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EnN. Sycheva
Christian origins of the piano works by the composer-pianist M. Kollontai
Interest in the work of the modern Russian composer-pianist M. Kollontai is determined by the great value of his music, in which a special place is assigned to the spiritual dimension. Today the composer’s legacy consists of seventy opuses, including theatrical, symphonic, piano, choral, chamber instrumental music, music for violin and viola solo, as well as for organ. This genres related to the secular culture are imbued with the biblical and Christian themes.
The main purpose of the article is to highlight the biography facts that substantiate M. Kollontai’s lively and continuous interest in spirituality that has been reflected in his music. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of ways of interpretation of religious and spiritual themes in instrumental compositions, which is realized at two levels – verbal and musical. The first one is in the form of quotations and inter-textual references to the texts of the Holy Scripture in titles and epigraphs to the compositions. Another way is the generalized titles of works that refer to this tradition. The verbal level is considered on the example of two piano compositions – Nine Preludes for Piano «Happy Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven...» op. 29 and «Seven Biblical Epigraphs» op. 40.
For musical level we studied the borrowing of musical material associated with the liturgical tradition and its migration into the music of instrumental secular compositions. In the piano cycle «Four Summer Village Pictures» op. 4, composer introduces the chant «Behold the Bridegroom comes at midnight» of the eighth tone of the large Kyiv chant, as well as the initial exclamation of the liturgy «Blessed is the Kingdom...». At the beginning of the piano «White concerto» op. 13 we revealed the similarity of the thematic material with Kyiv chant of the sixth tone.
Key words
Mikhail Kollontai, composer-pianist, spiritual tradition, national tradition, romantic tradition, piano cycle, quotation, allusion, quoting, inter-textuality.
For citation
Sycheva N. Christian origins of the piano works by the composer-pianist M. Kollontai // South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2023. No. 2. Pp. 22-32.
