Impressionist composers and their works. Impressionism in music

Origin

Musical Impressionism has as its predecessor, above all, Impressionism in French painting. They have not only common roots, but also cause-and-effect relationships. And the main impressionist in music, Claude Debussy, and especially Eric Satie, his friend and predecessor on this path, and Maurice Ravel, who took over from Debussy, sought and found not only analogies, but also expressive means in the work of Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne , Puvis de Chavannes and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

In itself, the term "impressionism" in relation to music is emphatically conditional and speculative in nature (in particular, Claude Debussy himself repeatedly objected to it, however, without offering anything definite in return). It is clear that the means of painting, associated with vision and the means of musical art, based mostly on hearing, can be connected with each other only with the help of special, subtle associative parallels that exist only in the mind. Simply put, the vague image of Paris "in the autumn rain" and the same sounds, "muffled by the noise of falling drops" already have the property of an artistic image, but not a real mechanism. Direct analogies between the means of painting and music are possible only through composer's personality who experienced the personal influence of artists or their paintings. If an artist or composer denies or does not recognize such connections, then it becomes at least difficult to talk about them. However, we have confessions as an important artifact and, (which is the most important) the works of the main characters of musical impressionism themselves. It was Erik Satie who expressed this idea more clearly than the rest, constantly focusing on how much he owes to artists in his work. He attracted Debussy to himself with the originality of his thinking, independent, rude character and caustic wit, which did not spare any authorities at all. Also, Satie interested Debussy with his innovative piano and vocal compositions, written in a bold, though not entirely professional hand. Here, below are the words with which in 1891 Satie addressed his newly found friend, Debussy, prompting him to move on to the formation of a new style:

When I met Debussy, he was full of Mussorgsky and persistently looked for ways that are not so easy to find. In this regard, I have long outdone him. Neither the Roman Prize nor any others weighed me down, for I was like Adam (from Paradise), who never received any prizes - definitely lazy!… At that time I was writing The Son of the Stars to a libretto by Péladan and explaining to Debussy the need for the Frenchman to free himself from the influence of Wagnerian principles, which do not correspond to our natural aspirations. I also said that although I am by no means an anti-Wagnerist, I still think that we should have our own music and, if possible, without "German sour cabbage". But why not use the same visual means for these purposes that we see in Claude Monet, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec and others? Why not transfer these funds to music? There is nothing easier. Isn't that what real expressiveness is?

- (Erik Satie, "Claude Debussy", Paris, 1923).

But if Satie derived his transparent and stingy impressionism from the symbolic painting of Puvis de Chavannes, then Debussy (through the same Satie) experienced the creative influence of more radical impressionists, Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro.

It is enough just to list the names of the most striking works of Debussy or Ravel to get a complete picture of the impact on their work of both visual images and landscapes of impressionist artists. So, in the first ten years, Debussy writes “Clouds”, “Prints” (the most figurative of which, a watercolor sound sketch - “Gardens in the rain”), “Images” (the first of which, one of the masterpieces of piano impressionism, “Reflections on the water ", evokes direct associations with the famous painting by Claude Monet "Impression: Sunrise") ... According to the well-known expression of Mallarmé, impressionist composers studied "hear the light", convey in sounds the movement of water, the fluctuation of foliage, the breath of the wind and the refraction of the sun's rays in the evening air. The symphonic suite "The Sea from Dawn to Noon" adequately sums up Debussy's landscape sketches.

Despite his often advertised personal rejection of the term "impressionism", Claude Debussy has repeatedly spoken out as a true impressionist artist. So, speaking of the earliest of his famous orchestral works, " Nocturnes", Debussy admitted that the idea of ​​the first of them ("Clouds") came to his mind on one of the cloudy days when he looked at the Seine from the Concorde Bridge ... Well As for the procession in the second part (“Celebrations”), this idea was born by Debussy: “... while contemplating the equestrian detachment of soldiers of the Republican Guard passing in the distance, whose helmets sparkled under the rays of the setting sun ... in clouds of golden dust” . Similarly, the works of Maurice Ravel can serve as a kind of material evidence of direct links from painting to music that existed within the Impressionist movement. The famous sound-visual "Play of water", the cycle of pieces "Reflections", the piano collection "Rustle of the Night" - this list is far from complete and can be continued. Sati stands somewhat apart, as always, one of the works that can be called in this regard is, perhaps, “The Heroic Prelude to the Gates of Heaven”.

