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DOI:10.29013/EJA-24-2-84-88
"PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE" the PIANO CYCLE DEDICATION TO TAGORE" BY MUSTAFO BAFOEV
Mustafna Ekaterina Ilyinichna1
1 State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan
Cite: Mustafina E. I. (2024). "Philosophy of Life" The Piano Cycle "Dedication to Tagore" by Mustafo Bafoev. European Journal of Arts 2024, No 2. https://doi.org/10.29013/EJA-24-2-84-88
Abstract
This article studies the musical memorial "Dedication to Tagore," created in 2007 by the modern Uzbek composer Mustafo Bafoyev. The work pays tribute to the classics of Indian literature, poet, composer, musician-performer, public figure Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), whose work is highly appreciated and revered. The work "Dedication to Tagore" is a reflection of the process of mutual influence of Uzbek and Indian musical culture, which is revealed in this article on the basis of a retrospective analysis method, which reveals the features of an original composer style that synthesizes the characteristic features of Uzbek and Indian music in this composition. Uzbekistan and India connect the bonds of ancient traditions, the commonality of understanding musical art as a philosophy of life, reflected in the Uzbek makom and Indian raga, the mutual influence of cultures on the Silk Road highway. Composer Mustafo Bafoev has been studying Tagore's legacy over the years, discovering rich resources for his work in it. The author of the article characterizes this essay as a detailed poem of the philosophy of life and creativity of the great personality. The semantic-symbolic content of the work is revealed during the analysis of a multi-level and multi-valued concept. The concept of Fasl in Eastern culture symbolizes such dimensions as time, time of year, time of human life, time of self-improvement of personality. The author of the article pays special attention to revealing the problems of meaning, creativity and life, identifying the stylistic features of expressive means, the originality of the imaginative world. The image of Tagore is presented in the aspect of dedication to the great poet and composer through the prism of Bafoev's personal perception. Such a composer's approach to embodying the idea of the work is highly appreciated by the author of the article as innovative. Keywords: composer Mustafo Bafoev, music memorial, poet Rabindranath Tagore, figurative world, philosophy of life, peshrav, Fasl, suporish, leitmotif
Introduction
Music, being an integral part of human culture, in its manifestations acts as a memory of history, a narrative about events of the past and their participants, which is embodied in
complex artistic concepts that contain a memorial essence. The genre of a musical memorial, intensively developing in modern Uzbek music as the personification of the memory of culture. The memorial reflects the appearance
of the one to whom the composer himself is dedicated and expresses the author's position. Memorial works reflect certain emotional aspects of the composers' perception of historical memory. As the researcher M. Lobanova notes: "Memory is aggravated in such genres and in such conditions under which it is obvious to focus on reconstructing the traditions of various layers of memory (in particular, information that has gone into the" subconscious of the genre"), on metaphoricity, compaction of time, on increased dialogue" (Lobanova, 1990, p. 169). In this sense, memorials act as an opportunity to measure life values and a measure of human relations.
The appeal of the modern Uzbek composer Mustafo Bafoev to the personality and work of the great Indian writer, poet, philosopher, playwright, composer, musician-performer, painter of the 19 th - 20 th centuries Rabin-dranath Tagore is a tribute to the historical memory that has been observed in the composer's work since the mid-1980 s and continues to this day. R. Tagor, as a great representative of the humanistic traditions of the East, is close to M. Bafoev primarily for his high spirituality and philosophical depth of knowledge of the world. At the dawn of the twentieth century, the world community was fond of and admired the art of R. Tagor and saw in it the universality that was postponed in the understanding of historical culture and memory.
Studying Indian philosophy, M. Bafoev discovered for himself interesting facets of R. Tagor's work, related to the reflection of life realities, the spiritual world, the desire for beauty and comprehension of the foundations of being. These valuable qualities were multifaceted in various genres of M. Bafoev's creativity. This is the way from the musical drama "Raja" (1987) through the poem for voice and chamber ensemble "Dedication to Tagore" (2002) to the piano cycle "Dedication to Tagore" (2007).
