Home FOR AUTHORS Slovenská hudba 2023 Slovenská hudba, Vol. 49, No 2, p.109-124, 2023

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Slovenská hudba, Vol. 49, No 2, p.109-124, 2023

Title: Ilja Zeljenka – Spievať?
Author: Michal STAHL
Abstract: The cantata To Sing? by Ilja Zeljenka stands as a representative of the compositional work of those composers who were, for whatever reason, condemned by the society, and their work and its performance was forbidden. This study is part of the theme monitoring the manifestations of existential crisis in works of Slovak composers since the second half of the 20th century. The cantata, as the composer said, comes from the period when he longed for simplification, comprehensibility and contact with the listener. It contains the critique of the then ruling communist regime, embodied in the lyrics of the 19th-century Slovak poet Ján Botto. The study analyses the lyrics, the role and position of the individual performing groups, compositional devices reflecting the tectonics of the continuous comprehensible arch from the beginning to the end, orchestration, Zeljenka’s “cells”, his typical “play” and the presence of the golden ratio. In the analysis, we follow the rehearsal marks as they give us the information regarding the construction of the piece, changes in orchestration and alternation of all participating components including the orchestra, two choirs, soprano solo and the narrator. The sections are a structural part of the form and, together with other building principles, they deserve our analytical attention. Among others, the analysis of the sections has also shown Zeljenka’s unique plan of the employment of participating performing forces and the narrator, as no two sections out of the 40 share the same instrumentation.
Keywords: Slovak music; cantata; narrator; choir; soprano solo; Ilja Zeljenka; Slovak composer; 20th century; existential crisis; Ján Botto; analysis; instrumentation; golden ratio; play; cell; section; composition
Published online: 30-Jun-2023
Year: 2023, Volume: 49, Issue: 2 Page From: 109, Page To: 124
doi:10.4149/SH_2023_2_2


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