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26Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 3 (2014 7) 525-536
УДК 781.5
Demonic and Infernal Images
in Franz Liszt's Instrumental Compositions:
Prosodie Aspect
Julia Е. Polezhaeva*
Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Music and Theatre 22 Lenin Str., Krasnoyarsk, 660049, Russia
Received 14.09.2013, received in revised form 22.11.2013, accepted 28.11.2013
The article views the outstanding Hungarian composer-romanticist's creative work from the positions of the image-bearing system of the art of the Romantic era, its specificity and means of embodiment. The material for research embraces piano and orchestra compositions: five "Mephisto Waltzes", "Mephisto Polka", "The Piano Sonata in B minor", fantasia quasi sonata "Apres une lecture du Dante" ("After a Reading of Dante"), the "Faust symphony", the "Dante symphony" that depict various manifestations of evil. These compositions are studied in image-and-prosodic plane. The main method of research is the prosodic analysis approaching the minor integral analysis. Singling out and description ofprosodic "nucleus" as a stable complex of expressive means that serve to re-create the images mentioned have become the result of the research. This complex is characterized by certain features (tone, register, articulatory, melodic, rhythmic, tonality-and-harmonic and genre ones) as well as by regularities of a theme formation and development. Conclusion presents the attempt to view the phenomena under research from the point of Christian teaching.
Keywords: image of evil, "Mephisto Waltz", the "Faust symphony", the "Dante symphony", Franz Liszt, musical expressive means, intonation, romanticism.
There is a need in a new repertoire that could grab the audience's attention. Demonic, satanic, perhaps?
Louis Vernon, the year of 1831
Quite long ago I.I. Sollertinskii characterized romanticism as something broader and more significant than style or school in art. Thus, he wrote that "romanticism is a holistic extensive outlook" (Sollertinskii, 1962, 4). This point of view is supported by the researchers nowadays, after a quarter of a century. Iu. Gabai, for example, regards
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* Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected]
romanticism as "a certain type of perception of the world", "a world-view that determines the rules of art" (Gabai, 1987, 9). Indeed, irrespective of heterogeneity and singularity of images embodied in romanticists' masterpieces, a set of general themes, motifs are peculiar for their creative work that is indicative of community of ideas. These are
disappointment in reality, escape from it, dissatisfaction, loneliness, longing for ideal.
As is known, the romanticists' image-bearing palette is very rich and multicoloured. It comprises various aspects of reality (historic past, exotic countries, a human's inner life, pictures of nature, etc.) and fabulousness. At that emphasizing something specific, individual and peculiar is of the utmost importance. Everything unusual, strange, mysterious gets a special value. The spheres of grotesque and irony are also of importance. The works on aesthetics of romanticism issues often mention the world dichotomy, polarization of image-bearing spheres and dramatics of antitheses (Druskin, 1981), the feeling of polarity (Gabai, 1987). According to A.V. Mikhailov, in the romanticists' consciousness "ethos and reality of history are located on different surfaces", thus a romantic thinker is an embodiment of contradiction (Mikhailov, 1987, 8-9).
A new image-bearing system, different from the one peculiar for classicism, is formed in romantic art. The romanticists themselves noticed its specific features. V. Hugo, for example, in the preface to his drama "Cromwell" wrote about a large role of grotesque, regarding it in its correlation with the beautiful: "in the Romantic era everything shows its close and creative ties with the beautiful" (Literaturnye manifesty... 1980, 451). In the writer's opinion, the sphere of grotesque embraces absurdity, ugliness, infirmity as well as passions, vices and crimes. Grotesque creates "the ugly and the monstrous, on the one hand, and the comic and the clownish, on the other hand. It gives rise to thousands of distinctive prejudices around religion and thousands of beautiful images around poetry" (Ibid., 449). Hell, Satan, witches' sabbath, Scaramouche, Harlequin are among them. Hugo highly praises grotesque: "How impertinently it highlights all these fanciful images that were so timidly veiled by the
previous epoch!" (Ibid., 449). The writer further points out a marked predominance of grotesque over the lofty and beautiful in literature.
