LEONARD BERNSTEIN'S «CHICHESTER PSALMS» AS AN EXAMPLE OF RETHINKING THE GENRE INVARIANT

Abstract

The aim of thе article is to study ―Chichester Psalms‖ by American composer Leonard Bernstein as an example of a reinterpretation of a traditional genre.
The research methodology is based on a combination of the following approaches and methods: biographical, historical, comparative, structural and functional approaches, as well as special methods of genre, style and intonation analysis.

Results. The history and circumstances of the Chichester Psalms are considered. The selection and compilation of psalm texts is traced, their content is commented on, and the иsubordination of this process to a specific authorapos;s intention is emphasised. The performing composition and compositional structure of the «Chichester Psalms» are characterized. The text, structure and musical themes of each part of the cycle are analyzed.
Particular attention is paid to the logic of the tonal-harmonic and textural organization of the form, the correlation of vocal-choral and orchestral parts. The specificity of stylistic synthesis in Bernstein's music is revealed, the interaction of elements of styles inherent in different historical epochs and intonational practices in the analyzed
work is emphasized. It is concluded that «Chichester Psalms» is a modern and artistically convincing example of the ancient genre of sacred chants, which combines the traditional and the innovative, the academic and the mass, the common and the individually unique.
It is proved that the synthesis of modern compositional language, jazz stylistics, polyphonic techniques of material development and verbal text of the psalms in a diverse and effective choral sound in Leonard Bernsteinapos; Chichester Psalms leads to a unique artistic result that clearly demonstrates a modern reading of the ancient psalm genre.