The surrounding world in the music of impressionism is revealed through a magnifying glass of subtle psychological reflections, subtle sensations born from the contemplation of minor changes taking place around. These features make impressionism related to another artistic movement that existed in parallel - literary symbolism. Eric Satie was the first to turn to the works of Josephine Péladan. A little later, the work of Verlaine, Mallarme, Louis and - especially Maeterlinck found direct implementation in the music of Debussy, Ravel and some of their followers.

Ramon Casas (1891) "Money Mill" (Impressionist painting with the figure of Satie)

With all the obvious novelty of the musical language, impressionism often recreates some expressive techniques characteristic of the art of the previous time, in particular, the music of French harpsichordists of the 18th century, the Rococo era. One need only recall such famous pictorial plays by Couperin and Rameau as "Little Windmills" or "The Hen".

In the 1880s, before meeting Eric Satie and his work, Debussy was fascinated by the work of Richard Wagner and was completely in the wake of his musical aesthetics. After meeting Satie and from the moment of creating his first impressionistic opuses, Debussy moved with surprising sharpness to the positions of militant anti-Wagnerism. This transition was so sudden and abrupt that one of Debussy's close friends (and biographer), the famous musicologist Émile Vuyermeaux, directly expressed his bewilderment:

Debussy's anti-Wagnerism is devoid of grandeur and nobility. It is impossible to understand how a young musician, whose entire youth is intoxicated with the intoxication of Tristan, and who, in the development of his language, in the discovery of an endless melody, undoubtedly owes so much to this innovative score, contemptuously ridicules the genius who gave him so much!

- (Emile Vuillermoz, “Claude Debussy”, Geneve, 1957.)

At the same time, Vuyermeaux, internally connected by a relationship of personal hostility and enmity with Eric Satie, did not specifically mention him and released him as the missing link in creating a complete picture. Indeed, French art of the late 19th century, crushed by Wagnerian musical dramas, asserted itself through impressionism. For a long time, it was precisely this circumstance (and the growing nationalism between the three wars with Germany) that made it difficult to talk about the direct influence of the style and aesthetics of Richard Wagner on Impressionism. Perhaps the first to point this question out was the famous French composer of Cesar Franck's circle - Vincent d'Andy, an older contemporary and friend of Debussy. In his famous work "Richard Wagner and his influence on the musical art of France", ten years after the death of Debussy, he expressed his opinion in a categorical form:

“The art of Debussy is indisputably from the art of the author of Tristan; it rests on the same principles, is based on the same elements and methods of constructing the whole. The only difference is that Debussy interpreted the dramatic principles of Wagner ..., so to speak, a la francaise».

- (Vincent d'Indy. Richard Wagner et son influence sur l'art musical francais.)

Representatives of impressionism in music

Debussy and Satie (photo by Stravinsky, 1910)

France has always remained the main environment for the emergence and existence of musical impressionism, where Maurice Ravel acted as the constant rival of Claude Debussy, after 1910 he remained almost the sole head and leader of the Impressionists. Eric Satie, who acted as the discoverer of the style, due to his nature could not advance into active concert practice and, starting from 1902, openly declared himself not only in opposition to impressionism, but also founded a number of new styles, not only opposite, but also hostile to him. Interestingly, in this state of affairs, for another ten to fifteen years, Sati continued to be a close friend, friend and opponent of both Debussy and Ravel, "officially" holding the post of "Forerunner" or founder of this musical style. In the same way, Maurice Ravel, despite a very difficult, and sometimes even openly conflicting personal relationship with Eric Satie, did not get tired of repeating that the meeting with him was of decisive importance for him and repeatedly emphasized how much he owes Eric Satie in his work. Literally, at every opportunity, Ravel repeated this to Sati himself "in person", which surprised this generally recognized "clumsy and ingenious herald of new times".

The followers of Debussy's musical impressionism were French composers of the early 20th century - Florent Schmitt, Jean-Jules Roger-Ducas, Andre Caplet and many others. Ernest Chausson, who was friends with Debussy and, back in 1893, got acquainted with the first sketches of The Afternoon of a Faun from hand, in the author's performance on the piano, experienced the charm of the new style earlier than others. The latest works of Chausson clearly bear traces of the impact of the just beginning impressionism - and one can only guess what the later work of this author might have looked like if he had lived at least a little longer. Following Chausson - and other Wagnerists, members of the circle of Cesar Franck were influenced by the first impressionist experiments. So, Gabriel Piernet, and Guy Ropartz, and even the most orthodox Wagnerist Vincent d'Andy (the first performer of many of Debussy's orchestral works) paid full tribute to the beauties of impressionism in their work. Thus, Debussy (as if in hindsight) nevertheless prevailed over his former idol - Wagner, whose powerful influence he himself overcame with such difficulty ... Such a venerable master as Paul Dukas experienced a strong influence of early examples of impressionism, and in the period before World War I - Albert Roussel, already in his Second Symphony (1918) departed in his work from impressionistic tendencies, to the great disappointment of his fans.

