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14Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 1 (2014 7) 94-102
УДК 782.91
Ballet Poem "Angara the Beauty" by L. Knipper and B. Iampilov
Olga Y. Kolpetskaya*
Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Music and Theatre 22 Lenin Str., Krasnoyarsk, 660049 Russia
Received 09.04.2013, received in revised form 30.09.2013, accepted 05.10.2013
The articlefeatures Buryatia's art of professional choreography, which represents a bright phenomenon of art, based upon synthesis of ethnic and European dance traditions. In the context of developing a national school of composition the period offormation of the Buryat ballet is studied, its ceremonial and ritual origins and genre background are determined. Research approach to the study of the music score of the ballet poem "Angara the Beauty" by Lev Knipper and Bau Iampilov includes two important aspects: cultural-historical and musical-theoretical, that allows to identify the particular characteristics of composition and drama of the ballet, specific features of creative refraction of the folk traditions in the musical language and in the choreographic vocabulary of the play, as well as narrative area of the poem. The leitmotivs of the ballet, which enable interconnection of the musical material in the temporary deployment, are analyzed in details.
Keywords: ballet, choreography, Bau Iampilov, Lev Knipper, leitmotiv.
Professional musical-choreographic art of Buryatia was formed in the 20th century, using vast experience of the Western European and Russian classics, along with the achievements of the modern music and choreography. At the same time, it was influenced by the varied traditions of the original national culture. The ballets, created by such composers as D. Ayusheev, S. Ryauzov, B. Maisel, L. Knipper, B. Iampilov, J. Batuev, A. Andreev, Y. Irdyneev in a creative alliance with such choreographers as M. Arsenyev, I. Moiseev, M. Zaslavsky, M. Mnatsakanian, A. Batubaeva, O. Ignatiev, indicate the importance of this form of art in music culture of the republic. Staged and compositional practices represent vast and
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* Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected]
fertile ground for the historical and theoretical understanding of the material.
Since 1920 ideological and aesthetic image of the Buryat school of composition was formed as a phenomenon of continuity in relation to the Russian classical music. Not coincidentally the first works of various genres on the basis of national melos were created by the Russian composers working in the country - P. Berlinsky, V. Moroshkin, R. Glier, M. Frolov. However, for the pioneering composers national folklore was not a "native language." They interpreted it as an original, colorful "raw material", clothed in traditional classical forms.
In the late 1920s, professional training of the national human resources in creative
specialties began. In 1929 in Verkhneudinsk (the name of Ulan-Ude till 1934. - O. K.) the musical theater studio was founded, and in 1931 it was reorganized into the College of Arts with four faculties: music, theater, literature and fine arts. In the late 1930s B. Iampilov, D. Ayusheev and J. Batuev - the first generation of the national composers who then continued their education at the National Studio of Ural State Conservatory in the class of M. Frolov, graduated from the music faculty.
In the postwar years well-known composers L. Knipper and S. Ryauzov were directed from Moscow to Buryatia to assist the local authors. In their artistic legacy is very rich and interesting and worthy of close attention. Unfortunately, however, musicologists rarely study the works of these composers.
L. Knipper and Si. Ryauzoe -visited yegions of the republic, rtudied lire aod culture odthe people, recorded anf wosked with folk melodiry and then, together with the national composers started to work on the major music and drama works -operas and ballets. In these creative duets, the Russian masters, as far more experienced, were playing the leading roles, and Buryrt composers got a good practical experience.
It 195h, in the cttidal of Buryatia, Ulay-Ude, tha first oigft of the balled "Angara the Beatty" bay L. Knippet and B. Iampiloh took pface. The source of the plot doe dhis musical
and choreographic work was a national legend of the same name. However, the folklore source in N. Baldano's libretto undergoes some changes in accordance with the requirements of the stage musical genre, that is firstly connected with the composition of the ballet - its division into acts, scenes, cofeatures (act 1, scene 1 - 9 cofeatures; act 1, scene 2 - 7 cofeatures; act 2, scene 3 - 4 cofeatures; act 2, scene 4 - 9 cofeatures; act 3, scene 5 - 4 cofeatures). The libretto also gives characteristics of the actors and outlines their actions and deeds. According to P. Karp, "the principle of brands" and "the principle of pictorial sequences" (Karp, 1980: 103) lie in the basis of the ballet's plot, where one after the other -alternately, and sometimes simultaneously - the choracters, parleyed it the depicted sceoes are demon rtrated.
