader sings quietly, the children sing loudly;
• The leader invites any of the children to become a performer.

Leader: Guys, you have determined the content of the song, its form, the nature of sound design, and now let’s look at its intonation and rhythmic features. So, listen to the first musical sentence of the first part of the song and determine the nature of the movement of the melody.

The leader fulfills the first proposal.

Children: The melody rises up, lingers on the upper tone, and then descends on the lower sounds to the tonic (musical point).

Leader: What does this direction of the melody represent?

Children: Waves on the river.

Leader: Let's fulfill this sentence, simultaneously clapping the rhythmic pattern of the melody (pattern of short and long sounds), emphasizing the stress in the words.

Then the students compare the first and second sentences of the first part of the “song” and conclude that their music is the same, but the words are different. The leader teaches the first part of the choral miniature with the children, using the “musical echo” technique, working on the purity of intonation and choral unison.

After vocal work on the first part of the “song,” the leader invites the children to listen to the second part and compare it with the previous one.

Children: The music becomes excited, the tempo gradually accelerates, the strength of the sound gradually increases, the melody rises “step by step” to the highest sounds of the “song” on the words “Isn’t it your heart...” and suddenly freezes at the end of the movement.

Leader: Well done, guys! You correctly felt the development of the melody of the middle part of the “song” and identified the brightest “point” of this choral miniature, which is called culmination that is, the most important semantic place of a musical work. Let's perform this part while simultaneously showing the upward movement of the melody with our hands and lingering at the climax.

After vocal work on the middle part, the leader invites students to listen to the third part of the “song” and compare it with the previous ones.

Children: In the third part of the “song” the melody is the same as in the first. She is just as calm and measured. It contains one musical sentence.

Leader: That's right, guys. The first and third parts of this choral miniature have the same melody. This three-part musical form is called reprisal. The word reprise is Italian and translated into Russian means “repetition”. Let's perform the extreme parts of the “song” and try to convey with our voice the smooth movement of the waves on the river and the sliding of clouds in the evening sky, which are sung about in the song.

After vocal work on the third part of the choral miniature, the director evaluates the children’s performance, noting its most successful moments, and offers to perform this part, if the students wish, solo. After this, students are invited to once again listen to the “Old French Song” as an instrumental miniature performed by a piano, and then perform the “song” themselves from beginning to end as a choral (vocal) miniature:

Leader: Guys, try to convey the feelings of the composer who composed this beautiful music, as well as your own feelings that you will experience when performing “An Old French Song”.

4-stage. Lesson summary.

Leader: Guys , With Today at the lesson you were excellent listeners, with your performance you tried to convey the figurative content of the “Ancient French Song”, you managed to express the feelings of the composer who composed this piece of music. Let's name this composer again.

Children: The great Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Leader: Why is “Ancient French Song” classified as a musical miniature?

Children: Because this is a very small piece of music.

Leader: What other interesting things did you learn about this musical miniature?

Children: The history of the creation of this piece of music is interesting; “An Old French Song” was included in the collection of piano pieces “Children’s Album” for young pianists; it is both an instrumental miniature and a choral miniature, depending on who performs it.

Leader: Well done, guys! Now carefully read the “musical” words on these cards and remember what they mean.

The leader shows the children two cards with the words “Climax”, “Reprise”.

Children: The climax is the most important semantic place in a musical work; reprise - repetition of a musical part, refers to a three-part form in which the third part “repeats” the music of the first part.

Leader: Well done, you gave the correct definitions to these words. Let's put these new cards in our “Musical Dictionary”.

One of the students places the cards on the “Musical Dictionary” stand.

Leader: Guys, while singing “An Old French Song” in class today, you “painted” with musical colors a picture of evening nature on the river. And your homework will be to draw illustrations for this choral miniature using ordinary paints.

It is known that according to the general genre classification, all music is divided into vocal And instrumental. Vocal music can be solo, ensemble, or choral. In turn, choral creativity has its own varieties, which are called choral genres:

2) choral miniature;

3) large choir;

4) oratorio-cantata (oratorio, cantata, suite, poem, requiem, mass, etc.);

5) opera and other works related to stage action (independent choral number and choral scene);

6) processing;

7) arrangement.

