Variation as the Dominant Factor in the Form Creation of I. Stravinsky’s Cycle “Four Russian Songs for Soprano, Flute, Harp and Guitar”

Abstract

The research aims to substantiate that I. Stravinsky’s creative work is still relevant and innovative today in terms of updating the means of musical expression, searching for original timbre combinations, interpreting the features of Russian folklore in the modern musical language. The paper analyses I. Stravinsky’s cycle containing four Russian songs “Four Russian Songs for Soprano, Flute, Harp and Guitar” based on folk verses. The scientific novelty of the research lies in identifying the basic principle for the development of all elements of I. Stravinsky’s musical language, i.e. variation, which determines the form of each song in conjunction with its genre features. As a result, it has been proved that in each song of I. Stravinsky’s cycle “Four Russian Songs for Soprano, Flute, Harp and Guitar”, the fundamental method of forming a musical composition is the diversity of development variation, while the intonation mass shimmering with different tones is controlled by rhythm.