The specificity of musical shaping in the “Psalms of David” choral cycle by R. Tolmachov

Abstract

The relevance of the article. “Psalms of David” in the poetic adaptation of Taras Shevchenko have long been a part of the choral culture of Ukraine. More than 20 composers have created musical versions of these texts, using separate verses or the entire work. The latest version of the Psalter is the choral cycle of the Ukrainian conductor, singer, composer and teacher Ruben Tolmachov. The first nights of the work took place under his leadership in May 2023 and had great success and public resonance. That is why the introduction of this work to scientific discourse is relevant. The purpose of the article is to reveal the specificity of musical shaping in R. Tolmachov’s “Psalms of David” choral cycle in its relationship with textual semantics. The methodology. With the help of textual analysis, the semantic types of psalms (didactic, pleading, laudatory, accusatory) and the peculiarities of their musical structure were determined. By the means of structural, musicological and intonation analysis, the implementation regularities of the semantics of the psalms into specific musical forms have been established. The results. The musical structure of all psalms was analyzed, the patterns of musical shaping were revealed, and the specifics of the relationship between the musical form and the content of the poetic text were described. The scientific novelty. For the first time, the analysis of the structure of Ruben Tolmachov’s choral cycle based on Taras Shevchenko’s poem was introduced into scientific discourse. The practical significance. The results of the research have practical value for performers of works by R. Tolmachov, as well as composers and researchers of choral music. Conclusions. In R. Tolmachov’s “Psalms of David” cycle the principle of strophic composition of parts prevails. In general, four main types of musical shaping can be highlighted, which are partially correlated with the thematic focus of the psalms. Didactic (enlightening) psalms, which depict the pious life of the community, have more “stable” forms (two-part, three-part). Psalm 12 and Psalm 149 have signs of a thorough development based on monothematism. The accusatory psalms, dedicated to the future Judgment Day (52, 93, 81), are made up using strophic forms with elements of reprise. At the same time, the 81st psalm is characterized by a less active dramatic development and contains a solo episode of a cathartic nature, which is designed to emphasize one of the central ideas of the cycle about the mortality of a person, regardless of his/her status, about higher moral and spiritual values. It is also worth noting that the architectonics of R. Tolmachov’s psalms is mostly characterized by the final position of the climaxes.