“Epithalama” by R.K. Shchedrin: the problem of the author’s interpretation of the genre

R.K. Shchedrin’s recognizable signature style and the depth of his compositional thought inspired the study of one of his last works: “Epithalamus” for mixed a cappella choir to verses by D.D. Burliuk, commissioned in 2021. The composer poses the following question: “If I had composed an epithalamium for my wedding with Maya Mikhailovna in 1958, I would have chosen these verses. And guess for yourself why...”. The article identifies the characteristics of the epithalamium genre, analyzes the poem, and provides a composer’ s interpretation. “Epithalamus” by D.D. Burliuk is a creative credo. The word “hunger” is synonymous with “desire” and “aspiration”. It represents a thirst for discovery, a search for new sensations. The opus fuses the author’s personal motives with the theme of growing up. D.D. Burliuk’s opus, modified by the composer: repetitions of phrases and words; Coloristic techniques: sound representation and solfeggio. The brief intonation formula “f-d-h-e” becomes the semantic bond that unites the work. The rhythmic formula (J) plays an important role. R.K. Shchedrin shifts the emphasis from the poem’s meaning to the playful action: the melody is instrumental and recitative in nature, reflecting the poster-like nature of the opus. The vertical is often formed by dissonances, often intervals. The diminished triad “h-d-f’ plays the central element. A clearly defined tonality and classical modal-functional connections are absent in “Epithalamus”. The tritone possesses expressive qualities. In the coda, the author switches to solfeggio, using a technique from the “quodlibet” genre. The phrase “Everyone is young!” that concludes the chorus differs from the introduction: the basic thesis becomes more significant and expansive. The composer’ s interpretation of the epithalamium reveals the overall mood of the opus. This “bubbling» experiment yields a work whose title reflects its content: a hymn to the creation of a new union. The word “epithalama”, in its lexical meaning, with its additional connotations of “joy”, “happiness”, and “fun”, can be considered consonant with the composer’s life. In this context, the composer’s entire oeuvre is epithalamium. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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