Abstract: Considering the semantic space of Franciscan spirituality in “Saint Francis of Assisi. Franciscan Scenes” by Messiaen, the author of the article looks into a modern interpretation of Christian ideas that are relevant to St. Francis’ life and work. The author analyzes symbolic images and fundamental ideas pertaining to high scholastic period and more precisely, the way those ideas reflect in the concept of Messiaen’s ‘poem’. The meaning of some hagiographic texts touching upon the life and work of St. Francis has been found out in the poem, as well as a few theological ideas of modern thinkers, namely Claudel, Guardini, Teilhard de Chardin, Balthasar. It is also noteworthy to point out some semantic coincidences and differences of interpreting the ideas of Catholicism in Claudel's mystery “The Tidings brought to Mary” and in Messiaen's poem. For the first time, the method of hermeneutic reconstruction has been applied to interpreting Messiaen’s intent as to the concept of his work. Discerning the ideas of high scholastics depicted in his poem leads to creating a new idea of Franciscan spirituality. Moreover, similarities and differences in the interpretation of Catholic ideas have been unprecedentedly revealed in P. Claudel's mystery “The Tidings brought to Mary” and Messiaen's “Franciscan Scenes”. Messiaen captures examples of St. Francis’ spiritual exploits and his evangelical life and death by paraphrasing philosophical and poetic writings which date back to the last years before the saint's demise: “The Canticle of the Creatures,” “The Canticle to Brother Sun,” “A Salutation to the Virtues”, and “On true and perfect Joy”.
Through an artistic lens Messiaen looks at such Chistian ideas as revelation; a relationship between man, the world and God; predestination / providence; “illumination”; death and resurrection of the dead’ divine truth; “all things are good”; true and perfect joy.

Abstract: In the space of the literary text of the "poem" written by the composer, the author of the article explores the features of the artistic interpretation of the fundamental religious ideas of Catholicism: the grace of the Holy Spirit, Christian revelation, mysticism, theocentrism. The elements of temple sacredness (lauda), the metamorphosis of the role of the choir, the "dancing form", as well as new forms of theatrical liturgy (prayers, responsories) are considered. Messiaen's embodiment of the principles of the mystery of the XIV–XVI centuries is considered through the prism of the composer's new understanding of the idea of synthesizing artistic elements of a musical and theatrical work. The main attention is paid to the discovery of the conceptual constants of the libretto of the Franciscan Scenes – the development of the dramaturgy of light and the compositional interaction of semantic elements. The dramatic strategy of light in Messiaen's "poem" is considered in the mirror of the works of P. Duke and K. Debussy on the text of the plays by M. Maeterlinck, as well as in the tradition of the mysteries of G. d'Annuzio, K. Debussy and P. Claudel. The hermeneutical reconstruction of the author's idea makes it possible to identify the dominant meaning of the theological constants in Messiaen's work. Comparative methods are necessary to establish similarities and differences in the artistic implementation of the idea of art synthesis. The musical and poetic understanding distinguishes the "poem" and the music of the mystery of d'Annunzio – Debussy; Messiaen's "poem" reveals a different understanding of the idea of synthesizing the artistic elements of a musical performance. In the libretto "St. Francis of Assisi. Franciscan Scenes" Messiaen presented a theological interpretation of the main aspects of Christianity – grace, the joy of resurrection and the idea of a synthesis of time and eternity.
The space of spiritual meaning of the libretto "St. Francis of Assisi. Franciscan Scenes" is formed by the poetic imagination of Messiaen on the basis of a deep comprehension and theological interpretation of the canonical texts of Holy Scripture, as well as the teachings of modern theologians and authoritative Christian thinkers.
A special feature of the theological concept of the "Franciscan Scenes" is the dramaturgy of light, which includes transformations of the elements of light and color.
Messiaen's new understanding of the idea of synthesis as the basis of a musical performance was manifested in the fact that the composer integrated elements of temple sacredness into the artistic text of the libretto and presented new forms of theatrical liturgy in the form of responsories in 2 and 8 paintings. The meaning of the verses of the Holy Scriptures discovered by Messiaen in the "poem" is relevant in the light of the contemporary cultural, historical and spiritual orientation of the composer. These aspects of Messiaen's work are highlighted for the first time in Russian musicology.