Images bearing unkind, destructive forces that personify the forces leading to death, dismal world of infernal fantasy, ideas of death and fate also penetrate into a musical composition's artistic space. Even a brief enumeration of theatrical or program musical compositions is extremely indicative of unusual attractiveness of images of the evil: N. Paganini's "Witches' Dance", C.M. von Weber's "Der Freischütz" ("The Marksman" or "The Free Shooter"), P.J. von Lindpaintner's "Der Vampyr" ("The Vampire"), H. Marschner's "Der Vampyr" ("The Vampire"), G. Meyerbeer's "Robert le diable" ("Robert the Devil"), S. Moniuszko's "Figle szatana" ("Satan's Tricks" or "Devil's Frolics"), H. Berlioz's "Symphony Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste ... en cinq parties" ("Fantastic Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts"), Ch.-C. Saint-Saëns's "Danse macabre" ("Dance of Death"), L. Spohr's "Faust", R. Wagner's "Faust", H. Berlioz's "La damnation de Faust" ("The Damnation of Faust"), Ch. Gounod's "Faust", etc. Evident increase of "a specific density" of feelings tinged with dark colours (vague anxiety, uneasiness, violent turmoil, despair) can be noted in the sphere of "clear" music. This caused changes in the language of music: "in comparison with major classicism romanticism undoubtedly extended the sphere of flat and minor keys, accelerated pulse" (Medushevskii, 1993, 190).
The tendencies mentioned above were repeatedly mentioned in research literature (Druskin, 1981; Zhitomirskii, 1981; Medushevskii, 1993). The romanticists' art attracts modern researchers' attention even nowadays. It should be noted that in musicological works of recent decades the problems of romanticism chiefly
appear in style and genre planes. The issues of form and history of performance are given comparatively little attention. At the same time there appear the works on one or another aspect of image-bearing system formed in the composers-romanticists' creative work.
Thus, romanticism is studied in the light of typical themes and images in N.G. Nevskaia's thesis "Faust theme implementation in the music of the XIX century" (2011) and N.A. Antipova's thesis "The fabulous in German romantic opera" (2007). The interest to faustianity is presented in F.S. Tairova's book "Faust in music (the image of Faust in the composers-romanticists' creative work)" (2008).
In N.A. Antipova's recently published articles the author's attention is focused on popular romantic themes, characters and motifs of the plots. Dwelling upon H. Marschner's opera "The Vampire", in particular, the researcher points out the embodiment of themes and images, "attracting close attention of artists, writers and musicians of the XIX century. These are the spirits' illusory world meddling in the humans' peaceful life, lyric heroines' all-conquering love, fatal forebodings striking turmoil into the heroines' hearts", and a romantic hero of "a demonic plane" (Antipova, 2012a). "Favourite themes and characters of the epoch", including love, a witch and a magic drink, a ghost and a hero performing "devilish deeds from human motives" also appear in R. Schumann's opera "Genoveva" (Antipova, 2013). Establishing the linkage of L. Spohr's opera "Faust" with the beginning of romantic demonism, Antipova considers that "the problem of the supernatural and infernal is of the greatest importance in romantic aesthetics" (Antipova, 2012b). At that the researcher's attention is mainly focused on the phenomena of a musical theatre while prosodic embodiment of demonic and infernal images is, in fact, described as much briefly and fragmentarily as possible. It
is of a very general character and doesn't form a system. This is obviously caused by the genre and historical orientation of the works mentioned.
However, the romanticists' aspiration to peep into dark infinites of a human's sinful soul and their wish to portray various manifestations of a demonic origin were implemented in purely instrumental opuses. In this regard Franz Liszt was one of the most consistent composers. Even though his compositions often imply the elements of being programme like, the composer always faced the necessity to cast his message with the help of the language of music only.
The problem of the formation of the specific musical means complex that could embody the picturesqueness of the sphere of evil that was new for that period hasn't received its due consistent interpretation and deep understanding in musical science yet.