Choral song (folk songs, songs for concert performance, choral mass songs) - the most democratic genre, characterized by a simple form (mainly verses) and simplicity of musical expressive means. Examples:

M. Glinka “Patriotic Song”

A. Dargomyzhsky “The Raven Flies to the Raven”

"From a land, a distant land"

A. Alyabyev “Song about a young blacksmith”

P. Tchaikovsky “Without time, without time”

P. Chesnokov “Not a flower withers in a field”

A. Novikov “Roads”

G. Sviridov “How the song was born”

Choral miniature - the most widespread genre, which is characterized by the richness and diversity of forms and means of musical expression. The main content is lyrics, conveying feelings and moods, landscape sketches. Examples:

F. Mendelssohn “Forest”

R. Schumann “Night Silence”

"Evening Star"

F. Schubert "Love"

"Round dance"

A. Dargomyzhsky “Come to me”

P. Tchaikovsky “Not a cuckoo”

S. Taneyev, “Serenade”

"Venice at night"

P. Chesnokov “Alps”

"August"

Ts. Cui “Everything fell asleep”

"Lighted in the distance"

V. Shebalin “Cliff”

"Winter road"

V. Salmanov “As you live, you can”

"Lion in an Iron Cage"

F. Poulenc “Sadness”

O. Lasso “I love you”

M. Ravel "Nicolette"

P. Hindemith “Winter”

Large choir — Works of this genre are characterized by the use of complex forms (three-, five-part, rondo, sonata) and polyphony. The main content is dramatic collisions, philosophical reflections, lyrical-epic narratives. Examples:

A. Lotti “Crucifixus”.

C. Monteverdi “Madrigal”

M. Berezovsky “Don’t reject me”

D. Bortnyansky “Cherub”

"Choral Concert"

A. Dargomyzhsky “The storm covers the sky with darkness”

P. Tchaikovsky “For Sleep”

Yu. Sakhnovsky “Feather grass”

Vic. Kalinnikov "On the old mound"

"The Stars Are Fading"

S. Rachmaninov “Concerto for Choir”

S. Taneev “At the Grave”

"Prometheus"

"The ruin of the tower"

“There are two gloomy clouds on the mountains”

"Stars"

"The volleys fell silent"

G. Sviridov “Herd”

V. Salmanov “From Afar”

C. Gounod “Night”

M. Ravel “Three Birds”

F. Poulenc "Marie"

Cantata-oratorio (oratorio, cantata, suite, poem, requiem, mass, etc.). Examples:

G. Handel Oratorio: “Samson”,

"Messiah"

I. Haydn Oratorio “The Seasons”

W.A. Mozart “Requiem”

I.S. Bach Cantatas. Mass in B minor

L. Beethoven “Solemn Mass”

J. Brahms “German Requiem”

G. Mahler 3rd symphony with choir

G. Verdi "Requiem"

P. Tchaikovsky Cantata “Moscow”

"Liturgy of John. Chrysostom"

S. Rachmaninov Cantata “Spring”

"Three Russian Songs"

Poem "Bells"

"All Night Vigil"

S. Prokofiev Cantata “Alexander Nevsky”

D. Shostakovich 13th symphony (with bass choir)

Oratorio “Song of the Forests”

"Ten Choral Poems"

Poem "The Execution of Stepan Razin"

G. Sviridov “Pathetic Oratorio”

Poem “In Memory of S. Yesenin”

Cantata “Kursk Songs”

Cantata "Night Clouds"

V. Salmanov “Swan” (choral concert)

Oratorio-poem “The Twelve”

V. Gavrilin “Chimes” (choral performance)

B. Briten "War Requiem".,

K. Orff “Carmina Burana” (stage cantata)

A. Onneger “Joan of Arc”

F. Poulenc Cantata “The Human Face”

I. Stravinsky “Wedding”

"Symphony of Psalms"

"Sacred spring"

Opera-choral genre. Examples:

G. Verdi “Aida” (“Who is there with victory to glory”)

“Nebuchadnezzar (“You are beautiful, O our Motherland”)

J. Bizet “Carmen” (Finale of Act I)

M. Glinka “Ivan Susanin” (“My Motherland”, “Glory”))

"Ruslan and Lyudmila ("Lel the mysterious")

A. Borodin “Prince Igor” (“Glory to the Red Sun”)

M. Mussorgsky “Khovanshchina” (Meeting scene of Khovansky)

"Boris Godunov" (Scene near Kromy)

P. Tchaikovsky “Eugene Onegin” (Ball Scene)

"Mazepa" ("I will curl a wreath")