It it necessary to eake fnto condiaeration that the plot is always multidimeysionol - it lrts width and depth, tffckground and perrpectihe. B. Putilov is right, noting that "the plot is never equal to a text and is not completed by it" (Putilov, 1994: 189). This observation is particularly valuable when considering the serious plot structure of the ballet, where the tex- of libretto is a kind of starting poiot, which srimuletes imaginatkm of the composer rod the choreographtr. In this case, or tde one dand, music aod choreogtaphh cvn keep rite ceetaiv features of tlee verfal source, and or the otter heod, cth significant!.
reconsider, transform and complement it. The uniqueness of "Angara the Beauty" by L. Knipper and B. Iampilov lies in the fact that it allows the analysis of the ballet music to reveaS important serious subtext of the ballet and see the story oa the folk legend in a new light.
"Original psychological context with the inner world of music Ss possiblf through a deep emotion al and spiritual "resonance" that affects the sub conscious, archetypal loyers of the human psyche. According to tho definition, given by C.G. Jung, secret influence of art lays in tine ability to "speak archetypes" (Jung, 1997: 151).
composition", i.e. combination of means of musical expression, enshrined in a definite way of presentation.) Texture and thematic composition of the "underwater bell" is a multi-dimensional sound symbol and it plays a special role; in the ballet' drama. It is known that from the eerliest tiroes bells weee used by sndigenou s ethnic groups of Sibe ria. According to the anciant baliefs, the sound o. a bell saared the evil spirits, "the demone of the sea," away, and prevented storms.
Textuee and thematic composition of the "underwater bell" consists of two elements.
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Structure of images, temper of the char acters dnd niiiinge of events define epic-narrative style of the ballet. The prinaipal characters are representatives of water (the Angara, the Yenisei, Baikal, Gorkhon Rucheykovna) and air elements (Black Whirlwind and his entourage). Gradual exposition of actions and discovery of their cause-effect relationships form epically harmonic sequence of events, which represents various plot sub motives, united by the common thread of narration. The narration is characterized by combination of vivid images and generalized symbolism.
Combination of these two principles -image of sounds and generalized symbolism is represented from the first measures of the entrance.
The first scene of the ballet ("The Coast of Lake Baikal") is opened by sounding theme of an "underwater bell" (Kunitsyn, 1982) (hereinafter "texture and thematic
The sound vertical, repeesanting a pelipchord, is deployed in a horizontal line, which demonsteates diverse dissonant ovnrtones. Coverage of a large compass, "distancing" of textural layers - use of low-deep and high-light registers, transparent light sound of the harp that fills the space, creates a visible image of large expanses of water. E-dur contour tonality used in the sound vertical is worthy of special attention, and this tonality, according to N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, is painted in dark blue, sapphire colour. Besides, the first element of texture and thematic composition of the "underwater bell", a kind of "chord-column", plays another important role in the ballet's drama - the role of Axis mundi (the world axis). "In all the cosmogonic myths attention is focused on description of the space image of the world, where the space-time dimension is the most significant to characterize it" (Narodnye znaniia, 1991: 76). The corresponding ideas are embodied in the universal sign complex - the world axis.
This is originally reflected in a tripartite vertical of space:
air - the upper zone earth - the middle zone water - the lower zone Examining the variety of mythological views of the peoples of the world, it is noteworthy that their general dominant was understanding of the world as a finished, beautiful and harmonised unity, which has certain boundaries where the space is treated as a "single living being," in which all the elements of being have a strict hierarchy and united into a single living organism.
