Alexander Albrecht’s Musical Output in the Milieu of Interwar Bratislava

The subject of this contribution is Alexander/Sándor Albrecht’s musical output from the 1920s in the context of the development of the composer’s musical style, his life and the social and political changes in Bratislava after 1918. Albrecht returned to Pressburg/Pozsony in 1908 after his studies in Budapest and devoted his organisational and artistic activity to the city; in 1921 he became the conductor at the Kirchenmusikverein (until 1952), a traditional music institution of the city. In 1920s Albrecht also achieved the creation of his own musical style. Coming out from a base of late Romanticism, Albrecht applied in that time the modernistic principles to his œuvre. In 1924 he wrote his mature Piano Suite, and in 1926 his Sonatina for 11 Instruments, an interesting piece of well-balanced formal and harmonic innovations, and one of the first pieces for chamber ensemble (after Schoenberg’s Kammersinfonie) in the Central European context. In 1929 Albrecht’s oratorio-like Marienleben: Three Poems after R. M. Rilke for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra was successfully premiered. The present study contains detailed analyses of these three pieces, which are the most outstanding and distinctive works by the composer.

Symphonic Volume in the Symphony-Requiem by Bohdana Frolyak “Pravednaya Dushe”

Relevance of the study. The article is relevant as it studies the works of Bogdana Frolyak, who is a popular contemporary Ukrainian composer. Her music attracts the attention of performers and researchers and reflects the current trends of contemporary art such as musical language, new forms of choral sound, synthesis of genres. The Requiem Symphony “Righteous Ssoul” (lyrics by T. Shevchenko) is an example of a complex multidimensional nature genre renewal. Therefore, lack of research devoted to this work outlines a scientific novelty of this article. The objective of the study is to identify the features of symphony in the symphonyrequiem “Righteous Soul” by B. Frolyak. The research methodology is based on the interpretation analysis method proposed by V. Moskalenko. The concept of A. Adamyan is used to study symphonic principles. Results. Analysing the requiem symphony “Righteous Soul”, it was determined that the leading role is devoted to chorus, which serves as a main mean of expression. The choir is regarded as a symbol of collegiality and stands in as an active participant in the formation of musical thought and sounds through almost the entire opus (except for two vocal episodes). T. Shevchenko’s poetic lines are entrusted to mixed chorus and embody a main idea of the work. Choral fragments serve various functions starting from the creation of a harmonic background to being a main storyteller. At the same time, B. Frolyak’s composition realizes symphonic principles, which display themselves at different levels of organization of musical material. Symphonic patterns are expressed in timbre-textured and thematic connections, cross-cutting development, national instrumentation color and intonation transformations of themes. The composer’s principle of artistic thinking reveals parallels with the symphonic concept developed by A. Adamyan. Conclusion. A special genre multidimensionality is expressed in the symphony-requiem “Pravednaya Dushe”. B. Frolyak enriches the semantic layer of the work due to the features of the requiem. Composer takes an advantage of the cathedral’s choral sonority rich possibilities and uses the symphonic intonation and dramatic basis. At the intonation level, she unites all these features with the help of solospiv (solosining) — a musical symbol of Ukrainian nation. Finally, unique synthesis of supersubstantial spiritual and philosophic ideas with universal (symphony, requiem) and national characteristic (solospiv) genres makes B. Frolyak’s work one of the most original in the series of Ukrainian choral symphonies.

Searches

In Rome, Barber attended a Gregorian Mass sung by Benedictine monks at St. Anselmo church and was inspired to write a grand-scaled religious work, Prayers of Kierkegaard, for orchestra, mixed chorus, a soprano solo written with Leontyne Price’s voice in mind, and incidental contralto and tenor solos. It was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Charles Munch, with Price as soloist. Barber wrote about the music to his beloved mentor and uncle, Sidney Homer, who at the time was coming toward the end of his life. Homer’s guidance was unwavering, and he encouraged Barber to listen to his inner voice and follow his instincts. As a result, his Roman-inspired pieces were performed throughout Europe. In America, a commission from the Detroit Chamber Music Society led to Barber’s composing the woodwind quintet Summer Music, a collaboration with the New York Woodwind Quintet.

Johann Herbeck’s Edition of Choral Works by Franz Schubert: History and Analysis

Johann Herbeck (1831–1877) served in his native Vienna as conductor of the leading choral and instrumental organizations. He showed his devotion to the legacy of Franz Schubert in his performances and also in his edition, published by C.A. Spina and successors, of 51 selected works of the master for men’s, women’s and mixed chorus. Originally conceived as part-songs for ensembles of soloists, this repertoire had become choral music by Herbeck’s time. Included also are arrangements by Herbeck and others of pieces originally written for different performing media. Surviving copies of numbers in the edition, as well as two additional publications, reveal startling inconsistencies in editorial technique, ranging from a lack of intervention to a much freer approach, including liberal sprinkling of unauthentic markings and other deviations from the originals. In the latter category, the editor’s additions may be said to document the performance practice of these works during his time. His choice of sources was also inconsistent, in some cases resulting in faulty versions of the works presented. This study also documents the production and reception history of Herbeck’s edition.

A music work portraying common ups and downs in Central Europe - based on music perceived by the young in Poland, Germany and Ukraine

Three outstanding music works have been presented in the article – “Polish Requiem” for 4 solo voices, mixed chorus and symphonic orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki, “Panachyda za zmarłych z głodu” [A memorial service for those who died of hunger] for soloists, two mixed choruses, a reciter and symphonic orchestra by Jewhen Stankowycz, as well as Ocalały z Warszawy [A Survivor from Warsaw], a melodrama, op. 46, for a reciter, male chorus and orchestra by Arnold Schönberg. The works exemplify the idea of a composer's synthesis, present a programme of important, quite often tragic fates constituting the area of common ups and downs of Central Europe - Poles, Germans, Jews and Ukrainians. For that reason, the author has deemed it necessary to include these works in the school’s music curriculum, as an inter-cultural project, intentionally preparing the young for a dialogue and meetings. The thesis has been divided into two parts: The first one included a meaning and content-related analysis of music works in their mutual relations and differences in treating the language of artistic statement, similarity of topics formulated as a symbolic and narrative programme, as well as in references to religion and understanding the sacred sphere. The second part expresses pedagogic contributions which, during the musical education process, may constitute inspiration for the artistically-oriented inter-cultural education achieved by making the artistic activity available for the young. From among the trends, the following didactic and educational conceptions have been distinguished: a) Music educating by stimulating the cultural memory, b) Religious music in the “pedagogy of remembrance” trend, c) Music of martyrdom in the inter-cultural educational programme in the process of dialogue and assimilation.

Fragments

This chapter focuses on Marga Richter's shorter, more fragmented works that had little or no development and were not as expansive as her earlier (and later) pieces. Unlike other U.S. composers in the 1960s such as Edgard Varèse and Milton Babbitt, Richter did not gravitate toward total serialism, electronic music, or chance music, although she reluctantly responded to the trend of composing sparse, economical, and atonal works. An encounter with composer William Sydeman at the Bennington Composers Conference was influential in steering Richter toward the prevailing attitudes of the day. This chapter discusses some of Richter's more concise compositions during the 1960s, including short solo and chamber music scores such as Fragments for solo piano; choral works like Psalm 91 for mixed chorus for mixed chorus; and the modern ballet score, Abyss for the Harkness Ballet. It also considers Richter's compositional retreat at a family residence in Shrewsbury, Vermont, and her self-admitted tendency to suffer from a letdown following elation from a performance or completion of a major work.