Musical work of a composer in performing practice: sameness/identity – openness -integrity.
For several centuries, since the concept of a musical work has been formed in European culture, disputes about what should be considered as a musical work, what ensures its recognition and identity to one-self, do not cease. This problem is so important that, having gone beyond the limits of musicology in the 20 th century, it provoked the emergence of research in related fields of humanitarism – philosophy, aesthetics, psychology and even jurispru-dence. The continuing relevance, and the fundamental impossibility of the final and only true solution to this problem, is largely related to the performing practice. After all, in every new reading, a piece of music does not just change in individual nuances, it «talks» about different things. In general, this is typical of any artifact, but the specifics of the existence of a musical work is not exhausted by this. An-other significant point is that its material side – the so-called sound structures – is not a fully stable component. The set of the named factors defines the purpose of our research – the spec-ification of the terminological apparatus used to characterize the aspects of the existence of the «musical work of the composer» (the term V. Moskalenko). First of all, we should note that the researchers of the performing segment of musical art use a number of concepts, the application of which requires a number of explanations. The first of them will concern the apparent synonymy of the pair sameness – identity. According to the semantic content, these words are really close, but still the identity is a concept that has come from the exact sciences. And focusing exclusively on the material component of the musical work, we run the risk of being in the zone of identity of non-defining, «non-essential factors» among which the basic parameters for formal analysis are: 1) The so-called «sound structures»is a graphic outline of a musical work that can change significantly. 2) Everything that is associated with the coloring of the soundand can also be changed without the risk of losing the sense of work. 3) The tempo-rhythmof the work, and, consequently, the time of its sound-ing is also absolutely mobile. 4) The genreof the work also does not seem to us an unshakable constant, because it largely depends on the performance pronunciation that determines the creative style of each musician. Thus, analyzing the performance versions of I. S.Bach’s chaconne, we, in fact, receive three works, the computer modeling of which gives so different pic-tures that we simple can not talk about the mathematical (formal) identity. But if a musical work of a composer is not identical to itself in performing versions, then what allows not only to identify it, but again and again to actualize the meanings contained in it? It seems that the search must be conducted in the sphere of spiri-tuality. To this conclusion come as well as musicologists (V. Moskalenko) as well as performers (Yu. Vakhrainov). Then the musical work can be represented as a kind of analogue of the Platonic idea. Embodied through a specific performer in new historical and aesthetic conditions, each work can develop like the characters of novels: the novel of wandering – where the character’s task is to save himself in changing conditions; biographical novel – in which the personality of charac-ter qualitatively changes under the influence of life circumstances; psychological novel – in which the external conditions are less interesting and important than the inner life of the character. This ability to integrate into other art systems is indicat-ed by the supporters of the concept of “open work”. Having accepted the fact that the unique musical workChaconneby I. S. Bach as an open system represents «an object endowed with certain structural properties that allow, but at the same time coordinate the alternation of interpretations and the displacement of prospects» [p. 7], let us try to identify those constants that preserve it. To achieve this goal, you need to choose one of three vectors of scientific research. The first one is the traditionally declared necessity of the embodiment of compositional intentions. Such way is necessary, but only as a part of the work and, in the end, it always turns out to be just another experience of an individually colored interpretation. The second way is connected with the adoption of the view that there is a phe-nomenon of «the performer’s musical work» – partially appropriated, partially be-ing an author’s scoring of «dead» sound structures before this act of their creation. The third, most modern way to solve the problem is to create a musical work that does not need a performer. However, technical, correct, but emotionally sterile performance, in fact, is the same topographic map of the possibility of music being as musical notation. Therefore, a different way is necessary, for example, understanding the exis-tence of the performer’s musical work through the category of integrity. And such integrities as artistic phenomena will be at least three. The first one is a musical work of a composer that is identical to itself in some material details, identical to itself as a changing but stable phenomenon, opened to a huge range of changes in the objective and subjective plan. The second integrity is that new quality of each concrete work which arises when the product is integrated into hierarchical system of performing style. And the third one is what is sometimes called the term “musical work of the performer”, which has not yet been firmly established, but which certainly has potential. By this we mean such a quality of performing actualization of a musical work, in which the combination of a single (composer’s note text) and a general (some traditional settings of the interpretation of the composer’s work as a whole or of the given particular work) gives something special that is an original perfor-mance which can be memorized by its originality.