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7Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 8 (2016 9) 1903-1909
УДК 78.01 (470)
Image of Ivan the Terrible in creativity
of the composers: on question of national identity
in musical art
Natalia V. Parfentieva*
Southern-Ural State University 76 Lenin Str., Cheliabinsk, 454080 Russia
Received 19.01.2016, received in revised form 21.02.2016, accepted 18.04.2016
The author of this article examines the phenomenon of implementation of Russian national identity in music in the creativity of the contemporary composers in their work on disclosure herein the embodiment of Ivan the Terrible's image. "Stichera for the 1000-th anniversary (millennium) of the Christianization of Rus" for symphony orchestra of Rodion Shchedrin and opera "Visions of Ivan the Terrible" of Sergei Slonimsky are defined as the representative samples for study. The composers managed to embody the concept of national cultural identity through ancient musical code - znamenny chant - in disclosure of the image of the tsar and of his era. For this purpose the composers have reproduced znamenny chant of Tsar Ivan, applied traditional Old Russian musical hymnographic creative principles of art in its development. This is a new word in disclosing the image of the Tsar Ivan and his time. Nobody of their great predecessors, who applied to the disclosure of the image of the Tsar Ivan and his time, implements the "znamennost" phenomenon in the music. Special attention is paid to the "Stichera" of Shchedrin. It is shown that the self-identification of image of the tsar, presented in the manuscript sources of the 16th - 17th centuries by Ivan himself, is correlated with musical image, presented by the composer, as well as with the idea of the spiritual elevation of the Russian State. Znamenny chant, found in depths of ancient Russian church-singing culture, has received scientific basis as the archetype of a national musical identity. Based on the ancient manuscript sources, the musical "Russianness" has deep historical cultural tradition and chronological substantiation.
Keywords: musical art, the image of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, the embodiment of national identity by musical means, znamenny Old Russian chant.
DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-2016-9-8-1903-1909.
Research area: culture studies.
Problem of Russian national identity in culture and art, definition of its genesis, structure, basis of comprehension and research attract more and more attention of scientists. In this regard, we call the works of American authors (Billington; Franklin and Widdis). The works of Russian
scientists (Koptseva and Seredkina; Kolesnik) were devoted to the question of "constructing" of the identity from the perspective of cultural and historical value of the heritage. Foreign (Taruskin; Frolova-Walker) and Russian (Lobankova, 2009, 2014) researchers paid attention to this
© Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
* Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected]
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phenomenon in Russian musical art. In this article we study the problem of reflection of Russian national identity in music through the disclosure of image of Ivan the Terrible.
A significant amount of research related to Ivan the Terrible belongs to the sphere of history and literature. One of the newest generalizing works refers to the disclosing of the Tsar Ivan's image in the plastic arts (especially in the visual arts), involving artworks in the field of literature, theatre, cinema, covering the period of 19th - 20th centuries. ^utiya). Here, the author focuses on the implementation of the principles of historicism. The researcher traces the conformance of author's realization in works of art that reveal historical personality of Ivan the Terrible and his era to the historical facts. Musical embodiment of this image has not received the theoretical analysis. In fact the author did not disclose it. Scientific studies devoted to the composers' search of national identity in disclosure of tsar's image do not exit.
At the same time, comprehension of essence of the idea of "Russian identity" of this image takes on particular significance today. The specifics of the historical path of Russia, largely predetermined by Tsar Ivan, strengthen the scientific search for a national identity. The extraordinary relevance of the problem is associated with modern crisis of identity. It is caused by the processes of globalization and manifested in the destruction of the national-cultural identity and the loss of a sense of spiritual originality in the many countries of the world.
The image of Tsar Ivan has long been defined as a semantic dominant in the Russian art. Using of this image by composers for constructing of the Russian national identity ("Russianness") occupies a central place. However, this problem has not received special research.
Tsar's reign period and his activities to strengthen Russian statehood are the subject of the ongoing dispute of historians, politicians,
writers, artists, art critics, cultural figures. The image of Tsar Ivan and his epoch is acquiring the new features thanks to the research work of scientists. Creative versatility of his personality in the field of literature, publicism, hymnography is disclosed (eg.: Likhachev; Schmidt; Ramazanova). It was found that as the editor of the Illuminated Chronicle (Litsevoi Svod) he had contributed to the historical knowledge and its interpretation. The tradition of self-identity and self- presentation ofthe tsar in the Russian music is recorded in church chant manuscripts of the 16th -17th centuries. The musical-hymnographic cycles of tsar's authorship, dedicated to Metropolitan of All Russia Peter and to Holiday of Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God are studied, according to a genuine manuscript sources deciphering of their musical content are made (Leonid; Findeyzen; Seregim; Parfenteva and Parfentiev, 2014, 2015). The theological concept of the holy city "Moscow - New Jerusalem" and the idea of spiritual elevation of Moscow Tsardom are disclosed in the musical-hymnographic works of Tsar Ivan. It was found that by creating his stichera cycles of znamenny chant, the sovereign hymnographer had embodied the traditions of ancient musical chanting art of 11th - 12th centuries. (Parfentev and Parfentieva), gave us an example of a strictly canonical realization of national identity in musical creativity.