In the light of the mentioned above the objective of the article is to give a detailed view on demonic and infernal images embodied in F. Liszt's music (their essential basis and specific manifestations) as well as on expressive means of their embodiment. This will enable to give a fuller idea of the composer's creative work and, what is conceptually broader, of an image-bearing system of romanticism in general. Limitation of the range of the analyzed compositions to the genres of instrumental music is caused by the desire to focus on pure musical manifestations of the images of evil. Study of the art of the Romantic era has a great significance for modern musicology and culture. (It should be noted that it is, a fortiori, topical if to take into account that culture and art nowadays, according to many scholars, are in the state of a deep crisis.) Some researchers think that "we still live in the era opened by romanticism, in romantic present" (Sidorov, 2011, 20).
The idea of evil in F. Liszt's compositions is embodied broadly and with great variety. Evil
origin finds its concrete personified expression in programme compositions connected with the image of Mephistopheles (five "Mephisto Waltzes", "Mephisto Polka", the third part of the "Faust symphony"). Its spirit is vivid in the pictures of hell, a gloomy underground world, depicted in the "Dante symphony" and fantasia quasi sonata "After a Reading of Dante".
An evil spirit is a "hero" 1 of a whole set of Liszt's compositions. "The idea of evil in the image of Mephistopheles got its brilliant embodiment in Liszt's music with such a deep message and expressiveness that no musician could ever create" (Asaf'ev, 1981, 72). According to B. Asaf'ev, this idea follows from the inmost recesses of a composer's soul: "Liszt's activity is entirely asserting. Mephistopheles is not seen in it, comparatively few moments apart. <...> This proves that the fight was in the spiritual sphere, and it's very likely that the spirit of denial acted with equal energy as a light assertive force and sometimes even with a larger intensity than the latter" (Ibid., 72-73). Liszt's Mephistopheles (now ironically derisive, now mysteriously enigmatic, now brilliant, attractive, and seducing with delight) sometimes shows his true nature that is aggressive, terrifying a human and hostile to him.
One of the first manifestations of the image of Mephistopheles in Liszt's creative work is the third part of the "Faust symphony". According to Ia. Mil'shtein, the idea of the symphony came to Liszt in 1839 and in 1854 this composition was completed (Mil'shtein, 1971). Its full name is "Eine Faust-Symphonie in drei Charakterbildern" ("A Faust Symphony in three character pictures"). The first part is "Faust", the second one is Margaret's "portrait", and the third part portrays the image of Mephistopheles as a symbol of evil, denial, scepsis.
"The spirit that denies" appears in the symphony as Faust's double, his distorted
reflection. Peculiar features of prosodic processes in the finale are formed by the idea of denial, derision of positive values materialized in music of the first part. There are no intrinsic themes in the third part (except for the musical material of the introduction part Allegro vivace, ironico). The part bases upon parody, ironic interpretation, caricatured transformation of the material of the first part. According to Mil'shtein, these are foremost "the theme of love" in the collateral part and "the theme of a great heroic deed" in the final part (Ibid.).
In the finale's first beats Mephisto's irony is materialized with traditional "scherzo" methods: dynamic, register, timbre contrasts, staccato, pizzicato, unexpected pauses. Infernal shade to sounding is introduced by rising tunes in the volume of a tritone, based on chromatic scalelike movement in the part of violoncellos and contrabasses, figuration of a diminished seventh chord in a triplet rhythm played by clarinets and bassoons staccato (bb. 8-11). Sinister scherzo character is peculiar for chromatic melodic line in the part of flutes, clarinets which is later imitated by stringed instruments.
The first theme from those transformed Faust-themes is that of the collateral part, symbol of love. Tender graceful melody is totally transformed. Clarinets and flutes are taken turns by bassoons and violins, legato - by staccato and pizzicato. Low and middle registers are used instead of a high one, tender "chamber" "p" turns into "mf". Meter-rhythmic monotony, deepened by Allegro tempo, is opposed to former rhythmic plastics, flexibility of a variable measure (3/4, C) in Andante tempo. Monotonous triplet pulsation is opposed to violas' expressive, melodious second parts. The impression of mechanicality is deepened due to the division of the theme into short motifs performed sequentially (halftones up) and continuation that its main motif gets (regularly alternating descending thirds and rising fourths
in a regular rhythm at staccato). This is how "the theme of love" loses its lively content, soul and is, consequently, disclaimed; the idea of a beautiful feeling, a divine gift of love is denied.