“The Queen of Spades” (Scene, in the Summer Garden)

N. Rimsky-Korsakov “Woman of Pskov” (Veche Scene)

“Snow Maiden” (Seeing off Maslenitsa)

"Sadko" ("Height, height under heaven")

"The Tsar's Bride" ("Love Potion")

D. Shostakovich. Katerina Izmailova" (Convict Choir)

Choral arrangement (arrangement of a folk song for choral and concert performance)

A) The simplest type of song arrangement for choir (verse-variation form preserving the melody and genre of the song). Examples:

“Shchedrik” - Ukrainian folk song arranged by M. Leontovich “Told me something” - Russian folk song arranged by A. Mikhailov “Dorozhenka” - Russian folk song arranged by A. Sveshnikov “Ah, Anna-Susanna” - German folk, song arranged by O. Kolovsky

“Steppe, and steppe all around” - Russian folk song arranged by I. Poltavtsev

B) Expanded type of processing - while the melody remains unchanged, the author's style is clearly expressed. Examples:

“How young, baby I am” - Russian folk song, arranged

D. Shostakovich “The Gypsy Ate Salted Cheese” - arrangement 3. Kodály

B) Free type of song processing - changing the genre, melody, etc. Examples:

“On the hill, on the mountain” - Russian folk song arranged by A. Kolovsky

“The bells were ringing” - Russian folk song arranged by G. Sviridov “Jokes” - Russian folk song V arranged by A. Nikolsky “Pretty-young” - Russian folk song arranged by A. Loginov

Choral arrangement

• arrangement from one choir to another (from mixed to female or male)

A. Lyadov Lullaby - arrangement by M. Klimov

• arrangement of a solo song for choir with soloist

A. Gurilev The swallow flutters - arrangement by I. Poltavtsev

• arrangement of an instrumental work for choir

R. Schumann Dreams - arrangement for choir by M. Klimov

M. Oginsky Polonaise - arrangement for choir by V. Sokolov

S. Rachmaninov Italian polka - arrangement for choir by M. Klimov

9. Genres of choral music

Choral singing has the same ancient history as single-voice singing. Let us remember that ancient ritual songs are sung collectively. True, everyone sings the same melody, sings in unison. For many centuries in a row, choral singing remained unison, that is, in fact monophonic. The first examples of choral polyphony in European music date back to X century.

IN folk music have you encountered polyphony in lingering songs. From folk polyphony came the tradition of singing songs in chorus. Sometimes these are simply transcriptions of single-voice songs for choir, and sometimes songs specifically intended for choral performance. But choral song this is not an independent genre, but one of varieties genre songs.

Choral miniature

Choral miniature is a small piece for choir. Unlike a song, in a choral miniature the polyphonic choral texture is more developed, and polyphony is often used. Many choral miniatures were written for unaccompanied choir (the Italian term is used to refer to unaccompanied choir a cappella“a cappella”).

This is how the Russian composer uses choral texture in the choral miniature “Winter Road” based on poems by A. S. Pushkin (original in B-flat minor):

Allegro moderato. Leggiero [Moderately fast. Easily]

Here the composer singles out the soprano part as the main melody, and the other voices “echo” their phrases. They sing these phrases with chords that support the first soprano part like an instrumental accompaniment. In the future, the texture becomes more complex, and at times the leading melodic line will appear in other voices.

Choir concert

Despite such a “concert” name, this genre not intended for concert performance. Choral concerts were performed in Orthodox Church during a solemn, festive service. This is a genre Russian Orthodox sacred music.

A choral concert is no longer a miniature, but a large multi-part work. But not a series of miniatures either. It can be called a musical “story” in several “chapters”; each new part of the choral concert is a continuation of the previous one. There are usually short pauses between parts, but sometimes parts flow into each other without interruption. All choral concertos are written for choir a cappella, since musical instruments are prohibited in the Orthodox Church.

The great masters of choral concert of the 18th century were.

In our time, secular choral concerts have also appeared. For example, in the works of G.V. Sviridov.

Cantata

You probably already felt that this word has the same root as the word “cantilena”. “Cantata” also comes from the Italian “canto” (“singing”) and means “a piece that is sung.” This name arose in the early 17th century, along with the names “sonata” (a piece that is played) and “toccata” (a piece that is played on keyboard instruments). Now the meaning of these names has changed a little.

WITH 18th century under cantata They don’t understand every piece they sing.

