Compositions for a cappella choir by S. Balasanyan: features of polyphonic writing

Koshkareva Natalya Vladimirovna PhD in Art History Professor, Head of the Department of Conducting an Academic Chorus, State Musical and Pedagogical Institute named after M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov 109147 Marksistskaya street, Moscow, 109147 Russian Federation nkoshkarevav@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Introduction. One of the significant problems of modern musical art is the synthesis of specific national musical traditions and world cultural experience. It is impossible to say exactly how many ethnic groups live on our planet. Each region has its own way of life and its own culture. Hence such a variety of sounds, what is commonly called "musical cultures". Some of them were formed thousands of years ago, while others were formed relatively recently in terms of history. For all creators, folk art has always been a source of inspiration. The idea of synthesizing different national traditions, namely Eastern and European musical cultures, was especially vividly manifested in the works of Russian composers of the second half of the twentieth century.

From this point of view, the analysis of Sergei Balasanyan's choral heritage seems to be an urgent problem of modern music science. It is not easy for a composer to realize the identity of the folklore of the peoples of the East, to find himself in the "oriental theme", to find his own voice, his own individual path. In this regard, the issues of the synthesis of national and professional folk in compositional thinking, the integration of national traditions and European forms of musical art, the analysis of polyphonic means in musical composition become relevant. The purpose of the article is to study the stylistic originality of polyphonic means in the choral work of a cappella by S. Balasanyan.

Despite the importance of Sergei Artemyevich Balasanyan (1902-1982) as a Russian and Armenian composer, one of the founders of professional music in Tajikistan, a folklorist, teacher, and music and public figure, modern research on his musical (including choral) heritage is clearly insufficient. There was an active publication of works dedicated to the composer's work and his individual works during the Soviet period. Thus, the most complete work on the composer's life and work is the book by N. Shakhnazarova and G. Golovinsky "S. Balasayan" ^[22], where the authors analyze the works of S. Balasanyan, which embody images of the East (opera "Bakhtior and Nisso", ballets "Leyli and Majnun", "Shakuntala", symphonic works "Seven Armenian Songs", "Islands of Indonesia"). However, due to the fact that this monograph was published in 1972, it only briefly mentions the "Symphony for Unaccompanied Mixed Choir", completed in 1968. In 1962, on the 60th anniversary of S.A. Balasanyan, an article by M. Chulaki was published in the magazine "Soviet Music" ^[19]. On the crest of the "New Folklore Wave", the works of S. Balasanyan are reviewed in the press, which reflect the features of the musical folklore of the peoples of Tajikistan ^[4], Armenia ^[9], Afghanistan ^[3]. However, this issue has not yet received scientific understanding. Later, after the composer's death, his work practically left the subject of special study by Russian scientists. At the same time, the pedagogical principles of S. Balasanyan as a representative of the Moscow School of Composition, who educated a whole galaxy of young composers (including Chinese ones ^[18]), are beginning to be analyzed. In 2003, to mark the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth, a collection of articles, letters and memoirs was published ^[12]. The interest in updating choral genres in Russian music of the second half of the twentieth century led to the appearance of an article by P. Belik ^[2]. The problem of the formation of composing schools in the former republics of Central Asia and the Soviet East is highlighted in a scientific article by N. Shakhnazarova (Melik-Shakhnazarova) ^[21].

However, the inexhaustible depth and vivid individuality of polyphony in a cappella choral music by S. Balasanyan has not yet found proper reflection in scientific works, and this determines the relevance of the chosen topic. The aim is to study the stylistic features of S. Balasanyan's polyphonic writing in compositions for a cappella choir. The novelty of the research, apart from the chosen perspective, lies in the fact that the object of our research will be unpublished works for unaccompanied choir "Polyphonic triptych on themes of Armenian folk songs" and "Polyphonic Concert for a cappella Choir". The purpose of the study is to determine the stylistic features of S. Balasanyan's polyphonic writing in works for unaccompanied choir.

Materials and methods. The materials for the study were S. Balasanyan's choral works, which had not previously been the subject of special research: "Symphony for Unaccompanied Choir" (1968), "Polyphonic Triptych on themes of Armenian Folk Songs" (1971), "Polyphonic Concert for a cappella Choir" (1980). The methodology is based on a synthesis of historical-biographical and musical-stylistic analysis techniques. In this regard, we note that the solution of the tasks set required the study of theoretical works on various issues of polyphony: T. Muller ^[10], V. Fraenov ^[17], S. Skrebkov ^[15], N. Simakova ^{[13, 14]}, A. Dmitriev ^[6]. In addition, the works of V. Vinogradov ^[5], H. Kushnarev ^[8], A. Baghdasaryan ^[1] concerning various aspects of Armenian musical folklore and its implementation in the field of professional composing were studied.

