The Concept of “Genre” in the Scientific Heritage of Feodosy Rubtsov

Abstract

Professor of the Leningrad State Conservatory composer Feodosy Antonovich Rubtsov (1904-1986) entered the history of Russian musicology as the author of the original concept of the structure of scales of folk songs. The scientist formulated main positions in monographs “Intonation Relations in the Songs of Slavs” (1962) and “The principles of mode construction in Russian Folk Songs” (1964). Comprehension of the concept of “genre”, the definition of genre features of traditional folk songs is a little-known side of Rubtsov’s scientific heritage. The study of archival documents (in particular, the transcripts of the report “Principles for Determining Genres of Folk Songs”, which was made in 1966 at the Leningrad department of the Union of Composers at the scientific conference “Theoretical Problems of Musical Forms and Genres”) shows that the scientist formulated a number of positions that were relevant for the 1960–1970. “Genre” is a genus and species concept, multi-level concept. The main criterion for determining the genre is the function, the stylistic features and the type of form are important too. Rubtsov noted that the genre system of folklore is capable of renewal, and the characteristic property of the genres of musical folklore lies in their ability in a certain context to act as a function of another genre