In its structure, the cantata is similar to a choral concert. Like choral concerts, the first cantatas were spiritual works, but not in the Orthodox, but in Catholic Western European Church. But already in XVIII century appear and secular cantatas intended for concert performance. J. S. Bach wrote many spiritual and secular cantatas.

In the 19th century, the cantata genre became less popular, although many composers continued to write cantatas.

In the twentieth century, this genre is being revived again. Wonderful cantatas were created by S. S. Prokofiev, G. V. Sviridov, an outstanding German composer, a modern St. Petersburg composer.

Oratorio

The word “oratorio” originally did not mean a musical genre at all. Oratories were rooms for prayer in churches, as well as prayer meetings that took place in these rooms.

The service in the Catholic Church was conducted in Latin, which no one spoke anymore. Only educated people understood him, mainly the priests themselves. And so that the parishioners also understood what was being said in the prayers, theatrical performances on religious subjects were organized liturgical dramas. They were accompanied by music and singing. It was from them that arose in XVII century genre oratorios.

As in the cantata, the oratorio is attended by solo singers, choir And orchestra. An oratorio differs from a cantata in two ways: much larger size(up to two, two and a half hours) and a coherent narrative plot. Ancient oratorios were created, as a rule, on biblical the plots were intended both for church, and for secular execution. In the first half, #null became especially famous for his oratorios #null a German composer who lived in England for many years. At the end of the 18th century, interest in oratorio waned, but in England Handel’s oratorios are still remembered and loved. When the Austrian composer Haydn visited London in 1791, he was captivated by these oratorios and soon wrote three huge works in this genre himself: "Seven Words of the Savior on the Cross", "Seasons" And "World creation".

In the 19th century, composers created oratorios, but they were not successful, just like cantatas. They were supplanted by opera. In the twentieth century, significant works of this genre appeared again, such as "Joan of Arc at the stake" French composer, Pathetic oratorio Sviridov based on the poem “Good”. In 1988, a significant event in the musical life of St. Petersburg was the performance of the oratorio "The Life of Prince Vladimir" on an ancient Russian plot.

The whole life of the Russian people is connected with song. Work, rest, joy, grief, wars, victories - everything is reflected in it. Songs were passed down from mouth to mouth, kept in the memory of the people and passed from generation to generation.

Starting from the age of 18, amateur musicians recorded songs, fairy tales, and epics in different parts of Russia. Thanks to the first collections (compiled by Kirsha Danilov, Trutovsky, Prach) published at the end of the 18th century, the best examples of folk songs have reached us. In the 30s of the 19th century the first collections of choral arrangements of the r.n.p. were published. One of them, a collection by I. Rupin (1792-1850), was called “People's r.n.p. Arranged with piano accompaniment and for choir." Most of the arrangements were made for three-voice ensembles of various compositions (male, mixed), with an independently developed vocal line for each part, but on a harmonic basis.

Classical composers opened a new page in the genre of choral arrangements of narrations. songs. They carefully chose for them the most artistically and historically valuable songs, treated the melody very carefully, and sought to preserve the specific features of polyphonic folk singing: the diatonic basis of voicing, natural modes, plagal turns, and the subtlety of the meter-rhythmic structure. Most of the arrangements are made for unaccompanied choirs.

In the works of Russian composers, the following types of choral arrangements of narrations have developed. songs: harmonization, in which the melody in the upper voice is given accompanied by chords played by other voices; polyphonic type of processing, implying developed subvocality, imitation, contrasting polyphony in voicing; mixed type, including elements of harmonization and polyphonic processing; free processing, based on the combination of all the previously listed types of processing and approaching independent composition on the theme of a folk song.

Russian folk songs played a big role in the work of M. Mussorgsky (1839 - 1881). Along with their widespread use in operas, the composer processed them for independent choral performance. Four Russian folk songs - “You rise, rise, red sun” and “Oh, my will, my will”, “Say, dear maiden”, “At the gates, the gates of the priests” - arranged by Mussorgsky for a male 4-voice choir without accompaniment .

The nar song occupied a special place in the works of N. Rimsky - Korsakov (1844 - 1908). In 1879, the composer published the collection “Fifteen Russian nar songs, arranged in a folk style, without accompaniment,” consisting of three notebooks: the first contains arrangements for women choir, in the second - for men, in the third - for mixed. The round dance song “The Braided Braid” is arranged for a mixed choir using harmonization techniques. Arrangement of the Trinity song “And the leaves are thick on the birch,” a miniature for a female choir, made using imitation techniques. An example of polyphonic processing is the song “I Walk with the Vine” - a canon for a mixed choir.