The theme in the introduction to the first part which initially contains the idea of doubt, dissatisfaction is also distorted. Concentration of Lento tempo is taken turn by thoughtlessness of Allegro on retention of a rhythmic and melodic pattern. Connected succession of tones (legato) as a sign of intoning, peculiar for a human's voice, gives ways to a "dry", "prickly" sounding. Violoncellos' pizzicato and bassoons' staccato symbolize the opposite, deathly point. Agitated dialogue of themes that render the ideas of doubt and love and force out the second "participant" is interrupted by a sarcastic comment materialized by violas' and violoncellos' absorbing chromatic passages.
The theme of the first part, expressing mental turmoil, aspiration for perfection and being prosodically and rhythmically flexible, loses its lively content, soul and gets schematized in the third part. It becomes melodically and rhythmically even and straight, is decorated with grace notes. Staccato and pizzicato become the main means of producing sounds.
The finale's fugue part is based on the theme of the collateral part of the first part. A living feeling is subordinated to a rigorous organizing logic of a rational point. Light colouring of the theme of E major is darkened with minor flat colours (C minor, G minor, D minor); the line of the counter-theme bases on the sounds of a diminished seventh chord.
In the course of development the theme of the collateral part of the first part gets the features of a march (measure C, dotted rhythm, repeated rhythmic "cell"). Orchestral tutti and "fff" in dynamics change chamber and "intimate" sounding; a motor nature of genre changes that of a vocal one. Thus, the expression of the
individual, inner, entirely personal is forced out with the implementation of the outer, impersonal. The lyrical part of a human's soul is emasculated. The theme of the final part is also subject to changes. At a significant acceleration of tempo a ceremonial march as if degenerates turning into some fussy, rather comic movement: strict and expressed in quarter notes melody of a march is modified with a melodic figuration, each phrase ends with falling arpeggio passage performed by the stringed staccato and pizzicato that develop as a distorted reflection of the analogous passage but a rising one. Weighty and significant sounding of trumpets and trombones, playing the melody of the theme, is substituted with lightweight, shallow timbre of a high register of stringed and wooden wind instruments. Thus, "a great heroic deed" turns out to be a thoughtless joke.
A diminished tonality that appears in the end of the third part (one transposition displays itself in the texture's upper strata, horizontally, in a falling movement, the other one, peculiar for violoncellos' part, displays itself in the opposite direction) is the sign of irreality, otherness. It's noteworthy that in this case the theme of Mephisto sphere, which is not supported by the prosodic material of the first part, turns out to be impersonal, leveled, and based on general forms of motion, even rhythm and symmetrical artificial tonality structure.
Mephistopheles's destructive, corrosive irony is embodied in a set of compositions that base on dancing genres. These are five "Mephisto Waltzes" 2 and "Mephisto Polka". Reference to dancing genres is considered to be non-incidental. The scheme of the black art's rituals presupposes dances that follow Satan's sermon (Konradi, 1987). Liszt uses dancing movements to express a carnal, spiritually deprived point. At that structural squareness and rhythmic formulae make a principle. Ostinato, long play of one and the same rhythmic "cells", peculiar to syncopated
or, on the contrary, extremely even ones, become a specific feature of the language of music. This creates the feeling of mechanicalness and lifelessness.
The sixth episode of N. Lenau's "Faust" ("Der Tanz in der Dorfshenke" ("The Dance in the Village Inn")) served a poetic base for the first "Mephisto Waltz". Basing on the regularities of a ternary form, this composition is subordinate to a programme message. The first section is a wedding feast in progress in the village inn, with music and dancing. The music of the central section illustrates the episode where Mephistopheles, playing the violin, drives Faust to the path of sin3.