Results and discussion. Pages of S. Balasanyan's creative biography. Before proceeding to the consideration of choral compositions, let us briefly highlight some points of S. Balasanyan's life path. This is a prerequisite for understanding the composer's creative thinking. At first glance, Sergei Artemyevich Balasanyan's life was quite prosperous: professor at the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory, composer, folklorist, musical and public figure. However, in fact, he lived a difficult and sometimes very dramatic life.

Sergey (Suren) Artemievich Balasanyan (Balasanyants) was born in Ashgabat on August 26, 1902. "Sergei Balasanyan learned about his Armenian origin in his youth, when his father finally told him about how in Shusha, as a young man, he sang in the choir of Christopher Kara-Murza and then participated in the campaigns of the famous khmbapets of Andranik and Dro in Kars, Erzurum and other places, saving from the Turkish massacre of those of their compatriots who could still be saved. Judging by the fact that these volunteer groups were disbanded at the same time, by order of the Russian tsar, and their members were persecuted, he suggests that the family's relocation from Karabakh to Ashgabat and the change of the father's surname, Sargis Zargaryan, to the mother's maiden name, i.e. the composer's grandmother, took place because of these persecutions." ^{[12, p. 69]}.

The gifted boy was destined to become a pianist from childhood, but during his active studies, a tragedy occurred — an injury to his right arm. I had to give up my career as a pianist. But, convinced since childhood that his life is possible only with music and in music, he first graduates from a gymnasium in Kokand, then studies at the Tiflis Conservatory for a year, and then goes to the Leningrad Conservatory to become a conductor. Two years of harsh living conditions affected his health (doctors diagnosed tuberculosis of bones). S. Balasanyan is forced to give up his dream of becoming a conductor and leaves Leningrad.

Since 1925, S. Balasanyan has been living and working as an orderly at a tuberculosis sanatorium in Dilijan for several years. At the same time, on the recommendation of an outstanding doctor Grigory Saghiyan, I even thought about enrolling in a Medical institute. After his recovery, he worked at the Sundukyan Theater in Yerevan (1929) as the head of the musical department. Stable and deep connections with the traditions of Armenian culture are felt in the artistic appearance of S. Balasanyan. They are an essential feature of his style. In Armenia, he got acquainted with recordings of Komitas' folk songs. Based on Armenian folklore, "Armenian Rhapsody" (1944), the symphonic suite "Seven Armenian Songs" (1955), "Polyphonic Triptych on themes of Armenian Folk Songs" (1971), and "Polyphonic Concert for a Cappella Choir" (1980) were created.

It was only in 1930 that S. Balasanyan came to Moscow. He received his musical education at the Moscow Conservatory in the Radio Department of the Faculty of History and Theory (head A.A. Alshvang). He combined his studies at the Moscow Conservatory with his work as an editor of the All-Union Radio. He improved his composing skills in a creative workshop under the guidance of D. Kabalevsky. Organized on the initiative of the students, the workshop became a kind of composition class. For S. Balasanyan, who studied there for only one year, it turned out to be actually the only form of systematic study.

In 1936, S. Balasanyan, on his own initiative, with the recommendation of D. Kabalevsky, left for Dushanbe (Tajikistan) without defending his diploma (defense will take place later). S. Balasanyan worked with full dedication as a teacher, folklorist, and composer. He trained singers, organized professional musical groups (choir, orchestra, opera troupe, etc.), and created the first works of professional genres based on local folklore. In addition, he studied folk melodies himself, learned the art of makomat, delved into national culture in order to use national elements in his compositional work. The result was the creation of the first Tajik professional opera, The Vosstaniya Vose (1939). During the Great Patriotic War (1942-1943), he actually restored the Stalinabad Opera House, becoming its artistic director.

Since 1943, S. Balasanyan lived permanently in Moscow. At the same time, his teaching career at the conservatory began: first sporadically (1945, 1948-1951), and since 1955 — permanently as a teacher, associate professor (1961), and finally professor (1965) in the composition class and head of the composition department. Moving to Moscow did not mean abandoning the multinational culture. S. Balasanyan continues to create compositions based on folk music in various genres and forms. The vast majority of his works are devoted to other national cultures (Tajik, Indian, Indonesian, Afghan, Armenian).

