“The Confession” of a Child of the Century (Concerto for orchestra with solo viola by Anton Lubchenko)

Abstract

Introduction. Recent decades have seen a revival of interest the problems of genre-creating and typology of genres in musicology, an interest largely stimulated by the complexity of processes happening in this area of modern composers’ creativity. Given article considers a work by A. Lubchenko, entitled “Confession” (Concerto for orchestra with solo viola) from this standpoint. While the second part of the title, placed in brackets, doesn’t need to be commented, the first one, in quotation marks, must be considered additionally. Theoretical background. In order to comprehend it as sign of genre this article includes systematization of modern views on inherent traits of confession both in literature (I. Vertsman, A. Stoliarov) and music (O. Sheludiakova). Founding on scientific information of mentioned scholars next genre indicators of confessions are revealed: auto-biographic mood, first-person narrative with pre-destined goal, immaculate honesty of the confessor with himself and the receiver, his exclusive concentration on his own personality, general aim on self-consciousness etc. although there are differences between musical and verbal forms of ways of expression, confessions even in different types of art share “archetype of genre” (O. Sheludiakova). This allows to consider musical confession not as adaptation of its literature prototype, but as inherent musical genre, possessing essential and attribute features, corrected my given type of art and experience gained by it. So as to elaborate on this these, the article uses comparative method of research, aimed at comparison of genre archetype of confession and its embodiment in given musical work. Objectives. The aim of the article is to reveal a complex of means of expressions, used in the work by A. Lubchenko to reflect confessional mood in its inter-type comparison with literate genre. Results and discussion. Just as confession in literature absorbs features of another genres, such as hagiography and autobiography, its musical type, presented in the work by A. Lubchenko, uses ballade type of dramaturgy, one of the achievements of Romantic era. Actualizing principle of narration, a basis of literature ballade, musical ballade-ness, being a special dramaturgic model, embodied it through intonationally-thematic and structural means. Orientation of A. Lubchenko towards ballade, whether is it intentional or not, seems to be quite logical, because composer regards himself as a person, continuing the tradition of understanding the music as “the art of experiencing” (A. Mikhaylov), dating back to XIX century. Not only does connection of multiple layers of “Confession” become a sign of author’s composing style, it also contains important dramaturgical meaning, communicating with sound-images, appealing to listener’s experience, previously gained while hearing modern music. It is significant that the score features largely expanded percussion section, its playing with the brass section, that, being combined with periodically happening maximal density of texture and extremities of dynamics creates an association with images of dark powers, creating a feeling of insurmountable terror. Algorithm of musical events in “Confession” is governed by cooperation of meditative and grotesque-scherzo episodes. The latter seem to “grow out” from the former; in their turn, meditative replace grotesque-scherzo ones. So, while being antinomic, they are perceived as different stages of a single process, in which aggressive and ominous reveals to be a spawn of author’s mind along with meditative, generally speaking – part of inner world, that allows to regard this as “collateral or eccentric lyric” (I. Sollertinskiy). Its coexistence with lyrical expressions gives it degree of sincerity of confessions, serving as one of the key indicators of this genre archetype. A. Lubchenko’s inclination towards introspection doesn’t stand in way of his contact with modern life with its anxious atmosphere, spiritual and intellectual wandering, searches for new moral guidelines, collision of polar systems of values. Refracted through prism of author’s perception, traits and collisions of epoch acquire psychological character, resulting in revealing of self-comprehension of our contemporary. Nevertheless, should any images appear in composer’s fantasy, be it visions of “another worlds” or of eternal chaos, author’s position remains steadfast, and that holds black colours back from filling all the musical texture. And even an ending, with farewell intonations and a shade of funebre, doesn’t create an impression of doom, granting catharsis, even in spite of continuous c-moll chord, a background for solo viola’s ending of its confessional narration. This effect is largely influenced by composer’s appeal to “human” timbre of string instruments, playing divisi, that bring features of intimate, chamber statement into last “word”. Conclusions. In Conclusions, generalizing observations made in article, it is stressed, that considered work matches genre archetype of confession. Complex of expressional devices, used in it, allows to create wide amplitude of emotional states, sometimes reaching exquisitely sharp expression, and that allows to classify genre type of A. Lubchenko’s “Confession” as “word-scream”, in terms of O. Sheludiakova. Double time dimensions (of narration and narrator’s) in this work, clarity of incarnation of plot collisions, constant escalating of psychological tension etc. indicates usage of ballade dramaturgical logic. While showing selfawareness of modern man in “Confession” and applying modes, typical for music of XX–XXI centuries, the composer uses artistic experience of romanticism as well, that contributes to this and other works being open to direct dialogue with the audience, and this is a quality, especially important in genre of confession.