Choral processing |

нем. Choralbearbeitung, англ. choral arrangement, chorale setting, франц. composition sur choral, итал. elaboration of a chorale, composition on a choral

An instrumental, vocal or vocal-instrumental work in which the canonized chant of the Western Christian church (see Gregorian chant, Protestant chant, Choral) receives a polyphonic design.

The term X. about.” usually applied to polygonal compositions on choral cantus firmus (for example, antiphon, hymn, responsory). Sometimes under X. about. all music is included. op., one way or another connected with the chorale, including those where it is used only as source material. In this case, processing essentially becomes processing, and the term takes on a vaguely broad meaning. In him. musicology titles. X. about.” more often used in a closer sense to refer to different forms of processing Protestant chorale. Scope X. about. very wide. The leading genres of prof. music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In early polyphonic forms (parallel organum, foburdon) the chorale is performed in full. Being the lower voice, which is duplicated by the rest of the voices, it forms the basis of the composition in the literal sense. With polyphonic amplification. independence of the voices, the chorale is deformed: its constituent sounds lengthen and level out (in the melismatic organum they are maintained until the abundant ornamentation of the contrapunctuated voices resounds), the chorale loses its integrity (the slowness of the presentation due to the rhythmic increase forces it to be limited to partial conduction – in some cases no more than 4-5 initial sounds). This practice was developed in early examples of the motet (13th century), where the cantus firmus was often also a fragment of the Gregorian chant (see example below). By the same time, the chorale was widely used as an ostinato basis for polyphonic. variational form (see Polyphony, column 351).

Gregorian chant. Hallelujah Vidimus Stellam.

Motet. Parisian school (13th century). A fragment of the chorale takes place in tenor.

The next step in the history of X. o. – extension to the chorale of the principle of isorhythm (see Motet), which has been used since the 14th century. Forms X. o. honed by the masters of many-goal. masses. Main ways of using the chorale (some of them can be combined in one op.): each part contains 1-2 passages of the chorale melody, which is divided into phrases separated by pauses (the whole mass, therefore, represents a cycle of variations); each part contains a fragment of a chorale, which is dispersed throughout the mass; chorale – contrary to the custom of presentation in tenor (2) – moves from voice to voice (the so-called migrating cantus firmus); the chorale is performed sporadically, not in all parts. At the same time, the chorale does not remain unchanged; in the practice of its processing, 4 main were determined. thematic forms. transformations – increase, decrease, circulation, movement. In earlier examples, the chorale, narrated precisely or varying (melodic filling of jumps, ornamentation, various rhythmic arrangements), was contrasted with relatively free, thematically unrelated counterpoints.

G. Dufay. Hymn “Aures ad nostras deitatis”. The 1st stanza is a monophonic choral melody, the 2nd stanza is a three-voice arrangement (varied choral melody in soprano).

With the development of imitation, covering all voices, the forms on the cantus firmus give way to newer ones, and the chorale remains only a source of thematic. production material. (cf. the example below and the example in column 48).

Гимн “Pange lingua”

The techniques and forms of processing the chorale, developed in the era of strict style, were developed in the music of the Protestant church, and along with the use of imitations. forms were revived forms on the cantus firmus. The most important genres – cantata, “passions”, spiritual concerto, motet – are often associated with chorale (this is reflected in the terminology: Choralkonzert, for example “Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ” by I. Schein; Choralmotette, for example “Komm, heiliger Geist » A. von Brook; Choralkantate). Exclude. The use of the cantus firmus in the cantatas of J.S. Bach is distinguished by its diversity. Chorale is often given in a simple 4-goal. harmonization. A choral melody performed by a voice or instrument is superimposed on an extended chorus. composition (e.g. BWV 80, No 1; BWV 97, No 1), wok. or instr. a duet (BWV 6, No 3), an aria (BWV 31, No 8) and even a recitative (BWV 5, No 4); sometimes ariose choral lines and recitative non-choral lines alternate (BWV 94, No 5). In addition, the chorale can serve as thematic. the basis of all parts, and in such cases the cantata turns into a kind of variational cycle (for example, BWV 4; at the end, the chorale is performed in the main form in the parts of the choir and orchestra).