S. Balasanyan has always reflected on the nationality of his compositional work, on the Armenian origins in his music. According to the memoirs of his student O. Gordienko, "he complained that his music occupies an intermediate position between purely Armenian and European. He saw the reasons for this in the fact that, being an Armenian by nationality, he was born in Central Asia, and as a composer he was formed in line with Russian musical culture. He said that in Armenia his music might be considered "not Armenian enough", but he always aspired to be a part of the spiritual culture of his people" ^{[12, pp. 198-199]}. According to N. Harutyunyan, "having left a bright mark in the world musical culture of the last century, this Armenian composer was not recognized only in his historical homeland — in Armenia" ^{[12, p. 262]}. For our part, we would like to note that S. Balasanyan is not listed in the modern list of Armenian composers.

Among the general public, S. Balasanyan's works are little known, or to be more precise, undeservedly forgotten. "Symphony for Unaccompanied Mixed Choir" was performed in Tallinn on November 5, 1971 by the Estonian Radio Choir. "Polyphonic triptych on themes of Armenian folk Songs" has been performed several times by the Armenian Chamber Choir of the State Philharmonic of Armenia since its creation (1971). The artistic director is Nelly Andriasyan, the choirmaster is Arshak Gadzian. The band was founded on February 13, 1989 by the Union of Composers of Armenia. It is the state collective of Armenia with permanent location in Moscow. The Shepherd's Song from this cycle was included in the repertoire of the Moscow Youth and Student Choir conducted by the outstanding Russian choral conductor B. Tevlin.

Choral groups conducted by B. Tevlin performed a large number of world and Russian premieres of choral works by contemporary Russian composers. Knowing the high professionalism of B. Tevlin, in 1980 S. Balasanyan presented him with the manuscript of his new work "Polyphonic Concerto for a cappella Choir". However, for unknown reasons, it remained unreleased and unreleased.

Choral creativity. S. Balasanyan created only three works for the a cappella choir, but each of them became significant, defining in many ways the ways of development of Russian choral music. In the title of two of them, the composer himself focuses on polyphony as the leading genre-style parameter.

"Symphony for Unaccompanied Mixed Choir" (1968) is one of the works dedicated to the heroic deed of the people, to the theme of the Motherland during the trials of the Great Patriotic War. On the one hand, this opus is integrated into the line of a cappella choral symphonies: the Fourth Symphony (1949) by G. Popov and the symphony "1917" (1957) by R. Boyko. The ideas embedded in them of extrapolating the compositional principles of the traditional instrumental symphonic organization of the material to choral sound are solved in their own way by S. Balasanyan's Symphonies. On the other hand, as a "symphony of bells" it inherits the ideas of S. Rachmaninov's poem "The Bells" (let us recall that S. Rachmaninov himself called his composition a "choral symphony" more than once).

Initially, S. Balasanyan wrote a Poem for the a cappella choir based on the words of E. Mezhelaitis "The Bells of Buchenwald" (1967), but soon realized that the theme was so deep and dramatic that it required reflection in a different genre. The idea was born to create a Symphony, a philosophical reflection on war and peace. The composer added two more parts. This is how the three-part "Symphony" based on poems by E. Mezhelaitis was created, translated by B. Slutsky, V. Kornilov and K. Kuliyev, translated by N. Grebnev: "The Bells of Buchenwald", "Lullaby", "Icariad".

The logic of the symphonic cycle is determined by the development of the key quarto intonation, from which the main themes of each movement grow. The "bell" symbolizes the passage of time: the alarm bell in the "Buchenwald Bells" (verse-variation form), the soft chime in the "Lullaby Song". The most dramatic is the final part of "Icarus", where the sonata allegro contrasts the main (referring to the images of the first part) and the secondary (image of the second part) parts. The grand finale calls on people to protect the world: "let's protect the Earth with a ring of millions of hands!".

"Bell-like" is also evident in polyphonic techniques. The entire Symphony is dominated by imitative polyphony, which acts both as a writing technique and as a timeless symbol. S. Balasanyan makes extensive use of canonical imitations, conducts the theme in magnification (c.1; beginning of the third movement) and in diminution (c. 22), uses monorhythmic counterpoint in combination with the imitative principle of connecting new voices (beginning the first part). In the first part, the exact following of the poetic text influences the manifestation of the motet principle: in each verse, rather lengthy fragments of imitation writing alternate with chordal constructions.

"Polyphonic triptych on the themes of Armenian folk songs" (1971). S. Balasanyan, an Armenian by birth, naturally gravitated most towards the traditions of his people; it is no coincidence that Armenian folklore and the work of the outstanding folklorist and composer Komitas became his source of inspiration. "For Komitas, genre was not an outwardly formal concept. Genre is the place and purpose of a song, its specific connection with specific social and living conditions; it is a certain type of plot and compositional structure, a certain character of the content — figurative, ideological, emotional, psychological; finally, genre is a special system of artistic expressive means - both verbal—textual and intonation—melodic" ^{[20, p. 220]}.