The image of seducing Mephistopheles is characterized by a lyric, tender and passionate, full of sensual charm theme played in the key of D flat major. According to the programme it is played by stringed instruments, and namely violoncellos in high register. There is "a fire of temptation" and "Bacchic ardour" in the sounds of "Mephisto Waltz". Gradually the waltz movements pass into a furious dance that is materialized in the change of measure (2/4) and a remark in an orchestral version -"wild, rough"4. Music of section three follows the poetic text: the tune of Mephisto waltz dominates in the reprise of a synthetic type, whilst the first theme (A major) is subordinate to "a dancing whirl" and gets prosodically close to the material of the middle section. Faust and his partner dance through the door and dance through the garden, and dancing hell's pursuing them - these echoes of Mephisto Waltz ring in the orchestra. Flute's solo before coda is, probably, supposed to portray a thunder of a nightingale's triumphal warble from behind the sleeping branches. Mephistopheles's triumphal laughter seems to be heard in the coda based on the D flat intonations of a major theme. Similar associations are given rise by a repeated short
iambic tune harmonized due to the combination of dense and major triads.
Supremacy of a rationally-constructive point finds its brightest expression in "Mephisto polka" (composed in 1883) and become conspicuous on all the levels:
• in a scale balanced symmetrical composition (a ternary reprise form with the introduction and the final part as well as with concentricity features (the material of an introductory section is repeated in the end));
• in regularity and symmetry of division of smaller constructions and syntactic units covering 2, 4, 8, 16 measures. (Introduction is based on 16, the first part - 32+32, the central section - 32, reprise - 32 + a varied repetition with the extension which is the only deviation from a strict squareness, 8+16 appear in the final section);
• in symmetry of a melodic pattern which combines with a rhythmic uniformity and fixedness of rhythm patterns that is typical for the material of the extreme parts' introduction.
Ostinato, emphasized by the regularity of square structures which leave the impression of mechanicalness in this context, comes to the foreground on the level of development patterns. The main ones are repetition, varied repetition, and sequential repetition. Variation is achieved by the combination of texture functions (bass, harmonic figuration, supporting voices). The principle of symmetry runs through the whole musical texture in the process of development: a symmetric pattern of a melodic line of the accompaniment in the first part of the reprise. Axis of symmetry can be drawn both vertically (dividing a melodic line) and horizontally (that is possible due to the symmetry of melodic lines of different texture layers). The principle of symmetry is especially consecutive in the final
part of the reprise (bb. 169-180): both vertically and horizontally.
Dwelling upon the direction of the development, chromatic scale of a musical texture to the reprise's end should be noted. A melodic line is almost exclusively built from semitones. Eventually it passes into a descending chromatic scale (bb. 181-188) performed in sixth and then one-voice like. Thus, the final point of the development turns out to be a maximum featurelessness of a theme.
The intonation of tritone becomes more and more evident in the course of the material development. Having first flashed in the introduction (b. 11), it appears at a varied repetition of the first part, with a supporting voice (fis-his, b. 50; tritone also appears in a vertical line). As for the reprise, the augmented fourth is formed in it in the extreme sounds of a melodic piece, changing the perfect fourth (bb. 155, 159).
On the whole two groups of melodic complexes can be distinguished in Liszt's Mephisto compositions. The first reveals the nature of Goethe's character as a product of spiritual death, the force which is opposite and alien to a human's personality. Depersonalized, straightened lines, which are either diatonic (the second "Mephisto Waltz") or chromatic ("Bagatelle without tonality") and base on the motion due to the sounds of chords and scales, are often patterned according to the constructive principle ("Mephisto polka"). Lyrical, passionate and expressive character, individuated tense intonations (tritone, minor second, minor and major sixths) are peculiar for the melodies of the second group. They embody the idea of temptation, seduction by outward beauty and false feeling. Similar themes (the masks of seducing Mephistopheles alluring with an illusory ideal and decoying into the abyss) can be found in the first and the second "Mephisto Waltzes". The second theme of the fourth "Mephisto Waltz" is
close to them according to the intonation type but it is more mechanistic and, consequently, less lyric. The motif, common for D flat major theme of the first waltz, C major theme of the second waltz and D major theme of the fourth one, bases on rising intonations of a minor second and a perfect fourth.
Liszt's last compositions bear the imprint of his pioneering aspirations in the sphere of language of music. Changes in the sphere of harmony favour a bright and deep embodiment of the composer's message. Interfunctional fields (the second, third, fourth "Mephisto Waltzes"), emancipation of dissonant chord or interval complexes (fourth chord in the third "Mephisto Waltz", tritone complex in the second one), "soaring key" in "Bagatelle" (according to Iu. Kholopov) can be found in them. A growing role of phonism should be also mentioned. At that domination of dissonant accords are noticed. Diminished seventh chords, diminished and augmented triads are more typical.
