On the conceptual method of musical and historical analysis

Alexander I. Demchenko – Doctor of Arts History, Professor, Chief Researcher and Head of the International Center for Integrated Art Research at the Saratov State Conservatory named after L. V. Sobinov.

The article is devoted to the analysis of a specific piece of music. As the preferred method of musical-historical analysis, the author suggests an approach in which the most effective core is the conceptual basis of the music under investigation. The essence of the conceptual analysis is to identify the figurative and semantic content first of all, all components of the argumentation are subordinat to the disclosure of relevant aspects. Such an approach comes close to a conscious de-sire to see in artistic culture not only a set of all kinds of phenomena belonging to different peoples and epochs, but also the memory of times, the understanding of the concrete historical experience of evolving humanity, the reflection of society and the inner world, the motor-dynamic and emotional‑psychological sides of human existence, life style and the general atmosphere of being. At the same time, the author emphasizes the importance of two points relevant for the conceptual understanding of musical and artistic material in the works where there is an author's program or literary text present: the rejection of the identity of the non‑musical series and the actual musical content, which prompts us to proceed primarily from sound reality, and the inevitable actualization of historical themes if the work addresses the events of the distant past. Having presented illustrative samples of conceptual analysis drafts, the author provides a detailed analysis of I. Stravinsky's symphonic poem "The Song of the Nightingale".

conceptual method of musical and historical analysis, semantic focus, samples

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Received: 15.09.2024

Accepted: 15.10.2024

Issue №4(5) December 2024

Pages
9-29