Znamenny chant, found at depths of ancient Russian church-singing culture, has received scientific substantiation as the archetype of a national musical identity (Parfenteva and Parfentiev, 2000). Being based on genuine manuscript sources, the musical "Russianness" has deep historical and cultural tradition, its chronological justification. Thanks to the discovery in the manuscript of the 11th-12th century the origins of Terrible's creativity, the archetype of the musical identity of his image dates back to ancient period of the history of Russian music.
Art of the tsar, incorporated the fundamental base, rooted in the culture of the Byzantine Empire, is being reborn in the works of contemporary Russian leading figures of musical art. We will consider the works by Rodion Shchedrin ("Stichera") and Sergei Slonimsky (opera "Visions of Ivan the Terrible"). These composers have comprehended the concept of national and cultural identity through musical code - "znamennosf' (ancient Russian znamenny cnanting). For the first time they have fulfilled this through disclosing the image of the Tsar Ivan and his time. This is the new word. Nobody of their great predecessors, who applied to the disclosure of the image of the Tsar Ivan and his time, implements the znamennost phenomenon in the music.1 First of all, this was due to lack of the works of the medievalist-scientists in the field of musical creativity of the tsar. The level of modern Russian musical medieval studies has allowed for Shchedrin and Slonimsky to appeal to the creativity of Ivan the Terrible.
Among the phenomena of national spiritual music the scope of composers' searching in the field of embodiment of Russian spirituality by symphony orchestra means is especially allocated (see : Parfenteva and Parfentiev, 2000). In this direction, the first among the composers of the twentieth century, Igor Stravinsky began to create his own concept ("Symphony of Psalms"). Nicolai Myaskovsky, Yurii Butsko, Alfred Schnittke had actualized the brightly delineated znamennost in their symphonic works. Following them Rodion Shchedrin has created "Stichera for the 1000-th anniversary (millennium) of the Christianization of Rus" for symphony orchestra in 1988. The composer as if has recreated genre of old chant, stichera, in the one-part symphonic form. The chants of this genre were not singing in the church only. They were sung during the tsar's welcome-ceremonies (so-named "tables"), and theatrical actions in streets and squares. There
are these two facets of Old Russian stichera in Shchedrin's artwork. The composer wrote the orchestral composition on chant of stichera in honour of the holiday of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. This stichera was attributed to Ivan the Terrible's authorship.
Orchestral work of Shchedrin begins as section lento. The tsar's theme itself is sounded at the low stringed instruments of the orchestra and male chorus (singing mouth closed) gloomy and mysteriously, as if in the walls of the monastery. The composer implements the style of ancient church music as follows. The monody, developing in modal canonical norms of ancient obikhod (scale), gradually splits in linear-horizontal lines of Russian polyphonic style (so-named "strochnoe" chanting). To these contrapuntal lines the sound of "Russian Belfry" joins (designation belongs to the composer). It is imperative sounding of znamenny style formulas - "popevki" from trumpets and trombones on a background of ever-increasing bell ringing and hard knocks of the chords of the orchestra tutti. Bright modelled sounding of bells crowns this culmination.
The second section of the "Stichera" is built on uniform alternating chords secco. Initially sounding piano, they, gradually acquire energy and coloristic growing, are leading to the final part. You can also hear the bells of the Russian Belfry, but there are also another colors: the psalmody features of recitation and spellcloak character of rhythmical ostinato. The latter technique brings to mind the "pagan" chorus from the M. Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Ludmila" filled with archaic force. Completion of this section contains the culminating demonstration of power of znamennost and bell ringing at the beginning and their gradual "fading", "going in the depths of centuries" in the final.
Shchedrin has recreated millennial historical vertical of spiritual-religious traditions of Russian music in form of
symphonic "Stichera". He has embodied the features of ancient znamenny chanting, medieval Russian polyphonic style strochnoe singing, the sounding of bells of Russian Belfry. The composer has perceived the tradition of M.Glinka, the bells of M. Musorgsky and S. Rachmaninov, the virtuosic orchestration of Rimsky-Korsakov, the epic nature of music created by representatives of the Mighty Handful and Sergei Prokofiev. "Stichera" of Shchedrin is a new word in the reflection of spiritual and religious traditions in the Russian music by the epic, picturesquel and perfect classical author's style. The composer was able to present the spiritualized znamennost of the tsar's chant with its "endlessly" continuing melody, as a generalized reflection of historical destinies in the national musical mentality of the Russian people.
