Genre Transformations of the Catholic Mass in the Work by Polish Composers of the Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries

Section 2. Ukrainian and World Musical Culture

Abstract

Statement of the problem. Despite the considerable number of studies devoted to the history of the Mass, musicological works concerning the works of Polish artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in this genre are limited. Therefore, it is important to comprehend the innovative approaches of contemporary Polish composers to the interpretation of the Mass, to reveal the connection between tradition and innovation, and to explore the peculiarities of modifications of the genre canon. Polish religious choral music has been the subject of many studies, including the works by M. Tomaszewski, S. Dąbek, S. Szymanski, R. Borowiecka, K. Kiwała, M. Karwaszewska, T. Malecka, K. Kostrzewa, S. Godziemba-Trytek, and others. However, the newly composed works by Polish musicians in the genre of Mass have not yet been comprehended in the scientific works of both, Polish and Ukrainian musicologists, so they deserve special attention and comprehensive analysis. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the article is to identify the genre transformations of the Catholic Mass in the works by artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The holistic analysis of the compositions basing on systemic, genre, stylistic, spiritual and semantic approaches are exploited in the study. The article is the first experience of researching little-known works by Polish composers in the genre of Mass or expands information about liturgical cycles that have already been under considering. Research results. Examples of the most original works of the late 20th and early 21st centuries demonstrate the continuing and enrichment of the canonic tradition of the liturgical cycles, transformation of the genre constants of the Catholic Mass, the expansion of its sound field and the horizons of composer thinking. As a result, the cycles, along with tradition and canon, vividly present: 1) the national orientation of creativity, represented by authorial dedications (P. Lukaszewski's “Missa Sancti Papae Ioannis Pauli Secundi Magni”), quoting folklore themes and rhythms (the Maklakiewicz brothers), translating parts of the Mass into Polish (S. Szymanski’s “Missa spei”), adding excerpts from the Polish literary works; 2) the synthesis of the Mass and other musical genres (I. Zalewski’s “stage cantata” “Missa Sine Nomine”); 3) experiments with modern styles (M. Maliszczak’s jazz “Missa nova”, P. Janczak’s “film” Mass “Missa Film Stetinum”) and technological innovations (B. Schaeffer’s “Missa elettronica”). The analysis of the compositions allowed us to state the presence of two main lines of development of the genre of the Catholic Mass at the turn of the centuries: 1) the prevalence of the traditional approach, the confession of a sacred, reverent attitude to prayer, the preservation of the genre model, reliance on ‘cantus planus’; 2) an experimental view of the genre canon of the mass, its author's vision: modernization of the presentation of musical material, the play by timbres, by manners of performance, synthesis of voice and electronic track, the prevalence of the author’s concept of the composition of the Mass. However, a clear separation of today’s compositions is an extremely difficult task, because despite the dominance of one approach or another, the contemporary Mass is constantly being modified due to the interpenetration of secular and religious components. Conclusion. We note that the Masses of the late 20th and early 21st centuries raise questions that concern humanity, being the musical meditations, reflections on the spiritual quest of a modern human. That is why the study of this genre turns out to be a complex and at the same time interesting current challenge.