The Stravinsky's choirs on the liturgical texts: Revisiting the work on the liturgical and pragmatic model

Within this article some composer's work principles are examined concerning such choral compositions as "Pater Noster", "Credo", "Ave Maria" on the Church Slavic and Latin liturgical texts. The idea of the comparative analysis method of the canticles or the sacred songs on the Orthodox and Catholic textual authentic source is based on the examination of different work principles by the canonical model: attitude to the text selection, performance line-up, musical implementation of the author's idea. While analyzing the works with liturgical genres, we turn to the conception of the liturgical and pragmatic model. The key to its understanding is the essence of such concept as "canon" and the traditional complex factors related to the canonical art. Canon in religious music is ultimately connected with the conventional text model and the traditional performance line-up. Reference to the church text as a source material sends us back to a centuries-old tradition of Christian music. Due to the fact that canticles in the first edition were intended by Stravinsky for worshiping only, the text of the three prayers he retained without any changes. However, in the Latin version of the choirs, created by the composer rather for the concert performance, there is also a conservative approach to the canonical word. The text itself has always been a determining factor for the form making in the church genres. In some Orthodox Church choirs on the Church Slavic liturgical text the recurrent lowercase form is depended on the logic of the text. The musical interpretation of the canonical word is as close to the church usage as it possible, and that matches to the ritual kernel. Under neat the first and the second edition of the choirs "Pater Noster" and "Credo" there is a chordal psalmodic recitation, which is a direct imitation of the Liturgy. The choral acaphistus "Ave Maria" is represented by a continual type of chants. Text and music analysis of the choirs on Latin texts proves that the author embodies the Latin canonical text as a living language, which is not determined by the metric framework. The structure of the canticles by Stravinsky is dictated primarily by the text, and the composition is based on the verbal patterns and on a constructive role of the melodic element. Orthodox and Latin choirs were meant to be as exclusively a capella works. Referring to the choir performing staff in canticles, the author considers the sound of the choir as an expression of high spirituality and the most important criterion of art. Composer's spiritual works are the likeness of his genre prototype; church choirs most accurately reproduce the liturgical model, because they have application significance and are intended by the author for the service. The genre memory in the sacred choirs has not been broken by the new, concert performance conditions. The united liturgical model reflects the objective of the composer's thinking, he retains the church model and puts it into the "old traditions" frame works.

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