Ru
EnB. Vishnevsky
The vocal lyrics by M. Kuss in context of the 20th-century Russian chamber vocal music
This article is devoted to the vocal works of the Russian composer Margarita Kuss (1921–2009) – distinctive and virtually unexplored phenomenon in Russian chamber vocal music of the second half of the 20th century. The author’s focus is on the composer’s vocal cycles: Lyrics of Russian Poets (1990–1992), set to poems by A. Blok, F. Tyutchev, and I. Bunin, and From the Poetry of F. Tyutchev (1998). These works are examined from several interrelated perspectives: musical-poetic dramaturgy, intonational organization, and processual formation. It is noted these compositions – as well as M. Kuss’ vocal music in general – are characterized by a visible individuality of artistic expression. This stems from a tendency towards continuous development of form, a close connection between musical intonation and the speech-like nature of the poetic text, and the dominance of inner emotional states over external events. An analytical examination of these cycles reveals the specificity of the musical dramaturgy. It is determined not by contrasting juxtapositions of different episodes, but by consistent intonational development, which contributes to the purposeful construction of large-scale form. In this context, the continuous process of dramaturgical unfolding correlates with multiple tonal interactions, variation of stable intonational patterns, and textural models. In such cases, the piano part is not limited to an accompanying role – it acts as an independent carrier of figurative and semantic content. The analytical observations presented here allow, on the one hand, to capture the key features of M. Kuss’ individual composer’s thinking, and on the other, to define her place in the historical context of the chamber vocal genre development – as a significant component of Russian academic music in the second half of the 20th century.
Key words
Russian tradition of chamber vocal music, M. Kuss, vocal cycle, processual formation, intonational development, musical and poetic dramaturgy
For citation
Vishnevsky B. The vocal lyrics by M. Kuss in context of the 20th-century Russian chamber vocal music. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2026. No. 1. Pp. 109–118.