Lecture No. 6. Opera choirs of classical composers

1. Opera and choral works of M. Glinka.

2. Opera and choral works of A. Dargomyzhsky.

M.I. Glinka (1804 – 18570) is a brilliant Russian composer, the founder of Russian national classical music. His operas “Ivan Susanin” and “Ruslan and Lyudmila” reflected heroism and lyricism, reality, magical fiction, historical epic and everyday life. The composer called “Ivan Susanin” “a domestic heroic-tragic opera.” The plot is based on the feat of the Kostroma peasant Ivan Susanin, the heroism of the Russian people in the fight against enemies, selfless love for their fatherland. The opera is framed by monumental choral scenes - an introduction and an epilogue. The introduction features a choir of militia led by a Russian warrior and a choir of peasants welcoming them to their village. In the style of nar. The song was written by the choir “My Motherland”. The singer (Russian warrior) begins the melody. The main theme sounds broadly and chantingly, and is picked up by a male choir. Drawing images of peasants, Glinka writes choruses in the Russian style. adv. songs. The rowing choir “Our River Is Good” and the wedding choir “Walking, Spilling” are striking examples of such stylization.

“Our River is Good” is a unique choir: T and A sing in unison. The song is filled with love for our native land. The melody is close to a folk song in its smoothness, melodiousness, variability of modes, and diatonicity. The choir form is verse-variational, only the orchestral accompaniment varies, but the melody remains unchanged.

“We walked, we spilled” - a wedding ritual chorus from the third act of the opera. After Susanin leaves with the Poles, Antonida’s friends come to her. Not knowing anything about what happened, the girls sing a wedding song. A smooth, wide melody flows effortlessly. The main idea of ​​the opera - the heroism and patriotism of the Russian people - is most clearly embodied in the chorus of the epilogue “Glory”. The epilogue consists of an intermission and three sections: the first is a triple chorus; the second is a scene from a trio (Vanya, Antonida and Sobinin) with a choir, the third is the finale of the “Glory” choir with an ensemble of luminaries).

After the scene and the trio with the choir (warrior choir) as a reprise of the entire epilogue, “Hail” is heard again in the finale. A six-voice mixed choir of the people, an ensemble of luminaries, coloring the overall sound with moving melodic chants. A symphonic choir of warriors and brass bands, bells, timpani - everything merges into a solemnly jubilant hymn to the glory of the people - the hero.

Dargomyzhsky Alexander Sergeevich (February 2, 1813- January 5, 1869) - famous Russian composer. Born in the village of Dargomyzhe, Belevsky district, Tula province. Dargomyzhsky received his education at home, but thoroughly; he knew the French language and French literature very well. While playing in the puppet theater, the boy composed small vaudeville plays for him, and at the age of six he began to learn to play the piano.

There was no real system in Dargomyzhsky’s musical education, and he owed his theoretical knowledge mainly to himself

Having received a musical education at home, Dargomyzhsky began composing romances and instrumental pieces at a young age.

His earliest works are rondos, variations for piano, romances based on poems by Zhukovsky and Pushkin

His acquaintance with Glinka (1834), which soon turned into a close friendship, led to the idea of ​​taking up music seriously: he began to study in depth the theory of composition and instrumentation.

In 1844 Dargomyzhsky visited Germany, Paris, Brussels and Vienna.

Personal acquaintance with Ober, Meyerbeer and other European musicians influenced his further development.

Dargomyzhsky's social and musical activities began only shortly before his death: from 1860 he was a member of the committee for reviewing compositions submitted to competitions of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, and from 1867 he was elected director of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Society.

Dargomyzhsky's first major work is an opera. « Esmeralda" (1839) (based on Victor Hugo's novel "Notre Dame de Paris"). "Esmeralda" was staged only in 1847 in Moscow and in 1851 in St. Petersburg

In his next work, the opera-ballet “The Triumph of Bacchus” (in 1848), he turned to Alexander Pushkin, with whose poetry all his subsequent work is largely connected.

The pinnacle of the composer's work was the opera "Rusalka", completed in 1855.

Dargomyzhsky’s last operatic work was “The Stone Guest” (based on Pushkin’s “little tragedy” of the same name.