In archaic cosmology "the world axis" is regarded as an ideal model of dynamic processes vertically and stability horizontally. It organizes the world order so that the world can be folded up according to the special rules into the "world axis" and unfolded out of it. That is why the compositional arch, framing the ballet is of special importance: the sound of the "underwater bell" opens, and it also finishes the ballet.
Another important function of the texture and thematic composition of the "underwater bell", which is implemented in the ballet's music is a function of time keeping. This is mythical time - "initial", "archaic", "old times", which sets a certain tone of leisurely and measured narration.
Mythical time is the time of creation, first subjects and first actions, and it is reflected primarily in the cosmogony, anthropogenic and etiological myths. The world in general, as well as individual objects was made at a special moment of creation and initial causes. That is why everything relaaed to this peeiod is niven
Leiimaiifs af the Yenisei
the status of sacred precedent. "The space-time continuum becomes discrete-value through allocation of the specifically marked points of space and time - the "center of the world" and the "beginning of the world" (Narodnye znaniia, 1991: 77) and texture and thematic composition of the "underwater bell" plays the role of these marked points."
Originally, texture and thematic composition of the "underwater bell" is presented in scene 1 ("General Dance", "Duet of the Angara and the Yenisei", «the Final Scene»), in scene 2 ("the Dance of Pleading"), in scene 4 ("Stage") and in scene 5 ("Duet of the Angara and the Yenisei", «Finale»). In other cases ("Duet of the Angara and the Yenisei" - scene 1, "the Spell of Tornadoes" -scene 2, "Underwater world" (entrance), "the Dance of the Inhabitants of the Underwater Kingdom," "the Dance of the Angara" - scene 4, "Duet of the Angara and the Yenisei," "the Fight of the Yenisei with the Black Whirlwind" -scene 5) texture and thematic composition of the "underwater bell" "splits" - at that, the first element remains stable (chord vertical), but the second element transforms, and represents the background against which the main leitmotifs of the ballet are "imposed". In case of absence of the second element of the texture and thematic composition it is substituted by themes, describing characters of the ballet.
In the musical material of the entrance, depicting mythological process of creation of the world as continuous chain oh appearance of diffese nt objects, leitmotifs oC the Yenisei and the Angara appear:_
Leitmotifs of the Angara
A scene from the ballet "Angara the Beauty" (Buryat state academic opera and ballet theatre)
In ancietit times, the lawt of nature and human society were presented to people ueited. Their unity was seen in the fact that all the forms of life have living force that presents "... in all the things and beings which and whom a person contacts with, it is associated with his\ her clothes, smell, name, creativity, speech, song, dance, actions, practices, household, children, etc. <...>. All of this together and every single thing separately can represent a person, be a person's subsistence. A part of person's being as if sticks to every thitg f person contacts wioh, everythinf, which is one way or anothet connected with a person's actions and image" (Grachevo, 1983: 53). Consequently, macrocosm and microcosm (man and nature) are isomorphic to each otirer, and human image serves as air ideal model of rhe space forms structuring. The mainpreeequisites for this original myteologicar "logic" -was tee fact, that peoete fed noS difterentiate themaeltes from thair naturar ana social envirenmeat auh rhe tacr thet
their thinking was charactecized ty ditfuseness and indivisitility hnd was almost inseparable from the emotional and motou spherer. The result was humanization of all the nature, the universal personification.
Personification or anthropomorphism (sometimes the term "assimilation" is used) is connected with assimilation of the natural objects to a man. "Personification", or "prosopopeia" in Greek, is based on spirituality, which eventually leads to giving inanimate objects and phenomena the characteristics of an indiviehial arc1 tuens them itto definite persons" (Shatalov, 1981: 102, emphasis fdded. - O.K.)
