Harmony and measure: V. T. Borisov’s orchestral style (on the example of the First and Second symphonies).
Background.In recent years, there has been taken an increasing interest to a creative work of Kharkov composer’s school a bright representative of which is V. Ò. Bîrisîv (1901–1988), who is an honored worker of arts of Ukraine, chancellor of Kharkov state conservatory (1944–1949), manager of department of composition and orchestration (1973–1978), teacher bringing up the whole pleiad of remarkable musicians. There is not much written about music of V. Ò. Borisov: in a book of N. S. Òishko we can find the panoramic review of the composer’s work, research on folk-song bases of his musical language is undertaken in candidate dissertation of P. P. Càlàshnik, the lines of master style are examined in his work of monographic plan, and numerous articles discuss problems of harmony, polyphony, separate questions related to orchestration. Lately a re-search was filled by dissertation research, monograph and articles of Ì. V. Båvs. Objectives. The objectives of this study are to investigate some features of orches-tral style of V. Ò. Borisov. Methods.Orchestral style of Borisov is examined in the article on crossing of tradi-tion and innovation. As an analytical material we select symphonies ¹ 1 and ¹ 2. In spite of the difference in interpretation of genre canon, both symphonies possess general dignity – they are expertly orchestrated by the composer owning striking timbre sense and impeccable taste for orchestration. The voice-frequency thinking and musical language of V. Ò. Borisov determine pres-ervation of traditional orchestral functions in musical contexture of his compositions. In accordance with classic-romantic tradition, orchestration is thought by a com-poser as the major factor of shaping at different scale levels of musical form: its chang-ing or, vice versa, maintenance designate form segmentation. Within the limits of a large syntactic construction, orchestration, as a whole, remains unchanged. Repetitive thematic in sonata or in three-part reprise forms were marked in orchestration changes, that testifies to interpretation of timbre and texture-register parameters modifications as major means of updating and development of musical idea. Timbre-register-texture embodiment of theme is determined by its shaped. So, the reception of the dialogic, tessellated orchestration based on roll-calls-kicking about short thematic constructions from timbres to the timbres, from a group to the group is often used in orchestration of genre, scherzo, playing themes. The analysis of Bîrisov’s symphonies scores allows to conclude, that basic principle of his orchestral thinking is harmony and measure in everything. A composer firmly observes balance between the dense sounding and rarefied, between the presence of duplications and their absence, between fragments where solo remarks prevail and epi-sodes built on the mixed timbres, between tutti, uniting all orchestral vertical line, and tutti not overloaded, between different types of orchestral invoice and etc. In accordance with tradition, a composer cares of balance of sounding, about building of a vertical line. A measure and balance in composer’s scores are traced also in the use of duplication, timbre, mixes. In analyzable symphonies duplications are used widely and diversely, however constantly. There are many enough fragments of text, instrumented without the use of duplications. A composer works with the closeness of orchestral space, comparing in a sequence the fragments of text with more saturated sounding and rarefied sounding. Borisov ap-plies different on their decision tutti: the extreme pole of saturation of orchestral contex-ture can be maximally dense to tutti with duplications on all vertical line of an orchestra. An opposite pole is made to tutti that differentiate on the degree of closeness, here regulated contexture thickness by different methods. To the symphonies of Borisov bright, coloristic orchestration is inherent. Composi-tion of orchestra, master possession, use of plenty of solo, economic and expressive feasibilities of instruments testify to it. A thin colorfulness is characteristic of slow parts of symphonies – more chamber and muffled on sounding in correlation with surrounding them parts. Here we find master proficiency, economical use of orchestral timbres and facilities, colorful comparison of timbre group, of an ensemble writing. Results. The results of the research support the idea that orchestral style of V. T. Bo-risov is bright and original phenomenon. His features open up through description of ba-sic parameters of orchestration of the composer: functional structure of orchestral con-texture, co-ordination of orchestration with shaping, interpretation of orchestral groups, closeness of orchestral contexture, types of tutti, use of duplications / timbre mixes and solo timbres, coloring. The educed lines demonstrate the action of aesthetic principles of harmony and measure as correlating between the different constituents of composer orchestral style. Conclusions. We conclude that lines of orchestral style of V. T. Borisov allow, from one side, to examine his orchestration in the lines with established tradition, from the other, – testify that work of the composer belongs to the musical art of ÕÕ century, marked by cardinal changes in the field of musical language and thinking.