Abstract: For the first time, the author of this article considered a set of themes related to Christian spirituality in the works by P. Claudel, A. Honegger and O. Messiaen which were created for the XXth century French synthetic theater and offered a new reading into the holiness and Christian behavior. New plastic forms of stage movement and dance, which depicted modern ways of organizing stage space, have been defined as an integral part of French works for musical theatre. What has also been found is the results of perceiving visual formulas in some of the XIIIth and XVth cenury paintings.
Special plastic forms, which are subject to the laws of dance, shaped about a concept of "dancing form" in the XXth century French musical and theatrical works. In synthetic musical and theatrical works, a game of form, proportions, light and color was designed.
Some XXth century French playwrights and musicians perceiving visual formulas in the XIIIth and XVth century paintings led to expanding the range of interacting elements pertaining to various arts in several musical and theatrical works. Those by P. Claudel, A. Honegger and O. Messiaen play a significant role on the stage and reveal both a “considerate attitude towards the past” and “mediation with modern life”, as H. G. Gadamer said.

Abstract: The article examines the words and the meaning, as well as the dramaturgy of sound in the first edition of the mystery "The Tidings brought by Mary" by Paul Claudel. Understanding the synthesis of verbal and vocal intonation leads the author of the article to discover new ways of solving the problem of stage music in mystery drama by Claudel. The discrete nature of the design of the sound space of the mystery in the first edition represents the concept of separately performed fragments, in which the episodes integrated into the action in liturgical Latin are united by a common spiritual meaning. At the same time, the design of the sound space in the 2nd scene of Act III (the dramatic climax, the sacred space of the mystery) is characterized by novelty. Based on the interaction of theatrical-dramatic and musical structural elements, the composition of the scene is subordinated to the principle of end-to-end, continuous vocal-dramatic development of the action.
Conclusions are drawn: during the 1910s, Claudel's idea of music in mystery drama was transformed - instead of musical fragments of an "applied" nature, a new compositional idea of stage music arose. The lyrical intonation of the author's voice is found in the sound space of the work. The mirror of Claudel's mystery reflects the principles of sound design of dramatic productions of traditional Japanese theater (Bunraku, Kabuki, Noh), as well as images of poetry of China and Japan. In the sound of the "The Tidings brought to Mary", the semantic and dramatic functions are performed by the verses of the songs "Oriole sings" and "Margarita, clear May!" performed by children's voices. Claudel's mystery drama formed a new understanding of the universal meaning of the mystery in the twentieth century.

Abstract: The article considers the reflection of the basic laws of the mystery of the XIV–XVI centuries in the musical and theatrical works of the French "synthetic theater" of the twentieth century. These are "The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" by G. d'Annunzio — C. Debussy (1911) and "The Good News of Mary" by P. Claudel (1912-1948). The purpose of the work is to establish the peculiarities of the operation of the principles of semantics and composition of the genre, revived at the end of the XIX century and further developed in the French musical theater. In interdisciplinary, hermeneutical and art criticism approaches to achieving this goal, we distinguish a comparative method that allows us to draw conclusions about the identity and difference of the elements of these works, as well as about the genre "codes" of mystery dramas that enter into dialogue over a significant (about 300 years) time interval. We are talking about a dialogue within the history of Western European theater. In favor of the scientific novelty and significance of the work, we present theses on the integration of the spiritual dimension into the space of the mystery drama of the twentieth century, as well as on the relevance of the spiritual messages of the French composers of the twentieth century, who created mystery dramas in line with the Christian tradition. Conclusions are drawn: About the functions of liturgical choirs in Latin in French mystery dramas of the twentieth century, revealing the spiritual meaning of the works considered in this article. On the interaction of the sacred and profane as the leading genre feature of the mystery drama of the XIV–XVI centuries and the twentieth century. About the preservation of the spatial vector "earth — sky" by the French mystery drama of the twentieth century. On the connection of the French mystery drama of the twentieth century with the spiritual problems of modernity. About the search by the French mystery drama of the twentieth century for the possibility of overcoming the discrepancies between the world, God and man.
About the inclusion of the French mystery drama of the twentieth century in the general cultural context.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the integration of the elements of old genres in to a composition of Arthur Honegger’s dramatic oratorio. Particular attention is paid to formation of the system of interrelated intonation-dramaturgical spheres and vocal-symphonic development of recurring themes, motifs and sound symbols. The author examines the interaction of verbal and vocal-symphonic elements of sound fabric. The goal consists in identification of the traits of old genres and other archaic elements within the synthetic form of musical/dramatic theatre, as well as determination of the dominant aspect of musical meaning therein. Research methodology is based on the musical-hermeneutic reconstruction of the process of composing, detection of the fundamental principles of musical dramaturgy along with functions of cited by the composer Latin texts in the synthetic form of dramatic oratorio. The main method for this work became the musical-theoretical analysis of polyphonic vocal-symphonic musical fabric, and analysis of the verbal texts of voice part in the French and Latin languages, in de visu score. This article is first to interpret integration of the genre codes of medieval mystery play and citations from liturgical texts of the previous eras, including the Holy Scripture, into the compositions of dramatic oratorio of Arthur Honegger as the means for creating temporal multidimensionality of the synthetic form of French musical/dramaturgical theatre of the XX century within the context of Christian tradition. Honegger has overcome the linearity of narration through integration into the composition of the traits of previous eras. The citation of liturgical texts, including Holy Scripture, lead to expansion of the semantic space of literary text of the dramatic oratorio. This established the idea of synthesis of time and eternity characteristic to Christianity.