At the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, certain elements of the impressionist style were developed in other European composer schools, intertwining in a peculiar way with national traditions. Of these examples, one can name the most striking: in Spain - Manuel de Falla, in Italy - Ottorino Respighi, in Brazil - Heitor Villa-Lobos, in Hungary - the early Bela Bartok, in England - Frederick Delius, Cyril Scott, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arnold Bax and Gustav Holst, in Poland - Karol Shimanovsky, in Russia - early Igor Stravinsky - (of the Firebird period), late Lyadov, Mikalojus Konstantinas Chiurlionis and Nikolai Cherepnin.

In general, it should be recognized that the life of this musical style was quite short even by the standards of the fleeting XX century. The first traces of a departure from the aesthetics of musical impressionism and the desire to expand the limits of the forms of musical thinking inherent in it can be found in the work of Claude Debussy himself after 1910. As for the discoverer of the new style, Erik Satie, he was the first to leave the growing ranks of supporters of impressionism after the premiere of Pelléas in 1902, and ten years later he organized criticism, opposition and direct opposition to this trend. By the beginning of the 30s of the XX century, impressionism had already become old-fashioned, turned into a historical style and completely left the arena of contemporary art, dissolving (as separate colorful elements) in the work of masters of completely different stylistic trends (for example, individual elements of impressionism can be distinguished in works by Olivier Messiaen, Takemitsu Toru, Tristan Murai and others.

Notes

1. Schneerson G. French music of the 20th century. - M .: Music, 1964. - S. 23.
2. Eric Satie, Yuri Khanon Memories in hindsight. - St. Petersburg. : Center for Middle Music & Faces of Russia, 2010. - S. 510. - 682 p. - ISBN 978-5-87417-338-8
3. Erik Satie. Ecrits. - Paris: Editions champ Libre, 1977. - S. 69.
4. Emile Vuillermoz. Claude Debussy. - Geneve, 1957. - S. 69.
5. Claude Debussy. Selected Letters (compiled by A. Rozanov). - L .: Music, 1986. - S. 46.
6. edited by G. V. Keldysh. Musical encyclopedic dictionary. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990. - S. 208.
7. Schneerson G. French music of the 20th century. - M .: Music, 1964. - S. 22.
8. Vincent d'Indy. Richard Wagner et son influence sur l'art musical francais. - Paris, 1930. - S. 84.
9. Volkov S. History of culture of St. Petersburg. - second. - M .: "Eksmo", 2008. - S. 123. - 572 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-21606-2
10. Ravel in the mirror of his letters. - L .: Music, 1988. - S. 222.
11. Compiled by M. Gerard and R. Chalu. Ravel in the mirror of his letters. - L.: Music, 1988. - S. 220-221.
12. Schneerson G. French music of the 20th century. - M .: Music, 1964. - S. 154.
13. Filenko G. French music of the first half of the 20th century. - L .: Music, 1983. - S. 12.

Sources

• Musical Encyclopedic Dictionary, ed. G. V. Keldysha, Moscow, "Soviet encyclopedia" 1990.
• Ravel in the mirror of his letters. Compilers M. Gerard and R. Shalu., L., Music, 1988.
• Schneerson G. French Music of the 20th Century, 2nd ed. - M., 1970;
• Vincent d'Indy. Richard Wagner et son influence sur l'art musical francais. Paris, 1930;
• Erik Satie, "Ecrits", - Editions champ Libre, 1977;
• Anne Rey Satie, - Seuil, 1995;
• Volta Ornella, Erik Satie, Hazan, Paris, 1997;
• Emile Vuillermoz, "Claude Debussy", Geneve, 1957.

Impressionist composers

Teacher MHK MKOU secondary school No. 7

Kimovsk

Zemiseva A.Yu.

Target:

carefully consider the essence of the impressionistic vision of the world by composers of this direction.

Tasks:

• educational: to introduce students to impressionist composers;
• educational: education of emotional responsiveness and culture of perception of the works of the Impressionists;

Developing: improving the skills of listening to music, developing the skills of associative thinking.