Being the center of the vrrbal oaanatioa o" the folklore genrer, the heroes occupy a special posstion. Nahrators try Co giae thnn the most accurate and succinct characaeristics. Thas, ia the foik leghnds the Angara appears as "the onSy daaghSer rfLake nuikaГ,"iheUrheetyad beauty",tae Yenishiirerscrieydhk"aeero"
"a brave young man", Baikal - as "severe", "wise" and "gray-haired old man" and Black Whirlwind - as "cunning" and "sly". The image of the characters, their original inward nature that used to define the belonging to the world of good and evil, to the elements of water or air, remain unchanged each time the characters are in different situations and circumstances. Thus, an important characteristic of the actors in the folk genre is their belonging to a certain type, their laconism and constancy.
The musical theater has its own traditions of heroes' personification, reflected in leitmotifs and personalization. According to the outstanding Soviet choreographer L. Yakobson, "leitmotifs are of special importance, without them there would be images." He writes: "... the more expressive and diverse leitthema is, the more striking the character of a hero becomes» (Yakobson, 1991: 81). Leitmotifs appear in the ballet on a compositional level as the main representatives of the story line, because they are situationally justified and often play specific representational role. Besides, leitmotifs in "Angara the Beauty" are important means that provide interconnection of the material in the temporary deployment.
In the first act of "Angara the Beauty" there are leitmotifs of representatives of the water element - the Yenisei, the Angara, Baikal, Gorkhon Rucheykovna; in the second act they are added by the leitmotifs of Black Whirlwind (representative of the air element) and love of the Angara and the Yenisei; the third act is based on the familiar leitmotifs, which naturally finish their "dramatic life" in the ballet. Moreover, in the most of classical ballets the last act was, as a rule, divertissement, but in "Angara the Beauty by L. Knipper and B. Iampilov, development of intrigue is brought to the final. The leitmotifs of the ballet are so flamboyant, textured and personalized, that they can cause a variety of non-musical associations (primarily with the
world of nature, definite visual images and types of movements).
Numerous changes in metro rhythmic leitmotifs of the representatives of the water elements are explained by the internal contradiction of its essence. The surface of water changes every second; it regenerates and combines both motion and rest. That is why the number of "rhythmic events" in themes in one period of time is constantly changing. However, because of this, the tonal image is always recognizable, as it does not change the essence of imaginative constructions. Analysis of all the leitmotifs of the ballet suggests the presence of stable and mobile elements (relative to their invariants).
Emphasizing the particular features of musical drama of the ballet, it should be noted that the important features of narrative genres of folk genres were transferred to music. First of all, it is a slow deployment of action with multiple repeats, similar to repeats in fairy tales, legends and uligers (epic folk genre); with a lot of "arches" and reminiscences with comparisons of individual large sections, which differ in finished and complete constructions. At the same time, the ballet's music is perceived as a symphonic poem that deploys in a single breath.
The musical poem is similar to its literary analogue of the same name by narrative exposition, lyrical digressions, picturesquely beautiful descriptions, alternating with episodes of the dramatic development, where similarity determines its genre peculiarity. There are following characteristics of the genre of symphonic poem that are found in musical drama of "Angara the Beauty": programme music, use of figurative symbols and allegories, "dissolution" of lyrical beginning in the epos, the tendency to overcome cyclic compartmentalization. Lyrical episodes (mostly duets) are smoothly integrated into general narration of the ballet. Therefore, it is important to note that the genre of this musical
and stage wo rk is determined by the authors as a ballet-poem.