The piano cycle "Dedication to Tagore" is a large-scale concept work consisting of four
parts, which are called: Fasl I, Fasl II, Fasl III, Fasl IV. The cycle is framed by the introduction Peshrave-Prelud and the conclusion of Suporish-Postlude creating the integrity of the composition. The word Fasl has a deep symbolic meaning. It means on the one hand the name of the parts, on the other - the time of year. M. Bafoev did not accidentally name the parts of the Fasl cycle, laying the philosophy of life in it. Revealing to the author of the article the ideological idea "Dedication to Tagore," M. Bafoev said the following: - "A person lives his life, starting from the time of spring, which is associated in many cultures as a time of awakening, flowering and comes to the time of winter associated with sometimes wisdom, the ability to generalize the way of life traveled". Based on this, M. Bafoev used a philosophical and aesthetic approach to the embodiment of Tagore's personality and revealed in his essay the stages of his life path, perceived by the author as a multi-part poem of life.
Studying the patterns of Indian musical culture, M. Bafoev conveyed the amazing atmosphere of Indian raga and reflected the aesthetics of Tagore's life. The rhythmic elements of the work have roots in Indian thats, representing the inner pulse of life. Raghava R. Menon writes: "This is also facilitated by the fact that tala is in some way part of the body, manifesting itself in the beating of the heart, the pulsation of tissues" (Menon Raghava R., 1982. p. 44).
The figurative world of the cycle is represented in the mechanisms of the driving force of the spiritual development of the personality of R. Tagor at different stages of ontogenesis. "Everyone knows the direction of movement of these clocks - from birth to death. Their course is inexorable, it is determined by nature itself, and it is obvious that each person obeys this course "(Abramova G. S., 1999. p. 3). A feature of the work is the concentration of various epochal phenomena, semantic ambiguity, philosophical understanding of the life paradigm. Peshraw-Prelud opens the Tag-ore leitmotif, indicated by the composer:
The leitmotif consists of two elements that characterize the image of the hero. The first element is built on an upward figurative movement, and the second on playing the abutment with a chromatic introductory tone, which creates the colorfulness and ambiguity of the musical language.
Primary thematic education is the source of all further development. The monothe-matic principle of leitmotivity made it possible to create a surprisingly solid product. In addition, the form of the second plan in the work is variability. Since the same material receives variational development throughout the work, it can be considered as peculiar variations of Tagore's life path in various dimensions.
Tagore's leitmotif has a semantic-semantic and formative meaning in a cycle, passes through all parts of the work. Peshrav Prelud has a single figurative sphere. It lacks contrasts, the melodic development is based on Tagore's leitmotif. This part affects the development of the cycle as a whole and reflects Tagore's life situations and emotional states. Important expressive importance here is the texture, which amazes with exquisite melodic development. Fasl I begins with a small Andante introduction based on the second element of Tagore's leitmotif. Sustained octaves in a low register bode well for the difficult mission of a fighter for justice, the poet's difficult life path. These octaves take on the significance of the leitmotif of Tagore's fate:
The main section of Fasl I is the image of a cloudless bright childhood. It is based on a rhythmic element, which in the work is associated with the function of tala - the rhythm of life, the gravitation to the energy of creation and overcoming obstacles. "The movement of the tala within the composition is a kind of rotation, it is not linear-progressive in nature and, conversely, building up round by round, as it were, developing in a vertical direction" (Menon Raghava R., 1982, p. 47). It should also be noted that in Fasl I, the rhythms inherent in the composer's style of M. Bafoev play an important role. The polyphonic development of musical material reveals features of continuity with the traditions of I. S. Bach in the desire to reflect eternity and the connection of times.
Fasl II is distinguished by a change of mood and modification of the Tagore leitmotif, reflects Tagore's search for his "I" in life. Here the image of the hero is given in development. Fasl II is a five-part structure expressed by changes in pace, size, dynamics. The first section of the Andante improvisiazi-one is based on the first element of Tagore's
leitmotif, which has a character of reflection. It is constantly transformed, overgrown with various rhythmic variants, often changing size and dynamic shades.
The second section of Moderato begins with the rhythmic element from Fasl I - the rhythm of life. It is built on the intonation and rhythmic elements of Tagore's leitmotif. Dotted rhythm, special types of rhythmic structures, jewelry convey movements and searches, mental throwing. Colorful melodic figurations reveal the romantic dreams of youth. The octave moves of the leitmotif of Tagore's fate embody the trajectory of an active life position.