The cycle is based on Armenian folk songs from Komitas' "Ethnographic Collection", which contains more than 250 samples. The collection was published in the Soviet Union in 1931 ^[7]. S. Balasanyan set himself the task of conveying to the performer and listener the pristine purity of Armenian Ashug songs, their poetic content, imaginative structure and unique original color. Therefore, he did not seek to color the treatments with the complexity or intricacy of the choral texture. The composer was interested and fascinated by the figurative structure of the songs, their intonation-mode and metrorhythmic features, poetic content, and striking thematic diversity. In this regard, S. Balasanyan assigns a special role in the formation of the choral texture to "monodic imitations" ^{[1, p. 5]} as a way of projecting onto the polyphony the intonation turns of the Armenian monodies, creating a work that is nationally distinctive in sound.

As an example, consider the second part of The Shepherd's Song ^{[11, pp.49-52]}). The musical material is focused on Armenian labor songs, in particular, orovel (the plowman's song). Traditionally, the melodies of the Orovels feature a large recitative, melodic dialect, like the roll calls of the main and junior plowmen, their exclamations addressed to the working cattle. The composer's desire to convey natural sound conditions, in particular "echo", in a polyphonic texture, played an important role in this. Imitations in the sense of "imitation", that is, according to the principle of "echo", A. Dmitriev notes, "seem to push the boundaries of sound space and thereby create a sense of wide distances" ^{[6, p. 262]}.

S. Balasanyan's "Polyphonic Concerto for a Cappella Choir" (1980) is a work that reflects a deep understanding of the peculiarities of Armenian musical folklore and Western European imitation polyphony. The Concert is also based on songs from Komitas' collection, but the composer does not give names to individual parts, presenting a generalized view of national folklore in an artistic form. S. Balasanyan uses folk texts as a literary basis: old Armenian exclamations and individual words (Nay! La! Oh!; Yaro jan, Maral ("My soul, Maral"); Yes-lo!, de fla fico).

Awareness of the intonation-mode and rhythmic uniqueness of Armenian songs helped S. Balasanyan demonstrate the richness and diversity of enriching initially monodic melodies with various polyphonic methods of professional music: canon, fugue, polyphonic variations. In this, S. Balasanyan focuses on the most important aspects of Komitas' compositional style concerning polyphony. Using the experience of modern world musical culture, Komitas skillfully applied the intonation development of the melody, emanating from the image, from the content. Most of the choral arrangements have a polyphonic texture. "Komitas himself, speaking about the ways of polyphonic development of folk melodies, defined the task in the following words: "To preserve the distinctive character and pure national imprint of the style and spirit of the Armenian village song" ^{[20, p. 258]}. In some ways, the creation of several contrapuntal versions of one primary source in this work corresponds to the idea of the "Polyphonic Concerto for Four Keyboard Instruments" (1969-1970) by Y. Butsko.

The musical form in S. Balasanyan's "Polyphonic Concerto" reveals features of couplet and variation (in all parts) and rondality (in the second). In the first part, the principle of couplet-variation form and fugue is integrated through the use of imitation polyphony. The specificity of the theme follows from its monody nature and is directly related to the patterns of national thinking — improvisationalism. The theme consists of two sentences, where the second is a more complicated version of the first: the range is expanded (from a sextet to an octave), intrasyllabic chants increase in length, and elements of melismatics are introduced. Such a lengthy, song-like theme structure is not typical for a classical fugue. The choice of such a topic is determined by the genre specifics of the essay. S. Balasanyan projects this national tradition of Armenian folk songs (repeated with varying initial themes) onto the entire verse-variation composition (two verses) of the first part. Scheme: A-B‑B1‑A ¹‑B ²‑B ³.

The path of updating the canonical technique due to the principles of the fret and intonation structure of Armenian folk music with its characteristic ways of coupling tetrachord cells is chosen for the second part. This is a bright song and dance composition, where the verse-variation principle, enriched with imitation and sub-vocal polyphony, gives a qualitatively new artistic result due to the manifestation of rondal features.

The third part is also written in verse-variant form (seven verses). Throughout the composition, the composer uses imitation, in which the initial voice changes into a sustained sound ("pedal") when the imitator enters. At the same time, the direct ascending order of the choral voices, set already in the most polyphonic theme, is preserved in all subsequent six verses, where only the initial three-tone chant varies (rhythmically and melodically). The short theme (three sounds) is repeated seven times (the initial presentation and six variations), acquiring a sacred meaning, since the symbolism of numbers — most often 3, 4, 7 — is characteristic of the traditional beliefs of Armenians.

