Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the works of Boris Poplavsky

Abstract

The paper is devoted to studying the images of 18th-century German composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the works of Boris Poplavsky, including diaries, articles, poems, and prose. It was found that the image of Bach was transformed, starting from the articles of the early 1930s to the final work “About substantiality of personality”. In early works, Bach is a symbol of Apollonian art, perfect and harmonious, but cold-blooded towards man. However, in the final work, the music of the German Baroque composer is a symbol of “Pan, who resurrected in Christ” and embodies harmony and integrity of the Universe. The image of Mozart shows other connotations. He is a Dionysian artist, understood in terms of sensuality, “playing on the low and sweet” nature of man. This nature principle of Mozart, which Poplavsky names “sweet melodiousness”, is considered necessary for the formation of the creator, his initiation. This is related to Boris Poplavsky’s conception of the spirit of music, according to which an artist must die and sacrifice himself to the sacred spirit of music. For this reason, Mozart in Poplavsky’s conception of music has a mortal origin. In prose (novel “Apollon Bezobrazov”) and poems, the motive of Mozart’s “Requiem” arises, connected with apocalyptical themes and harmony of the world. This paper compares Poplavsky’s views and works with the concepts of his modernist predecessors and proves that the poet created original myths about musicians based on the traditions of modernity but acquiring uniqueness due to aesthetic principles.