History X. about. for keyboard instruments (primarily for the organ) begins in the 15th century, when the so-called. alternative principle of performance (lat. alternatim – alternately). The verses of the chant, performed by the choir (vers), which previously alternated with solo phrases (for example, in antiphons), began to alternate with org. processing (versett), especially in the Mass and the Magnificat. So, Kyrie eleison (in Krom, according to tradition, each of the 3 sections of Kyrie – Christe – Kyrie was repeated three times) could be performed:

Josquin Despres. Mecca “Pange lingua”. Beginning of “Kyrie eleison”, “Christe eleison” and the second “Kyrie”. The thematic material of the imitations are various phrases of the chorale.

Kyrie (organ) – Kyrie (choir) – Kyrie (organ) – Christe (choir) – Christe (organ) – Christe (choir) – Kyrie (organ) – Kyrie (choir) – Kyrie (organ). Sat org. were published. transcriptions of the Gregorian Magnificats and parts of the Mass (collected together, they later became known as Orgelmesse – org. mass): “Magnificat en la tabulature des orgues”, published by P. Attenyan (1531), “Intavolatura coi Recercari Canzoni Himni Magnificat …” and “Intavolatura d’organo cio Misse Himni Magnificat. Libro secondo” by G. Cavazzoni (1543), “Messe d’intavolatura d’organo” by C. Merulo (1568), “Obras de musica” by A. Cabeson (1578), “Fiori musicali” by G. Frescobaldi (1635) and etc.

“Sanctus” from the organ mass “Cimctipotens” by an unknown author, published by P. Attenyan in “Tabulatura pour le ieu Dorgucs” (1531). Cantus firmus is performed in tenor, then in soprano.

Liturgical melody (cf. the cantus firmus from the example above).

Org. adaptations of the Protestant chorale of the 17th-18th centuries. absorbed the experience of the masters of the previous era; they are presented in a concentrated form technical. and express. achievements of the music of his time. Among the authors of X. o. – the creator of monumental compositions J. P. Sweelinck, who gravitated towards complex polyphonic. combinations of D. Buxtehude, richly coloring the choral melody G. Böhm, using almost all forms of processing by J. G. Walter, actively working in the field of choral variations S. Scheidt, J. Pachelbel and others (choral improvisation was the duty of every church organist) . J.S. Bach overcame the tradition. generalized expression of X. o. (joy, sorrow, peace) and enriched it with all shades accessible to the human sense. Anticipating the romantic aesthetic. miniatures, he endowed each piece with a unique individuality and immeasurably increased the expressiveness of obligate voices.

A feature of the composition X. o. (with the exception of a few varieties, for example, a fugue on the theme of a chorale) is its “two-layered nature”, that is, the addition of relatively independent layers – the chorale melody and what surrounds it (actual processing). The general appearance and form of X. o. depend on their organization and the nature of interaction. Muses. the properties of Protestant choral melodies are relatively stable: they are not dynamic, with clear caesuras, and weak subordination of phrases. The form (in terms of the number of phrases and their scale) copies the structure of the text, which is more often a quatrain with the addition of an arbitrary number of lines. Arising so. sextines, sevenths, etc. in the melody correspond to the initial construction like a period and a more or less polyphrased continuation (sometimes forming a bar together, for example BWV 38, No 6). Elements of reprise make these forms related to the two-part, three-part, but the lack of reliance on squareness significantly distinguishes them from the classical ones. The range of constructive techniques and means of expression used in music. the fabric surrounding the chorale is very wide; he ch. arr. and determines the general appearance of Op. (cf. different arrangements of one chorale). The classification is based on X. o. the method of processing is put (the melody of the chorale varies or remains unchanged, it does not matter for classification). There are 4 main type X. o.:

1) arrangements of the chord warehouse (in organizational literature, the least common ones, for example, Bach’s “Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr”, BWV 715).

2) Polyphonic processing. warehouse. The accompanying voices are usually thematically related to the chorale (see the example in column 51, above), less often they are independent of it (“Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich”, BWV 605). They freely counterpoint the chorale and each other (“Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund”, BWV 621), often forming imitations (“Wir Christenleut”, BWV 612), occasionally a canon (“Canonical Variations on a Christmas Song”, BWV 769).