Abstract: The subject of the research is a multi-faceted Christian concept in a 'music' poem 'Jeanne d'Arc Au Bûcher' of Paul Claudel (written in 1934, published in 1948). This poem is a libretto of a similarly-named dramatic oratorio of Arthur Honegger (1935). The object of the research is the message of a literary text. The author of the article analyzes Claudel's interpretation of Holy Bible texts, aspects of a message 'to live in face of God' and sacrifice for Christ. In her research Azarova focuses on the analysis of allegoric images and character images. The author of the article pays attention to intellectualism typical for the poem. To analyze Claudel's 'music' poem 'Jeanne d'Arc Au Bûcher' as the fundamental element of the synthesis of drama and music, the author of the article uses humanitarian research methods (art history, philosophy of music, music theatre). Using the method of hermeneutic reconstruction, the author of the article has studied the message of the poem and has described the main messages of the Christian concept. As a result of the research, the author makes a conclusion about the conceptual message of Paul Claudel's poem 'Jeanne d'Arc Au Bûcher'. The aforesaid poem is a Christian concept that was inspired by the Holy Bible as an example of spiritual text. The author's special contribution to the topic is the analysis of the literary-musical form of 'Donkey prose' and new literary parady. The author also analyzes how Claudel traces back elements of the Medieval theatre.

Abstract: The subject of the research is the unfolding of 'internal action' that makes the concept of intoning message viewed as a synthetical coordinated phenomenon. This is a stage action, musical composition, multidimensional space of musical dramaturgy analyzed in terms of the artistic thinking of the second half of the 20th century in line with the Catholicism tendency in the French musical theatre. The purpose of the research is to perform a hermeneutical reconstruction of the process of developing the aforesaid concept by using the method of a detailed de visu analysis of a note text. In her research Azarova has applied conceptual critical research methods to analyzing the ideas of Georges Bernanos and composition ideas of Francis Poulenc. The author of the article has also used the methods of historical and theoretical analysis of musical compositions, in particular, the theory of musical intonation. For the first time in the Russian academic literature the author analyzes connections between Poulenc's opera music and Catholic tradition, defines genre codes of intonational-thematic opera elements and describes the function of declamatory voice intonations comprising the dynamic basis of the composer's creative process. The author also discovers parameters of Poulenc's compositions that have common elements with the composition principles used by Claudio Monteverdi, Giuseppe Verdi, Modest Mussogorsky and Claude Debussy, i.e. musicians the opera is devoted to. The author of the article also touches upon the problem of structuring the musical time in the opera, defines vectors for the development of the musical message that influence the formation of the dramaturgical concept of the intoning message, essential elements of the intonational fable and bearers of the musical message. Azarova analyzes new ways of interaction between regular and irregular rhythmic elements, variable pervasive intonational thematic units participating in the logical organisation of the whole. The author also gives a new interpretation of the basic intonational dramaturgical spheres: liturgic, metaphysical anxiety and death fear, social transformations, gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Abstract: The subject of the research is the opera concept being analyzed in terms of the artistic thinking of the second half of the XXth century, ‘Catholicism’ tendency in French musical theatre and analysis of musical dramaturgy as well as emotional and psychological aspects of the musical content. Based on the analysis of documentary sources, the author of the article describes the history of opera creation, how it developed on stage, stages of the development of the Christian concept of human, and principles regulating the relationship between the literary text (drama) and music in the opera. The subject of the research also involves the main vector of submitting the artistic meaning represented in the opera as an existential choice made by the main heroine, Sister Blanche, no her way to the Holy Spirit. The author of the article conducts the musical-philosophical, musical-theological and musical-psychological hermeneutic reconstruction of the process of the development of the artistic concept in Francis Poulenc’s opera ‘Dialogues of the Carmelites’ and analyzes the semantic and composition organization of the literary text and musical text in the opera. For the first time in the Russian academic literature the author analyzes the aspects of the Catholic mysticism in the structure of the opera and the relationship between the superior phenomenon of the Grace of God and human freedom. The author also views the main principles of the relationship between drama and music in the opera and analyzes documentary sources related to the process of the transformation of the opera structure during 1953 – 1955. Azarova also touches upon the counterpoint of the spiritual and social dimensions in the musical dramaturgy. The author makes a conclusion about a specific musical content of the opera revealing universal human, humanistic, psychological, philosophical and theological meanings of the Grace of God as one of the main Christianity concept.