"The Piano Sonata in B minor" (18521853) has got neither literary programme, nor programme name but vividness of images and "theatrical" logic of the form development (it acts together with the musical one proper) give the possibility to interpret this composition as connected with Goethe's tragedy. According to Ia. Mil'shtein, "Faust and Mephistopheles are two sides of Liszt's contradictory nature", "The Piano Sonata in B minor" is "the composer's musical self-portrait" (Mil'shtein, 1971, p. 414415). There are two elements in the theme of the main part. The first one bases on declamatory intonations, is harmonically unstable and can be regarded to be the embodiment of Faust. The second one contains a beating staccato motif in its "nucleus", bases on fivefold repetition of one sound. It characterizes the image of Mephistopheles. The elements of the theme are in many ways opposite. Significant sound volume,
speech nature of intonations, broad intervals in melody (an octave, a seventh), rhythmic freedom, and non-squareness are specific for the first case. Narrow range, gloomy colouring of a low register, a melodic line in which monotonously mechanical repetition of tone is followed by "crawling" chromatic scales, squareness of pattern are characteristic for the second element. At the same time there is much in common between them: harmonic instability, prosodic tension, basis on the sounding of a diminished seventh chord either extended horizontally or gathered in a vertical complex. These common features are determined by the fact that "the spirit that denies" is not only Faust's permanent companion but a part of himself. Faust's spirit poisoned with the venom of doubt is in the state of extreme turmoil. In the course of development the first and the second elements of the theme of the main part converge: as for the dominating position, it is taken by the "Mephisto" element, the "Faust" one is subordinate to it. This is fully expressed in the beginning of the reprise - in fugato (where the generative development goes on).
The first element is performed one-voice like, in a low register on "p". So is the second one. Mechanicalness and gloomy-and-scherzo character peculiar to the "Mephisto" element get their development in fugato theme (movement, flattened with the eighth staccato, dominates, a melodic line bases on the symmetry principle, keeping its structural squareness).
In the counter-composition there are isolated and horizontally connected motifs (movement on the sounds of the seventh chords, a descending chromatic line). The interlude (bb. 30-33) is based on the material of the second element. In the developing section there is a clearly expressed tendency to subdivision, destruction of the theme structure. There is not a single full exposition of the theme in it. At the same time its constituent
parts are segmented falling into common times and rhythmic motifs.
Polyphony as a rationally organizing basis heightens the feeling of mechanicalness and numbness in this prosodic context.
"The mirror of doubt" contained in the second element of the theme of the main part apparently determines the direction of the image development of the sonata's other themes. It's significant that they gradually display the tendency to disintegration into separate elements (first of all it's true for the "Faust" element as it is divided in the middle section of the main part already, and this process also continues in the connecting part and in musical development). A destructive effect of "doubt and denial" the medium of which is the theme of the main part becomes apparent in the transformation of the first theme of the collateral part as well (in the musical development it is divided into phrases; gloomy resoluteness and saraband's funeral rhythm sound in it instead of a passionate hymn to the beautiful ideal).
Carrying on the line of associations with Goethe's "Faust", it is possible to interpret the second D major theme of the collateral part (tender, lyric) as the embodiment of Marguerite's image. The origin of this melody (it is based on the second, "Mephisto" element of the theme of the main part) as well as refinement, concinnity, abundance of sensual chromatisms, retentions, improvised passages, decorations, deviations from the initial tempo (these were supposed to convey the ingenuousness of outpouring of a human's feeling) reveal its inner point: its beauty (as well as "sensual charm" of the themes of the first and the second "Mephisto Waltzes") is delusion, temptation, seduction.
The first outlines of the fantasia quasi sonata "After a Reading of Dante" were made by Liszt in 1837. In 1839 the message of the "Dante symphony" occurred to the composer
(the symphony was finished in 1856). Both compositions were inspired by the images of Dante's "Divine Comedy". The sonata and the symphony's first part re-create gloomy pictures of hell, the place of eternal punishment of outcast angels and dead sinners' souls. The image of hell is a symbol of everlasting tortures and "outer darkness". This determined the choice of expressive means.