3) Fugue (fughetta, ricercar) as a form of X. o .:

a) on the theme of a chorale, where the theme is its opening phrase (“Fuga super: Jesus Christus, unser Heiland”, BWV 689) or – in the so-called. strophic fugue – all the phrases of the chorale in turn, forming a series of expositions (“Aus tiefer Not schrei’ich zu dir”, BWV 686, see an example in Art. Fugue, column 989);

b) to a chorale, where a thematically independent fugue serves as an accompaniment to it (“Fantasia sopra: Jesu meine Freude”, BWV 713).

4) Canon – a form where the chorale is canonically performed (“Gott, durch deine Güte”, BWV 600), sometimes with imitation (“Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag”, BWV 629) or canonical. escort (see the example in column 51, below). Diff. types of arrangements can be combined in choral variations (see Bach’s org. partitas).

The general trend in the evolution of X. o. is the strengthening of the independence of the voices counterpointing the chorale. The stratification of the chorale and accompaniment reaches a level, at which a “counterpoint of forms” arises – a mismatch between the boundaries of the chorale and accompaniment (“Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein”, BWV 734). The autonomization of processing is also expressed in the combination of the chorale with other, sometimes far from it, genres – aria, recitative, fantasy (which consists of many sections that are contrasting in nature and method of processing, for example, “Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ” by V. Lübeck), even by dancing (for example, in the partita “Auf meinen lieben Gott” by Buxtehude, where the 2nd variation is a sarabande, the 3rd is a chime, and the 4th is a gigue).

J. S. Bach. Choral organ arrangement “Ach Gott und Herr”, BWV 693. The accompaniment is entirely based on the material of the chorale. Predominantly imitated (in a twofold and fourfold reduction) the first and second (mirror reflection of the 1st)

J. S. Bach. “In dulci Jubilo”, BWV 608, from the Organ Book. Double canon.

From Ser. 18th century for reasons of historical and aesthetic order X. o. almost disappears from composing practice. Among the few late examples is the Choral Mass, org. fantasy and fugue on chorales by F. Liszt, org. choral preludes by I. Brahms, choral cantatas, org. choral fantasies and preludes by M. Reger. Sometimes X. o. becomes an object of stylization, and then the features of the genre are recreated without the use of a genuine melody (for example, E. Krenek’s toccata and chaconne).

References: Livanova T., History of Western European music until 1789, M.-L., 1940; Skrebkov S. S., Polyphonic analysis, M.-L., 1940; Sposobin I. V., Musical form, M.-L., 1947; Protopopov Vl., The history of polyphony in its most important phenomena. Western European classics of the XVIII-XIX centuries, M., 1965; Lukyanova N., On one principle of shaping in choral arrangements from the cantatas of J. S. Bach, in: Problems of Musicology, vol. 2, M., 1975; Druskin M., Passions and masses of J.S. Bach, L., 1976; Evdokimova Yu., Thematic processes in the masses of Palestrina, in: Theoretical observations on the history of music, M., 1978; Simakova N., Melody “L’homme arm” and its refraction in the masses of the Renaissance, ibid.; Etinger M., Early classical harmony, M., 1979; Schweitzer A, J. J. Bach. Le musicien-poite, P.-Lpz., 1905, expanded German. ed. under the title: JS Bach, Lpz., 1908 (Russian translation – Schweitzer A., ​​Johann Sebastian Bach, M., 1965); Terry C. S., Bach: the cantatas and oratorios, v. 1-2, L., 1925; Dietrich P., J.S. Bach’s Orgelchoral und seine geschichtlichen Wurzeln, “Bach-Jahrbuch”, Jahrg. 26, 1929; Kittler G., Geschichte des protestantischen Orgelchorals, Bckermünde, 1931; Klotz H., Lber die Orgelkunst der Gotik, der Renaissance und des Barock, Kassel, 1934, 1975; Frotscher G., Geschichte des Orgelspiels und der Orgelkomposition, Bd 1-2, B., 1935-36, 1959; Schrade L., The organ in the mass of the 15th century, “MQ”, 1942, v. 28, No 3, 4; Lowinsky EE, English organ music of the Renaissance, ibid., 1953, v. 39, No 3, 4; Fischer K. von, Zur Entstehungsgeschichte der Orgelchoralvariation, in Festschrift Fr. Blume, Kassel (ua), 1963; Krummacher F., Die Choralbearbeitung in der protestantischen Figuralmusik zwischen Praetorius und Bach, Kassel, 1978.

TS Kyuregyan