Abstract: The subject of research in this article is the vocal-symphonic concept of the oratorio-trilogy by Hector Berlioz “The Childhood of Christ” Op. 25, which is being viewed as a prime example of creative thought of that era (middle of XIX century), and being examined in form of analysis of musical composition, musical dramaturgy, fundamental plots and characters of Christianity, as well as emotional-psychological side of the musical content. Based on examination of the letters and Mémoires of Hector Berlioz the article presents a hypothesis on the genesis of the creative concept of the oeuvre, and offers facts from the history of its creation and performance. The plot motifs of Berlioz’s poetic libretto presented as units of the overall structure of the creative text. The author analyzes the particular aspects of the oratorio-theatrical embodiment of the space-time spiritual concept of eternity of Christian love, examines the fusion of spiritual and secular elements within the semantics of the creative text, gives attention to the specificity of the composition, musical dramaturgy, principles of polyphonic thought of the composer, synthesis of genre elements (oratorio, symphony, mystery play, and others), and reveals the correlation between Berlioz’s innovative musical thinking and the creative practice of the psychological realism within the French art and literature of 1850’s. Research methodology:- Musical-philosophical hermeneutical reconstruction of the process of structuring the creative idea and the aspects of its realization within the programmatic vocal-symphonic concept of the oratorio-trilogy.- Analysis pertaining to the musical philosophy of the score of “The Childhood of Christ” as a creative canon, which reflected the phenomenon of the topology of the path- Analysis of the musical and aesthetical aspects of the psychological realism within intonation-dramaturgical development of the work.Scientific novelty of the research consists in:- Discovery of Berlioz’s individual approach towards the critical perception of Christianity in France during 1850’s- Analytical justification of the position that composer’s interpretation of the Christian spiritual values, including the eternity of Christian love, presented in the oratorio-trilogy of “The Childhood of Christ” is relevant in the XXI century- Determination of the musical and aesthetical phenomenon of realistic vocal intonation, which is in a state of development of psychological and critical realism in the French art and literature of 1850’s- Musical and philosophical understanding of the functionality of spiritual and semantical concepts of the Christian “storge” and Christian “agape” in the musical dramaturgy of these parts of the work: “Herod’s Dream”, “Flight into Egypt”, and “The Arrival at Sais”.Main conclusions:1. The specificity of composer’s individual understanding of the psychological mystery of communication between human soul and God is reflected in the deep structure of the oratorio-trilogy “The Childhood of Christ” – the concept of eternity of Christian love2. The perception on this concept is relevant for the modern Christian world, and prompts us to change our attitude towards the life and creative heritage of Berlioz3. “The Childhood of Christ” is a great example for the French composers of the XIX-XX centuries, who created oratorio-theatrical works and significant forms of vocal-symphonic music based on the synthesis of arts and genres; among them are works by Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet, César Franck, Claude Debussy, Vincent d'Indy, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, and Olivier Messiaen.