A four-voice fugue with couplet features crowns the "Polyphonic Concert". It is important that the fugue is not limited to imitation, it also contains contrasting polyphony. It arises in connection with the formation of a parallel two-voice and bourdon, coming from the practice of ensemble music making, with its polyrhythm, as well as the indispensable participation of a percussion instrument endowed with an independent ostinate rhythmic part ^[16].

Conclusion. S. Balasanyan's choral heritage embodies the desire for an artistic synthesis of different national traditions, such as Eastern and European musical cultures, characteristic of the mid-twentieth century. This path in Russian music was outlined even earlier (in the works of 19th-century composers), but the uniqueness of a composer's creative image is determined by the range of topics that concern him and the individuality of his style. Sergey Artemievich, with all the breadth of his interests, is an artist of one theme, namely the theme of the East. And this "monotony" acquires a polyphonic, "polyphonic" character of the dialogue of cultures. Composer's credo is the integration of national and European forms of musical art.

S. Balasanyan is the heir to the great artistic discoveries of Russian music, in particular M. Glinka, P. Tchaikovsky, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, S. Rachmaninov. Hence the specific features of musical thinking, language, and composition. Following the precepts of M. Glinka, he organically synthesizes national and professional art in his compositional work. In the Symphony for Unaccompanied Mixed Choir, the influence of the traditions of S. Rachmaninov (the scale of the idea expressed through choral sound; elements of symbolism), P. Tchaikovsky (in the type of initial thematic grain, in the particular use of sequences as a method of dramatic growth) and N. Rimsky-Korsakov (the mastery of choral writing, exquisite, colorful, attracting visual timbre combinations and interesting finds).

S. Balasanyan's work is deeply international in nature. Deeply rooted in Armenian culture, he spent his entire life studying and imaginatively embodying the folklore of many peoples in his works. The stylistic feature of his folklore-based choral works is the principle of integrating various means into an organic individual system. The "Polyphonic triptych on the themes of Armenian folk songs" and the "Polyphonic Concert for a cappella Choir" clearly demonstrate a careful attitude to each song, thoughtful, professional work on the folklore source.

The implementation of national elements of Armenian folklore, in particular Ashug music, can be seen in the melodic and intonational sphere of the "Polyphonic Triptych" and "Polyphonic Concert". These compositions are characterized by a type of melodies of a recitative-improvisational nature, associated with the expression of emotional expression. Such themes often contain a source peak, which is emphasized in all ways by the further development of the melody: by singing or declamatory repetition, as well as by rhythmics (sometimes smooth in declamatory fragments, but most often improvisationally melismatic). Along with this, imitation phrases are characteristic of Armenian monody. This parameter becomes an impulse to create a natural, harmonious, professional choral polyphony that includes imitative forms and has a national flavor.

In this regard, polyphony for S. Balasanyan is a creative method and technique of composition. Imitation polyphony prevails, but the introduction of contrasting and sub-vocal polyphony is revealed. Imitations are used in the meaning of onomatopoeia ("bells", "roll calls of shepherds", "echo") and in the meaning of the technique of polyphonic writing (simple and canonical imitation, canon, fugue, polyphonic variations). At the same time, the polyphonic forms acquire the features of couplet, variation, and rondality, which makes them related to the musical forms of Armenian folk music. Thus, depending on a certain musical context, the artistic meaning of the means of polyphonic presentation may change.

Composer, folklorist and teacher S. Balasanyan created his own composer's "school". He brought Russian musical education to a qualitatively new level. For almost thirty years, many domestic (Y. Butsko, V. Lobanov, N. Korndorf, Y. Yevgrafov, O. Gordienko, A. Daurov, I. Manukyan, T. Shakhidi, etc.) and foreign, in particular, Chinese composers (Qu Wei, Zhu Qian'er, Zou Lu) have received a "start in life" in his class. and others). Many of them have made folklore the main focus of their work. In memory of his teacher, Yuri Yevgrafov created the Balasanyan Sonata for a cappella Choir (2002), which was included in the Portraits of Masters series.

The idea of continuity and devotion to traditions was fundamental for S. Balasanyan: awareness of his roots and cultural code, incessant spiritual search. S. Balasanyan's musical legacy is included in the "golden fund" of the Russian multinational musical culture. It is so multifaceted that it undoubtedly provides new perspectives for the development of musical science and performing practice. I would also like to believe that S. Balasanyan's choral works will find a new life, sounding in concert halls performed by leading choral groups.