Impressionism: the search for elusive beauty

It's just a matter of music.

So, don't measure the way.

Prefer almost sterility

Everything that is too flesh and body ...

Just sweeter semitone.

Not a full tone, but only a semitone...

P. Verlaine (translated by B.L. Pasternak)

Claude Debussy

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) French composer and music critic.

In 1884 he graduated from the Paris Conservatoire in the composition class of E. Guiraud, having received the Rome Prize.

Claude Debussy

Debussy is the creator of impressionism - a direction based on the reflection of mood with the help of shades, "colors" of sound. His harmony is devoid of the usual classical order, the chords appear as characteristic sound "spots". In individual program elements, the influence of Wagner has affected, which is easy to see in some piano pieces.

Debussy - impressionist

Discussions on art, communication with artists who have been promoting a new trend in art for two decades - impressionism - all this to a large extent influenced the formation of Debussy's work.

Composer's works

Until the end of his life, Debussy remained in Paris, composing and occasionally performing as a pianist. Debussy's works often aroused the indignation of conservatives, and the premiere of the opera Pelléas et Mélisande (a lyrical drama based on M. Maeterlinck) ended in a scandal.

Composer's works

The Bergamas Suite was created in 1890. It shows features of neoclassicism, they demonstrate Debussy's further searches in the field of timbre colors. The suite has 5 rooms. The most popular of them is "Moonlight".

Composer's works

In 1910-1913, Debussy wrote a cycle of 24 preludes, which is called the "encyclopedia" of impressionism. Each of the pieces is a colorful picture, as if competing with painting.

"Girl with Flaxen Hair"

One of the plays of this cycle, depicting to the audience a girl with flax-colored hair.

Before us is a watercolor-gentle musical "drawing".

"Sunken Cathedral"

The play was born under the influence of the Breton legend about a city swallowed up by the sea, but growing out of the abyss at dawn to the sound of bells. The composer was attracted by the opportunity to “draw” the dawn, in the silence of which a ringing is heard, coming from the depths of the sea, from where the bulk of the city emerges.

Maurice Ravel

Joseph Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) French composer. His creative discoveries in the field of musical language (harmony, rhythm, orchestration) contributed to the development of new stylistic trends in the music of the 20th century.

Maurice Ravel

After graduating from the Paris Conservatoire in composition and piano in 1905, he devoted himself to composing music. During World War I, he volunteered for the front. After the war, Ravel toured extensively as a performer of his works. In 1928 he performs in the USA. In 1929 he received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University.

Ravel - impressionist

Like Debussy, Ravel is a bright representative of impressionism, but what distinguishes him from Debussy is a conscious desire for a classical style. The characteristic features of his work are the frequent appeal to folklore, mainly Spanish, the completeness and elegance of form, the attraction to dance rhythms.

Composer's works

Ravel is the author of numerous chamber works, ballets ("Mother Goose", "Daphnis and Chloe"), dance works ("Gypsy", "Bolero", "Waltz", "Spanish Rhapsody"). He orchestrated "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Mussorgsky.

"Bolero"

"Bolero" has gained immense popularity as an independent work, saturated with the element of dance. This is a rare example of a major symphonic work based on a single Spanish theme composed by Ravel himself.

"Bolero"

The work was written in 1928, commissioned by the famous ballerina Ida Rubinstein. She danced in a gypsy costume on the table, delighting the audience with the extravagance of the number.

"Bolero"

The duration of the sound is about 15 minutes, although when performed at a constant tempo, without acceleration, as the composer required, it can reach 18 minutes.

"Bolero"

"Bolero" has a hypnotic effect with its unchanging many times repeated rhythmic figure, against which two themes are also repeated many times, demonstrating an extraordinary increase in emotional tension and introducing more and more new instruments into the sound.

Impressionism was the last major artistic movement in 19th century France. The composers of this direction were united by the desire to convey emotions, impressions, every moment of life, every most insignificant change in the world around. In music, the Impressionists renounced classical art and were able to "open their eyes" to the listeners to the importance and wonderful uniqueness of every moment.

Thank you for your attention !