Themes of the representatives of the water element are based on the national song and dance genres. Theme of the representative of the ais element has an instrumental origin, without reference So a srecific genre model. In this case, each of the leitmotifs rf the ballet has a definite timbre and in some cases -a combination of several timbres which represent a theme. The Yenisei and the Angara art voiced ty stsing and woodwind icrttuments. Tire hetoic image ot tha Yenisei River is personified in the timbre of ths solo pipe. Tte leitmotif of Lake Baikal is assrciated with a slender quartet sound of brars snstruments, which set rhe choit theme of the character. Tha leiimotii oa the Brask Whirlwmd is rat hy lae solo cf the Freach horn and acrompanied by percussion (m some caaes tge atriag;) instrumentr:
that magic and witchcraft are one of the most common myrhoto^cal motifs and then mean having transcendental capacities with the help of a ritual to influence the world in general or an individual natural object. "The most characteristic movemente in the shamanlc pracnicer of the indigenous peoples of many countrias and coatinents ase imitative movaments, thgy imitate the habits of birds and enimals" (Buksikova, 2009: 49). The purpose of this ritual, presented in the ballet, is creation of vision erf tie Angara. "Tha Spell oV tornadoes" (douaia finrty form ABA1BC) ia based on ihe coatrast alternation ob sections, where the musical material A end A1 represent the act oft calling of rae shaman. Themes of the sacticns B and B1 are associated with the appearance of'tha Angara River and ase based on numerous aepeiition o° the laitmotif of eHe heroine.
It is known that Air is one of the fundcmeatal elements of th e unirerse, assotiated with Yang. In many mythokrgical tradition whiclwmd ana hurricane are associatad with devastating and chaotic forces. "Ups" of the solo French horn accompanied by the roar of the percussion instruments are associated with a blast of wind. The broken pieces of short phrases, instrumental themes without reference to a specific genre characterize leitmotif of the character.
Percussion sounds, imitating the shamanic tools necessary to a space traveler in his actions, play an important role in the ballet (the scene of "the Spell of tornadoes," scene 2). It is known
Tha essenSial feature of many epic genaes is descriptior off the sceae. Apart from the Inlroduction tn ihe ballet, illustrating iae endless expanre of water, in "Acgara the Beauty" the musical introductions that open each scene ("the figure of Black Whirlwind", "The Coast of Lake Baikal", "Underwater world") play an important role and depict the dwelling of the ballet characters, as evidenced by inclusion of the leitmotifs of the main characters into the musical fabric of these introductions. The scene - the space - suggests division into the background and textured elements, where the first function as environment, and the latter - as the actors. The themes that characterize the actors of the ballet
are strictly differentiated both by belonging to a particular spatial area (the representatives of the elements of water and air) and according to the target of their actions.
The attempted analysis of the ballet's score led to the conclusion that three mutually complementary groups lie in the basis of the musical material of the ballet: image-specific (themes, characters), graphic-illustrative (themes that determine the "spatial schemes"), generalized
symbolic (revealing the plot at the level of poetic symbolism, opening the deep meaning of the content of music and stage work).
"Angara the Beauty" is still the "calling card" ofthe Buryat ballet. In 1972, composers L. Knipper and B. Iampilov, choreographer M. Zaslavsky, artist M. Timin and performers of the parts of the Angara and the Yenisei L. Sakhyanova and P. Abasheev were awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR named after M.I. Glinka.
References
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Балет-поэма «Красавица Ангара» Л. Книппера и Б. Ямпилова
О.Ю. Колпецкая
Красноярская государственная академия музыки и театра Россия 660049, Красноярск, Ленина, 22
В данной статье исследуется профессиональное хореографическое искусство Бурятии, представляющее собой яркий художественный феномен, основанный на синтезе этнической и европейской танцевальных традиций. В контексте становления национальной композиторской школы рассматривается период формирования бурятского балета, определяются его обрядово-ритуальные истоки и жанровые предпосылки. Исследовательский подход к изучению партитуры балета-поэмы «Красавица Ангара» Льва Книппера и Бау Ямпилова включает два важных аспекта: культурно-исторический и музыкально-теоретический, что позволяет выявить особенности композиции и драматургии балета, специфику творческого преломления фольклорных традиций в музыкальном языке, в хореографической лексике спектакля, а также в сюжетно-образной сфере произведения. Подробно анализируются лейтмотивы балета, обеспечивающие взаимосвязанность музыкального материала во временном развёртывании.
Ключевые слова: балет, хореография, Бау Ямпилов, Лев Книппер, лейтмотив.