In music, connected with the embodiment of infernal image-bearing sphere, the key position is taken by tritone intonation. It is this intonation that sounds in the first beats of the fantasia quasi sonata. The first expressive means that became characteristic for the romanticists' music at creating the images of evil in the sonata's first section (till b. 29) are low register, a large role of diminished seventh chords, tritone intonation, straightened melodic lines, octave duplications. The distinguishing feature of the pattern of Allegro moderato section (bb. 189-199) is its mysterious, gloomy and evil character. Short chromatic melodic segments basing upon the tones of the diminished seventh chord and sounding in small and great octaves take turns with tritone passages and are perfomed staccato (this way of producing sounds is peculiar for "demonic" and "Mephisto" themes). The chord of one pattern - diminished seventh chord (its three possible transpositions are used) - is sustained in harmony over the length of 10 beats.
According to Ia. Mil'shtein, the fantasia quasi sonata's images anticipate the content of the first part of the "Dante symphony" in which Liszt "re-created the generalized image of Dante's hell with a striking force" (Mil'shtein, 1971, 479). The part's beginning (trombones' sinister sonority, a severe character of the melody composed in unison) perfectly conveys a gloomy greatness of frightening words on the hell's gate. Truly terrifying threat is heard in the sounds of trumpets and French horns that start
playing after (it is favoured by the "funeral" rhythm, and severe recitative, minor tonality, phonism of diminished seventh chords in melody). A descending chromatic melodic line, which appears in bar 22, bases on the repetition of a rhythmic pattern and is played by the strings staccato, attracts special attention. Its character is typical for "demonic" themes. It organically enters a sequence of sound embodiments of the images of evil in the second and third "Mephisto Waltzes", "Mephisto polka", "Bagatelle", "The Piano sonata in B minor".
According to V. Medushevskii, "life in its depth streams in waves of spiritual energies" (Medushevskii, 1993, 197) that determine public moods, aspirations, take form of actions and events, turn into flesh and blood by means of one or another art.
With their delicate feeling of the spirit of the age composers-romanticists (each in their own manner) reflected this spirit in music. The analysis of F. Liszt's instrumental compositions reveals a set of regularities that make it possible to state some kind of a prosodic "nucleus" of the sphere of evil. Peculiarities of embodiment of demonic and infernal images reflect their essential features in many ways as if pointing out their objective nature, real character of spiritual energies that are felt.
Materialization of an infernal point by means of low register colours is caused not by a formal following the rhetoric teaching of the baroque epoch but, probably, by the immediate feeling of a dark abyss as it is in the baroque music that a low register was opposed to a high (heavenly) one and thus performed a symbolic function due to the generality of theme, its conventional and "formulaic" character and on the bases of spatial associations. In Liszt's compositions the sounding of a piano in great and counter-octaves, of low stings, wooden and brass wind instruments is first and foremost
perceived sensibly as something causing terror, crushing with its weight or charming with its mysterious, dark depth due to the brightness and relief of certain solutions, distinct emotional colouring.
The means of performing sounds also uncover a true nature of the images materialized by musical means. Contrary to the range of a live, animate, vibrating tone and coherent intonations of a human's speech the most important feature of this image-bearing sphere is a "dry", curt staccato and pizzicato sounding.
A general feeling of a gloomy sinister force is materialized with "dark" key and tonality colouring that is often created by minor flat tonalities (G minor, C minor, F minor, B flat minor). It is emotionally sensual nature of intoning but not conventionally conceptual one that determined a growing role of phonism. This involved special texture-and-harmonic means. A dissonant vertical line (fancifully mysterious augmented triads, intensively sharp, frightening diminished triads and seventh chords) becomes a distinguishing feature of harmony. Occasional symmetric tonality structures (diminished tonality, double major) and inter-functional fields (Iu.N. Kholopov's term) that appear inside tonally organized structures for which local functional laws are applied are the sign of irreality, otherness, the beyond.