The ideas of statehood and Orthodoxy, put forward with renewed vigor in the era of Ivan the Terrible (Moscow - the Third Rome, Moscow - the New Jerusalem), brought up the ideal of self-sacrifice and spiritual perfection, filled the Russian people with a sense of high messianic mission as the representatives of true godliness. Such specific characteristics of Russian saintliness as infinite patience, humility, asceticism, obedience, denying "the tsardoms of the earth" formed a national ideal of sacrificial overcoming and patience in the face of earthly imperfection. In this regard, the "Stichera" of Shchedrin is correlated with self-identification of Ivan the Terrible's image, presented by tsar in his musical hymnographic work. Tsar Ivan is presented as successor of the Byzantine emperors' traditions. He represents his capital Moscow as the stronghold of Orthodoxy besieged by enemies. Self-presented of the image by tsar is concordant with musical image of "Stichera", with the idea of the spiritual elevation of Russia.
Yet another stichera of znamenny chanting on the original text of Tsar Ivan is recreated in a modern musical art. We are talking about Sergei Slonimsky's opera "Visions of Ioann the Terrible" (1995). It is given the shadow side of brutal rule of the Terrible in the sharply accusatory manner. The composer has reproduced stichera of the tsar (from the holiday of the Meeting of the icon of Vladimir Mother of God) as the thematic material for prayer of Tsar Ivan with oprichniki in Alexandrovskaya Sloboda (the 12th vision). The researchers note that the "historical events of the 16th century are comprehended and reflected from the position of the eschatological myth" in the opera (Ignatova). The composer depicts the image of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, in the final scene of the third epilogue "Ascension of the murdered righteous in paradise", reflecting the elevation of the Russian Soul, Russian martyrs to God.
Thus, the study and comprehension of the phenomenon of national identity in music within the historical-cultural and inter-textual approaches allow to find reminiscences and allusions to the deeper archetypal foundations of the national musical language. These foundations were found in the chanting manuscripts of the 11th - 12th centuries, in musical hymnographic creativity of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, in the works of contemporary authors, revealing the image of the tsar and his era. Znamennost as the archetype of the national mentality has the constancy and preserves the continuity over a thousand-year history of Russian music. It is necessary to continue the research of semantic and associative relationships in the works of composers with the leading national ideas of the era of Tsar Ivan: Moscow - the Third Rome, Moscow -the New Jerusalem. It also requires a deep analysis of musical realization of these ideas in the disclosure of the image of the Tsar Ivan
and of his era by outstanding composers of the 19th - 20th centuries. The phenomenon of embodiment of the image of Ivan the Terrible
and his time in the Russian and world art requires study as a resource for conceptualizing the cultural identity of the Russian people.
1 As predecessors we call Georges Bizet (opera "Ivan IV", 1865); Anton Rubinstein (musical painting "Ivan the Terrible", 1869; the opera "Merchant Kalashnikov", 1880); Peter Tchaikovsky (the opera "Oprichnik", 1872), Nikolai Rimsky-Kor-sakov (the operas "Pskovityanka" ("The Maid of Pskov"), 1873; "Vera Sheloga", 1898; "The Tsar's Bride", 1899).
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Образ Ивана Грозного в творчестве композиторов: к проблеме отражения национальной идентичности в музыкальном искусстве
Н.В. Парфентьева
Южно-Уральский государственный университет Россия, 454080, Челябинск, ул. Ленина, 76
В статье исследуется феномен воплощения русской национальной идентичности в музыкальном искусстве на примере творчества выдающихся современных композиторов при обращении их к образу царя Ивана Грозного. В качестве репрезентативных источников исследования представлены «Стихира на 1000-летие Крещения Руси» Р. Щедрина и опера С. Слонимского «Видения Иоанна Грозного». В обоих произведениях проступает звучание древнерусского знаменного распева. Композиторы, стремясь воспроизвести распев самого царя Ивана, применили древнерусские принципы в его развитии. Им удалось воплотить в раскрытии образа царя и его эпохи концепт национально-культурной идентичности через древний музыкальный
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код - «знаменность». Это новое слово в воплощении образа Грозного, так как ни один из великих предшественников, обращавшихся к раскрытию образа царя музыкальными средствами, феномен знаменности не претворял. Особое внимание в статье уделяется «Стихире» Р. Щедрина. Показано, что самоидентификация образа Грозного, представленная в рукописных источниках ХУ1-ХУ11 вв., коррелирует с музыкальным образом, представленным композитором, а также с идеей духовного возвышения Отечества. Найденный в глубинах древнерусской церковно-певческой культуры знаменный распев получает научное обоснование как архетип национальной музыкальной идентичности. Основанная на древних рукописных источниках, музыкальная «русскость» имеет глубину историко-культурной традиции, ее хронологическое обоснование.
Ключевые слова: музыкальное искусство, образ царя Ивана Грозного, воплощение национальной идентичности музыкальными средствами, древнерусский знаменный распев.
Научная специальность: 24.00.00 - культурология.
