The Specific of Folk Song Arrangements in Yaroslav Vereshchagin's Vocal Cycles

Abstract

It is well known that the genre of folk song arrangement is widespread in Ukrainian music, as the folklore heritage of Ukraine is extremely rich and diverse. It is not surprising that authentic folklore samples have become a source of inspiration for many composers and performers. Artists use the folk melody in their work, embodying it through modern arrangements and processing. This approach allows not only to preserve the historical heritage, but also to give it a new sound. The analysis of musicological research shows that every Ukrainian composer in his work intentionally or subconsciously uses elements of Ukrainian folklore, and Yaroslav Vereshchagin is no exception.

Ya. Vereshchahin (1948-1999) was a bright master of the pen in the field of chamber music, a sophisticated artist of the poetic word. At the moment, the home archive of the composer's daughter Bohdana contains about 120 works of various genres, 48 of which were written for the voice accompanied by piano and chamber ensemble. It is especially worth noting the composer's love for creating vocal cycles: there are 14 of them in his oeuvre, each of which consists of two to four vocal miniatures. Unfortunately, to date, only 11 cycles have been fully discovered, and among them are arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs - two vocal cycles for voice and piano «Two Ukrainian Hayivkas» and «Two Ukrainian Songs». The relevance and novelty of the study lies in the choice of works by Ya. Vereshchagin for analysis that have not been covered yet in musicology.

The object of the study is the vocal cycles «Two Ukrainian Groves» and «Two Ukrainian Songs» by Ya. Vereshchagin. The subject of the study is the specificity of Ya. Vereshchagin's arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs. The purpose of the study is to analyze Ya. Vereshchagin's work with the folklore source on the example of the vocal cycles «Two Ukrainian Groves» and «Two Ukrainian Songs».

In conclusion, on the basis of the analyzed arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs, the basic principles of Ya. Vereshchagin's compositional work with the folklore source is indicated, which allow generalizing the concept of the composer's compositional style on the example of the analyzed works. In the course of a comparative analysis of these arrangements, signs of late Romantic and post-Romantic stylistic coloring are clearly traced, which testifies to the affinity with the compositional vocabulary of Western European and domestic composers of the late XIX - mid XX centuries. In particular, the vividly altered intra-fret dissonance appeals to the creative searches of B. Bartok, Z. Kodály, B. Liatoshynsky, and L. Revutsky. At the same time, in some pieces, in particular in «Willow Plank», one can feel the influence of jazz stylistics inspired by the creative experience of M. Skoryk, whose student Ya. Vereshchagin was.

The aspect considered in the publication suggests further research on the example of analyzing other artistic ideas of the artist, which will be the goal of the author's next work.