T. Shak

Music as a component of author’s style in the films of S. Ursulyak

This article examines the musical style of films directed by S. Ursulyak. Particular attention is paid to the functions of musical themes in the dramatic process of feature films and television film serials, the relationship between off-screen and in-screen music, its role in creating climaxes, the use of various forms of quotation, and the principles of musical formation in the film’s structure. The specifics of the director’s work with composers in his early, middle, and late periods are examined. It is noted that the director’s filmography is dominated by drama, addressed from the perspective of screen versions of literary works (M. Gorky, V. Grossman, M. Sholokhov, Yu. Trifonov, Yu. Semenov, A. Ivanov). This influences the selection and composition of the musical material, which is based on the precise quotation of classical music fragments (J. S. Bach, A. Vivaldi, G. F. Handel, W. A. Mozart, F. Chopin, and others), as well as Russian pop and folk songs. The creative partnership of S. Ursulyak and M. Tariverdiev formed in the early period. An echo of this collaboration was the use of allusions and reminiscences to Tariverdiev’s music in the later television film serial “Isayev”. In S. Ursulyak’s mature work, quotation classical music and song content becomes the guiding principle for structuring the sound composition. The diverse functions of the musical score: “commenting” on events, characterizing characters, recreating historical authenticity, embodying emotional and psychological subtext, using music as a dramatic factor (especially in climactic episodes) – all this testifies to the presence of musical stylistics as a significant component of author’s style of director S. Ursulyak.

Key words

film director, author’s style, film music, screen version, television serial film, quotation, dramaturgy.

For citation

Shak T. Music as a component of author’s style in the films of S. Ursulyak. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2026. No. 1. Pp. 100–108.

DOI

10.52469/20764766_2026_01_100

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