The Allegro section brings a vivid contrast to the drama of musical development. The foundation of this section is built on the rhythm of life, associated with the aesthetics of tala, as a pulsation of movement. Low register, frequent resizing, the use of syncopated rhythm embody an internal struggle situation. This is a kind of toccata of life:
The final section of Fasl II Andante im-provisiazione is built on the material of the first four bars of the initial section and frames the part.
Fasl III has a freely interpreted three-part form. The first section of Andante con anime is based on the transformed thematic material of the previous part. M. Bafoev reveals here the spiritual world of Tagore, his thoughts and feelings, using ornamental melodic figures, colorful harmony, polyrhythmia, pedals in the bass. In this part, M. Bafoev reveals and affirms Tagore's ideals and correlates them with his own creative principles.
The second section of the Piû mosso is a statement of ideals. It is built on the unity of the rhythmic beginning, the ostinateness of the melody, the emphasis on various parts of the measure. With these expressive means, M. Bafoev reveals Tagore as a bold fighter for justice.
Comprehending the majesty of Tagore, the philosophy of his life, energy, the composer in
this part comes to the idea of the identity of Tagore's "I" and his "I" and through the prism of accepting Tagore's humanistic beliefs and feeling the unity of views and life positions. This kind of creative approach of M. Bafoev to the embodiment of the image of a historical personality on the basis of identity is in line with the historical, cultural and artistic development of modern art of Uzbekistan. "The desire to identify the processes taking place in art in their complex relationships with social metamorphoses," notes academician Akbar Khakimov, "is a sign of new trends showing the natural convergence of art history and art criticism with cultural studies and sociology" (Khakimov A., 2007, p. 9).
The third section begins with a small introduction by Lento, based on arpegged chords and creating a sense of improvisa-tional, reveals Tagore as an improvisational musician, an expert on Indian classical music, a virtuoso performer on sitar, imitating his sound on piano:
In Fasl IV, a synthesis of images of R. Tagor and M. Bafoev is discovered. This part is a concentrate of the entire cycle, where the organic synthesis of all elements of the musical language occurs, and a dialogue between R. Tagor and M. Bafoev as representatives of different cultures, but at the same time having common ground, is also highlighted here. Their images embody the unity of harmony, peace and the vital relevance of historical memory. The appeal to the great philosopher of the past made it possible for M. Bafoev to show the importance of histor-
ical memory in line with the problems of our time. The dialogue of cultures allows you to trace the connection of times and reveal the high spiritual potential of the composer's innovations.
Suporish-Postlude. Adagio, melodically and intonationally, is a variant of Peshrav Prelud. Thus, a logical framing of the cycle is formed. The first element of the theme sounds in octave doubling, which is perceived as the movement of Tagore's soul along the stairs leading to the gates of paradise. The theme acquires a "crystal," "aerial" sound. Tagore,
having passed a thorny life path, gets a place in the annals of mankind. This part is characterized by the continuity of the development of musical material, there are no contrasts in it, the composer mainly uses the upper register of the piano. It is also important to note that this part, like all previous cycles, ends with extended arpegged chords, which creates a feeling of the completion of the life story of each Fasl time.
Summarizing the analysis of the musical memorial "Dedication to Tagore," it should be noted that the composer managed to cre-
ate a monumental, majestic work. M. Bafo-ev used a wide range of musical expressive means of Uzbek and Indian music, demonstrated his perfect mastery of compositional writing techniques. The artistic concept is striking with the depth and logically built concept of the cycle, reflecting the four periods of the life of the great Indian poet and musician Rabindranath Tagore. This work is one of the achievements of modern Uzbek piano music, in which the historical memory and the embodiment of the historical image are organically combined.
References
Abramova G. S. Age psychology: Study manual for students of Universities.- 4 th ed., Stereotype.- M., 1999.- 672 p.
Menon Raghava R. Sounds of Indian Music: The Way to the Raga / translated from English with comments of A. M. Dubyanskiy - M., 1982.- 80 p.
Khakimov A. Colloquium III: historical, cultural, social and artistic context of identity // Art of Uzbekistan: dynamics of identity. Materials of Colloquium III. T., 2007.- P. 6-15.
submitted 07.02.2024; accepted for publication 23.02.2024; published 22.05.2024 © Mustafina E. I
Contact: yekaterina.mustafina.91@mail.ru