Template source:

Kulakova Natalya Ivanovna

primary school teacher

State Educational Institution "Secondary School No. 26 Grodno", Belarus

• Debussy - http://classica.at.ua/index/klod_debjussi/0-39
• Ravel http://classica.at.ua/index/moris_ravel/0-10
• Ida Rubinstein http://yandex.ru/images/search?viewport=wide&text=%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B0%20%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BD %D1%88%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BD&img_url
• Ravel "Bolero"

5. Ravel "Bolero" http://yandex.ru/images/search?viewport=wide&text=%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%20%D1%80%D0%B0 %D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C&img_url

6. Ravel "Bolero" http://yandex.ru/images/search?viewport=wide&text=%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%20%D1%80%D0%B0 %D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C&img_url

7. "Girl with flaxen hair" http://yandex.ru/images/search?viewport=wide&text=%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%83%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B0%20%D1%81 %20%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8%20%D1%86%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1 %82%D0%B0%20%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B0&img_url

8. "Girl with flaxen hair" http://yandex.ru/images/search?img_url

9. Sunken Cathedral

• "Pelleas and Mélisande"
• Monet K. http://yandex.ru/images/search?viewport
• Debussy http://yandex.ru/images/search?text
• Debussy http://yandex.ru/images/search?img_url=http%3A%2F%2Fria.ru

Impressionism in painting and music.

All artists until the 19th century and the first half of the 19th century, despite belonging to different schools, had one thing in common: they created their paintings within the walls of the studio, preferring neutral lighting and making extensive use of asphalt brown. For this reason, the paintings often had a muted color.

Suddenly, in the 60s, impudent young people showed up in Paris, who dragged rather large canvases with them to sketches and wrote on them with clean colors straight from the tube. Moreover, they put it next to each other, for example: red and green or yellow and purple, calling these pairs additional colors. From these contrasts, paints laid in large separate strokes seemed unbearably bright, and objects that new artists did not seek to trace with a linear contour lost their sharpness of shape and dissolved in the environment. In order to enhance this dissolution, new painters were looking for special natural effects: they loved haze, fog, rain; admired the way the spots of light play on the figures of people in the lacy shade of the trees. The first thing that united young artists was the desire to write in the open air. Moreover, not to write preparatory sketches, as landscape painters used to do, but the paintings themselves. They used to gather in the Café Guerbois in Paris (this is not just a place to eat: it is the cradle of the new French culture), they were young, unknown to anyone; sometimes they were exhibited separately in the Salon and were noted by critics at best sympathetically, and the public laughed outright.

These artists united, rebelling with their creativity and a completely new method against the traditions and canons of classical painting. In 1874, brought together at the first group exhibition, their works caused a real shock. It was an exhibition of independent artists, independent of the academy, of official art, of outdated traditions, of criticism, of the philistine public. Here are the names of these new artists: Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne, Berthe Morisot. Claude Monet showed among other paintings the painting “Impression. Sunrise". Impression - in French impression: hence the name Impressionists, that is, “impressionists”. This word was put into circulation by the journalist Louis Leroy, as a joke, but the artists themselves accepted it, since it really expressed the essence of their approach to nature.

The Impressionists believed that the task of art is to correctly reflect the impressions of the surrounding world - a living and ever-changing one. Life is a series of unique moments. That is why the task of the artist is to reflect reality in its incessant variability. Objects and creatures need to be depicted not as they are, but as they look at the moment. And they can look different due to distance or angle of view, due to changes in the air environment, time of day, lighting. In order to correctly reflect his impressions, the artist must work not in the studio, but in nature, that is, in the open air. And in order to correctly convey the fast ones in the surrounding landscape, you need to write quickly and complete the picture in a few hours or even minutes, and not, as in the old days, in a few weeks or months. Since the surrounding reality appears before the artist in a new light, the moment captured by him is a document of the minute.

The new direction, which manifested itself so clearly in painting, also influenced other types of art: poetry and music. Musical impressionism was most fully embodied in the work of two French composers: Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. As well as in painting, musical impressionism took shape in an environment of ongoing struggle between the traditional and the new. It was established in opposition to the outdated, but tenaciously held, "academic" traditions of the musical art of France at the beginning of the 20th century. Young Debussy and Ravel felt it to the fullest. Their first creative experiments met with the same hostile attitude from the leadership of the Paris Conservatory and the Academy of Fine Arts, as well as the paintings of the Impressionist artists. There were negative reviews for such works by Debussy as the symphonic ode "Zuleima", the symphonic suite "Spring", the cantata "The Chosen One". The composer was accused of a deliberate desire "to do something strange, incomprehensible, impossible", in "an exaggerated sense of musical color". The disapproval of the Conservatory professorship was caused by Ravel's piano piece The Play of Water, and he did not receive the Prix de Rome in 1903. And in 1905, the jury simply did not allow him to compete. The obvious injustice of the jury's decision caused a sharp protest from a significant part of the musical community in Paris. There was even a so-called "case" of Ravel, which was widely discussed in the press. Debussy and Ravel had to make their way in art alone, because they had almost no like-minded people and associates. Their entire life and creative path was full of searches and bold experiments in the field of musical genres and means of the musical language.

