Volodymyr Huba’s “Vocal Frescoes” on the poems of Belgian symbolist poets: two analytical studies

Section 2. Music space of Ukraine

Abstract

Statement of the problem. In the field of chamber and vocal creativity of Ukrainian composers of the second half of the 20th – first half of the 21st century, which in itself is extremely diverse in terms of genre and style, Volodymyr Huba’s work is distinguished by the versatility of the subject matter, the originality of concepts, the richness of expressive means and the extraordinary inventiveness in the application of the latter. In particular, a vivid example of V. Huba’s chamber and vocal creativity is the macro-cycle “Kyiv – the heart of Ukraine!”, which is written on the verses of both, domestic and foreign poets. Part of the aforementioned macro- composition is the “Vocal frescoes on the verses of Belgian symbolist poets in Ukrainian translations by Dmytro Chistiak”, which can also be considered as a separate work, where a new reading of classical poetry is presented both, in musical and purely literary terms, which is what determines the relevance of this research. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the study is to identify the characteristic genre-stylistic and performance features of selected solo songs from V. Huba’s cycle on verses by Belgian symbolist poets. A comprehensive approach to the consideration of the vocal miniatures is proposed, which includes such types of analysis as musicological and comparative to identify general features inherent in the selected samples, figurative-semantic and performance to determine the artistic and interpretative orientation of the works. V. Huba’s chamber and vocal works remain in modern Ukrainian musicology an almost unexplored sphere, which determines the scientific novelty of the results of this study. For the first time in Ukrainian musicological thought, a comprehensive analysis of two bright miniatures from V. Huba’s vocal cycle is presented: “Immeasurably” to the verses by É. Verhaeren and “Celestial Side” to the poem by Ch. Van Lerberghe. Research results and conclusion. According to the results of the analysis, it was summed up that the genre and stylistic specifics of the cycle consists in a new interpretation of the means of expression already tested in the music of the classical- romantic and modern traditions: the composer offers new options for their application, creates original multi-genre connections within the works, and invents unique solutions in the field of form-making. For example, he combines various modes within one work, thus achieving a bright coloristic and expressive effect. The author creates quite unexpected genre combinations, such as romance and “secco” recitative. It is also important that the composer turned to the contemporary Ukrainian translations of Belgian poetry by Dmytro Chistiak, proposing a new look at the classical examples of symbolism poetry, and contributing to the creation of an artistically valuable musical and poetic symbiosis. The relevance of the work under consideration for performers who have the opportunity to supplement their chamber and vocal repertoire with new meaningful examples of national musical art is also indicated. The cycle by V. Huba is of great interest to musicologists as well. After all, «Frescoes» can be considered both in the context of the development of Ukrainian chamber and vocal music, and as part of the macro-cycle «Kyiv – the heart of Ukraine!». Thus, there is a broad perspective for the development of the ideas laid down in this study.