Ru
EnS. Lavrova, M. Andreeva
The macabre as a form of cultural sensibility: from medieval iconography to the operas by G. Ligeti and G. Kurtág
This article explores the macabre as a form of cultural sensibility and analyzes its evolution from the medieval era to the musical theatre of the 20th and 21st centuries. The authors seek to identify the transformation of the macabre as an aesthetic and cultural phenomenon and determine the specific features of its functioning in contemporary musical art. The focus is on the connection of macabre to the apocalyptic tradition, the rhetoric of the end, and the aesthetics of the grotesque, as well as the adaptability of this phenomenon to various historical contexts. Thanks to a flexible combination of historical and cultural analysis, elements of a semiotic approach, and a comprehensive musicological analysis of representative works, it is possible to consider the macabre as a structural principle of artistic expression. The musical material for this study includes operas Le Grand Macabre (“The Great Death-Arch”, 1977) by György Ligeti and Fin de partie (“The Endgame”, 2018) by György Kurtág. It is noted that in G. Ligeti’s opera, the macabre is captured through the carnivalization of an apocalyptic plot, grotesque hyperbolization, and collage technique, thereby demystifying the image of death. In contrast, in G. Kurtág’s opera, the named phenomenon is recreated through various forms of sound reduction, pauses, and structural static character, adequate to the existential experience of “end without end”. The comparative analysis undertaken in this article allows the authors to identify the macabre as a trans-epochal cultural code. The final part concludes that in the space of contemporary musical theatre, the macabre functions as a highly significant form of artistic reflection, fusing together postmodern irony, anxiety, and the feeling of the liminal nature of existence.
Key words
macabre, grotesque, apocalyptic tradition, postmodernism, musical theatre, opera, G. Ligeti, “Le Grand Macabre”, G. Kurtág, “Fin de partie”.
For citation
Lavrova S., Andreeva M. The macabre as a form of cultural sensibility: from medieval iconography to the operas by G. Ligeti and G. Kurtág. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2026. No. 1. Pp. 82–90.