Being the main feature of infernal and demonic images, spiritual numbness specified the melodies' position and their prosodic character proper. In contrast to a lyric melodic pattern, capable to embody unusual richness of emotional shades, psychologically subtle, "reacting" to the slightest turns of thoughts and feelings and, thus, strikingly varied, a melodic pattern of the sphere of evil is prosodically impersonal, leveled. Straightened scale-like lines (diatonic and chromatic) and passages of chord sounds become its main "construction material".
The sphere of evil's key intonation is tritone. It is explained by its typical intensively discordant sounding as well as its semantics ("the devil in music") and organic position in various artificial tonality systems. The second "Mephisto Waltz", "Bagatelle.", the fantasia quasi sonata "After a Reading of Dante" start with tritone motifs. Scale-like passages in the tritone volume sound in the first beats of the third part of the "Faust Symphony", the second "Mephisto Waltz".
Dancing formulae symbolizing supremacy of the corporal, fleshy often become a genre mark of this sphere. It is so, probably, due to an intuitive vision of the essence of evil as the basis opposite to spirituality, connected with the disbalance of hierarchical establishment of a human's personality in which, according to Christian anthropology, the body is subordinate to the soul, whilst the latter is subordinate to the spirit.
It's interesting that Liszt's compositions reflect Christian understanding of Evil as a derivative, relative force that can exist in case it distorts Good. In case a theme is of initially "positive" semantics, a peculiar process of re-intoning takes place. Intonation as the unity of sound and meaning is distorted. It keeps its outward form but loses its previous content. Thus, noble impulses, light dreams, faith in a higher destination that support a lyric hero and make him strong are mocked, denied and destroyed.
On the whole (for all this outer showiness, the composer's ingenuity regarding technical decoration, brilliance of texture design, dazzling mastery virtuosity) the described complex of expressive means that enables to re-create demonic and infernal images makes it possible to convey evil's non-constructive, transient nature, uncover its poverty and frivolousness no matter how tempting and attractive its forms of manifestation are.
Acknowledgement
The author expresses her gratitude to the research supervisor, Natalia Mikhailovna Naiko, Ph.D. in study of art.
1 This image's essence can be expressed in Goethe's Mephistopheles's words: I am the Spirit that Denies!
And justly so: for all things, from the Void Called forth, deserve to be destroyed: 'Twere better, then, were not created. Thus, all which you as Sin have rated, Destruction, aught with Evil blent, This is my proper element.
2 The first one (known as the episode from N. Lenau's "Faust") was composed in 1859-1860, the others were composed in the eighties (the second "Mephisto Waltz" - in 1881; the third one - in 1883; two fourths (one of which has the second name - "Bagatelle sans tonalite" ("Bagatelle without tonality")) - in 1885).
3 Mephistopheles: Give me a violin and take my word You'll hear its exuberant singing
Thus leading us to a different dance.
4 Bewitching dancing whirl Made all in tavern twirl.
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Демонические и инфернальные образы в инструментальных сочинениях Ференца Листа: интонационный аспект
Ю.Е. Полежаева
Красноярская государственная академия музыки и театра Россия, 660049, Красноярск, ул. Ленина, 22
В статье с позиций образной системы искусства эпохи романтизма, её специфики и средств воплощения освещается творчество выдающегося венгерского композитора-романтика. Материалом для изучения послужили фортепианные и оркестровые произведения: пять «Мефисто-вальсов», «Мефисто-полька», Соната си минор, фантазия-соната «По прочтении Данте», «Фауст-симфония» и «Данте-симфония», запечатлевшие различные проявления образов зла. Названные сочинения рассматриваются в образно-интонационном плане. Основной метод исследования - интонационный анализ, приближающийся к малому целостному анализу. Результатом работы стало выявление и описание интонационного «ядра» -устойчивого комплекса выразительных средств, служащих воссозданию указанных образов. Данный комплекс обладает определёнными характеристиками (тональными, регистровыми, артикуляционными, мелодическими, ритмическими, ладо-гармоническими и жанровыми), а также закономерностями тематического образования и развития. В заключение предлагается попытка осмысления рассматриваемых явлений с точки зрения христианского учения.
Ключевые слова: образы зла, «Мефисто-вальс», «Фауст-симфония», «Данте-симфония», Ф. Лист, музыкально-выразительные средства, интонация, романтизм.
