«Psalms of David» by T. Shevchenko in the aspect of genre implementations (on the base of Ukrainian choral music)
Background. In recent years there has been a significant increase in the interest of scientists to the issue of the implementation of T. Shevchenko’s heritage in the works of contemporary Ukrainian composers. This topic was addressed by such musicologists as Nina Andros (Koroliuk), Oleksandr Kozarenko, Yarema Yakubiak, Olena Shevchuk, Bohdana Filts, Oleksandra Tsalai-Yakymenko, Oksana Zakharchuk. We note that the modern generation of Ukrainian composers is increasingly turning to spiritual themes in the works of T. Shevchenko. In particular, his poetic transcription of biblical texts – the cycle of «Psalms of David». Today there are at least 20 authors who used Kobzar’s «Psalms of David» in diverse implementation. However, the poetic cycle of Shevchenko’s transcriptions (1845) is still out of sight of musicologists. Objectives. The purpose of this study is, firstly, the study of compositional, genre-style and semantic characteristics of the poetic cycle, and secondly, the classification of existing genre implementations of Shevchenko’s transcriptions in Ukrainian choral music. Methods. There were used the following methods of research: historiographic (studying literature on the poetic cycle of T. Shevchenko), versioning (analysis of the properties of versification of the poetic origin source), typological (the systematization of the phenomena studied and the identification of types with the aim of generalizing the composers approaches to the poetry of T. Shevchenko within certain genres), comparative (comparison of individual author’s interpretations of the poetic origin source). Results. Having comprehended and assimilated the sacred texts, T. Shevchenko embodied them in verse language using the structure of the syllabic 14-lined verse. Ten transcriptions were included in the cycle of «Psalms of David» by Shevchenko. They are key in the Psalter, as they exactly reproduce the content and the perfect artistic-figurative structure of the biblical source. They are distinguished by a clear compositional and dramatic unity as it is possible to single out the psalms that serve as the beginning, as well as the developing and summing functions. Shevchenko’s musicality of the poem turns out to be at the level of sound instrumentation, in the sound ornament of the poem’s text, in the temporary organization of the verse. Therefore, «Psalms of David» by T. Shevchenko – the first in history and in fact the only sample of the verse transcriptions of the psalms from the Bible in the literary Ukrainian language in the form of a cycle. We note the chronological asynchrony in the use of T. Shevchenko’s cycle «Psalms of David» by Ukrainian composers. So, two bursts of interest are evident in Kobzar’s rehashes. The first wave is observed at the beginning of the XX century, namely in 1911 («Psalms of David» by M. Lysenko) and in 1923 («Psalms of David» by L. Revutskyi). The second wave of interest in the transcriptions of Shevchenko covers the borderlands of the XX-XXI centuries and continues to this day. This period includes the works by M. Kuzan, V . Zhuravytskyi, H. Hanzburh and O. Kozarenko. The works of Ukrainian artists on the texts of T. Shevchenko’s transcriptions of the «Psalms of David» impress with the variety of genre colors. The most widespread was the genre of the choral poem. It was used by M. Lysenko, L. Revutskyi, L. Duma, T. Ivanytska, H. Hanzburh. Usually these opuses are written for a cappella choir or for a choir with piano accompaniment. They embody the idea of one poem and have a free structure and form. The genre of a choral concert is also popular among composers. It was approached by O. Yakovchuk and O. Polovyi. At the heart of each of the three parts is the poetic text of a poem by Taras Shevchenko. The genre of the choral symphony a cappella, chosen by L. Dychko (symphony «Shevchenkiana»), amazes with originality and scope of the ideas. Among the musical implementations of T. Shevchenko’s transcriptions we find also vocal-instrumental genres. This is the cantata «Psalms of David» by O. Pokhylo and suite «Psalms of David» by M. Kuzan. The opuses of Ye. Marchuk, V. Haiduk, V . Tymozhynskyi belong to the genre of choral miniatures. They are characterized by a reflection in a small form of significant ideological content determined by the leading meaning of a poetic word. Unique is the embodiment of A. Kozarenko, who in the two-part «Christmas Divine Liturgy» uses the declamatory reading of the original source (Shevchenko’s transcriptions). Thus, he emphasizes the musicality of the poetic word, which does not require melodization. These works are also distinguished by the principle of musical realization. There are two main trends in the musical embodiment: 1. Priority for the composer is a poetic text. The main factor of the musical composition is the desire to accurately reproduce the verse patterns in music (conditionally speaking, the «text-musical» approach, which is observed in M. Lysenko, O. Polovyi, M. Skoryk); 2. Along with the poetic text, the leading stylistic factor is musical-dramaturgical architectonics. The composition of the work is built by constant musical methods, for example, symphonic (the so-called «symphonic» approach, characteristic for L. Revutskyi, L. Dychko, O. Yakovchuk and others). Conclusions. The musical implementations of the «Psalms of David» are a significant part of modern musical Shevchenkiana. Now there are about 20 examples of the appeal of Ukrainian composers to the Kobzar’s transcriptions. The genre variety of musical implementations of the named cycle amazes with its versatility. The most widespread are the genres of choral poems and miniatures that realize the idea of a single poem. The second place in popularity is occupied by choral concert and choral cycle. The rest of the existing works are examples of monumental genre decisions. It is a choral symphony, a cantata, a suite, a liturgy. During the research, there were revealed two author’s approaches to work with the poetic source: «text-musical» and «symphonic». Consequently, the embodiment of the poetic cycle of T. Shevchenko «Psalms of David» in music is an inexhaustible sphere for musicological research.