Abstract: The subject of research in this article is the vocal-symphonic concept of the oratorio-trilogy by Hector Berlioz “The Childhood of Christ” Op. 25, which is being viewed as a prime example of creative thought of that era (middle of XIX century), and being examined in form of analysis of musical composition, musical dramaturgy, fundamental plots and characters of Christianity, as well as emotional-psychological side of the musical content. Based on examination of the letters and Mémoires of Hector Berlioz the article presents a hypothesis on the genesis of the creative concept of the oeuvre, and offers facts from the history of its creation and performance. The plot motifs of Berlioz’s poetic libretto presented as units of the overall structure of the creative text. The author analyzes the particular aspects of the oratorio-theatrical embodiment of the space-time spiritual concept of eternity of Christian love, examines the fusion of spiritual and secular elements within the semantics of the creative text, gives attention to the specificity of the composition, musical dramaturgy, principles of polyphonic thought of the composer, synthesis of genre elements (oratorio, symphony, mystery play, and others), and reveals the correlation between Berlioz’s innovative musical thinking and the creative practice of the psychological realism within the French art and literature of 1850’s. Research methodology:- Musical-philosophical hermeneutical reconstruction of the process of structuring the creative idea and the aspects of its realization within the programmatic vocal-symphonic concept of the oratorio-trilogy.- Analysis pertaining to the musical philosophy of the score of “The Childhood of Christ” as a creative canon, which reflected the phenomenon of the topology of the path- Analysis of the musical and aesthetical aspects of the psychological realism within intonation-dramaturgical development of the work.Scientific novelty of the research consists in:- Discovery of Berlioz’s individual approach towards the critical perception of Christianity in France during 1850’s- Analytical justification of the position that composer’s interpretation of the Christian spiritual values, including the eternity of Christian love, presented in the oratorio-trilogy of “The Childhood of Christ” is relevant in the XXI century- Determination of the musical and aesthetical phenomenon of realistic vocal intonation, which is in a state of development of psychological and critical realism in the French art and literature of 1850’s- Musical and philosophical understanding of the functionality of spiritual and semantical concepts of the Christian “storge” and Christian “agape” in the musical dramaturgy of these parts of the work: “Herod’s Dream”, “Flight into Egypt”, and “The Arrival at Sais”.Main conclusions:1. The specificity of composer’s individual understanding of the psychological mystery of communication between human soul and God is reflected in the deep structure of the oratorio-trilogy “The Childhood of Christ” – the concept of eternity of Christian love2. The perception on this concept is relevant for the modern Christian world, and prompts us to change our attitude towards the life and creative heritage of Berlioz3. “The Childhood of Christ” is a great example for the French composers of the XIX-XX centuries, who created oratorio-theatrical works and significant forms of vocal-symphonic music based on the synthesis of arts and genres; among them are works by Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet, César Franck, Claude Debussy, Vincent d'Indy, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, and Olivier Messiaen.

Abstract: The subject of study in this article is a vocal-symphonic concept trilogy Hector Berlioz oratorio "The Childhood of Christ" Op. 25, considered as a special phenomenon of artistic thinking era (mid XIX century.) And in terms of the analysis of a musical composition, musical drama, the fundamental themes and images of Christianity, as well as the emotional and psychological side of music content.On the basis of letters and memoirs of Berlioz in the article the hypothesis about the origins of artistic design work, given the facts of the history of its creation and execution. Scene motives poetic libretto by Berlioz presented as units of the general structure of a literary text; Fine designated dialogue aspects of the literary program of works of Berlioz with images of the same scenes in the paintings of masters of Western painting XIV - XVI centuries. The author analyzes the features of oratorio-theatrical incarnation spatiotemporal spiritual concept of the eternity of Christian love, considering the connection of spiritual and secular elements in the semantics of a literary text, draws attention to the particular composition, musical drama, to the principles of polyphonic thinking of the composer, the synthesis of genre elements (oratorio, symphony , an ancient mystery, and others.), reveals the ratio of innovative thinking Berlioz's music with the artistic practice of psychological realism in literature and art in France 1850.Research methods:- Musical and philosophical hermeneutic reconstruction of the formation of the artistic design and features of its realization in the program's vocal-symphonic oratorio trilogy concept.- Linked to the philosophy of music analysis of the musical text (the score), "Childhood of Christ" as the artistic canon, which reflected the phenomenon of path topology, as well as the category the poetics of space.- Analysis of musical and aesthetic aspects of psychological realism in intonation and the dramatic development of the product.The novelty of the study is- In the detection of individual attitudes Berlioz's critical understanding of Christianity in France 1850- The analytical justification provisions: composer's interpretation of the spiritual values ​​of Christianity in particular - the eternity of Christian love, presented in oratorio trilogy "Childhood of Christ" - is relevant in the XXI century.- To identify the musical-aesthetic phenomenon realistic vocal intonation, which is in line with the development of psychological and critical realism in French literature and art of the 1850s.- In the musical and philosophical understanding of spiritual functioning, semantic concepts of the Christian "storge" and Christian "agape" in the musical drama parts of the work: "Herod's Dream," "Flight into Egypt" and "The arrival at Sais"Main conclusions:1. Features of the individual composer's understanding of the psychological mystery of communion of the soul with God reflected in the deep structure of the trilogy oratorio "The Childhood of Christ" - the concept of the eternity of Christian love2. Perception called the concept of relevance to the contemporary Christian world, it leads to a change in attitude to the fate of the creative heritage and Berlioz.3. "The Childhood of Christ" - the highest example for French composers XIX - XX centuries, created the oratorio-theater works and major forms of vocal and symphonic music based on the synthesis of the arts, genre characteristics; among them - works by Gounod, Massenet, Franck, Debussy V. d'Indy, A. Honegger, Poulenc, Olivier Messiaen.