Denisov, A. V. About the Phenomenon of Travesty in Musical Art

Abstract: This article is an attempt to analyze principles lying in the basis of musical travesty as an artistic device. The author of the article considers general mechanisms of travesty and concrete musical means causing its formation as well as functions of travesty in musical art. The main principle of travesty is the structural and semantic inversion of the initial text. Travesty interpretations of the original is usually performed on the account of parallel actions between intra-and inter textual relations – certain mutual coordination of travesty elements as well as ‘comparison’ of this text with the original. Concrete implementation of inversion can be connected with a certain organization of intonation structures in musical text and its meaning beyond music. Based on concrete examples, the author views the main methods of travesty in music – deformation and agglutination. The author also shows the role and functions of musical travesty in terms of history and culture. In particular, the principle of travesty inversion are compared to the phenomena of idealization and mythologize which accompanies one another in the process of cultural development.

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