Musical impressionism grew out of the national traditions of French art. Colorfulness, decorativeness, interest in folk art, in ancient culture, the great role of programming have always been characteristic of French music. All this was clearly manifested in the work of Debussy and Ravel. But the most direct and fruitful influence on the new direction in music, of course, was pictorial impressionism.

There is much in common in the work of Impressionist artists and composers. First of all, this is a related topic. The leading theme is landscape».

The focus of painters is the urban landscape, where the city attracts artists in interaction with general natural processes, nuances of the atmosphere. In the painting “Capuchin Boulevard in Paris” by C. Monet, the composition is built on the contrast of the continuous movement of pedestrians and the static forms of houses and tree trunks; on the contrast of warm and cold colors; in an expressive temporal contrast - two frozen figures are, as it were, turned off from the fast-flowing time. The image is given blurry and elusive, there is a feeling of overlapping several images taken from one point on one frame. Flashing, flickering, movement. There are no items. There is the life of the city (even the artist of the 1st half of the 19th century, Delacroix, said that he wanted to paint not a saber, but the brilliance of a saber).

Much attention was paid to artists and images of nature. But they have such a landscape in which the subject itself recedes into the background, and the main character of the picture becomes a changeable and fickle light. Claude Monet introduced the practice of working on a series of canvases depicting the same motif in different lighting. Each picture of the series is unique, because it is transformed by changing light.

Unusual attitude to the landscape and impressionist composers.

None of the composers of the past embodied such a variety and richness of subjects associated with pictures of nature. Moreover, Debussy and Ravel in the images of nature are attracted, first of all, by what moves: rain, water, clouds, wind, fog, and the like. For example, such plays by Debussy: “Wind on the Plain”, “Gardens in the Rain”, “Fogs”, “Sails”, “What the West Wind Saw”, “Heather”, “The Play of Water” by Ravel. Debussy's play Gardens in the Rain sounds.

In such works, some techniques of sound representation, characteristic of the music of the Impressionists, were clearly manifested. They can be described as “running of waves” (“Playing water” by Ravel, “Sails” by Debussy), “falling leaves” (“Dead Leaves” by Debussy), “flickering of light” (“Moonlight” by Debussy), “breath of the night” (“ Prelude of the Night" by Ravel, "Fragrances of the Night" by Debussy), "Rustle of Leaves" and "Blow of the Wind" ("Wind on the Plain" by Debussy). Debussy's play Wind on the Plain sounds.

Against the background of music - a story about a painting by Monet. ... Already in the morning Monet in the garden with a huge canvas. It was probably not easy to drag him to the shore of the pond, to the flowering bush, near which the painter settled down. He works quickly, in a hurry: the sun is moving unstoppably across the sky, the distance is clouding with haze, a little more and the sun's rays, piercing the translucent cold air, will fall on the ground with completely different colored spots. Monet, of course, does not draw, he finally expelled the drawing from the picture. He works directly in color, with pure paints, applying them in small strokes, one next to the other on a white ground, and the canvas seems to be just a flat surface, strewn with a scattering of random spots. But one has only to move away from it a little, and a miracle happens - the motley strokes merge and turn into bright flowers, tousled by the wind, into ripples that run through the water and the trembling and noise of foliage - yes, noise is heard in the picture, and aromas are felt. A direct reflection in the colors of the changing moments of life. Between the artist's eye, which reads the color, and the canvas, which takes on the equivalent of this color, there is nothing - no intention, no idea, no literary plot; - that's a new way of working. Here is art that expressed the worldview of a person in the second half of the 19th century. This was the discovery of Claude Monet.

However, when painting pictures of nature, the composers did not strive for a purely pictorial solution of the image. It was important for them to convey a certain mood, feeling, their attitude to this poetic image. Hence the special confidential, intimate tone of the statement. Each landscape sketch has a certain emotional coloring - either calm, dreamy contemplation, or majestic reflection. A harsh and sometimes gloomy mood can be instantly replaced by intoxicating joy. I. V. Nestyev very accurately said this: “Debussy’s enchanting soundscapes - pictures of the sea, forest, rain, night clouds - are always imbued with the symbolism of mood, “the secret of the inexpressible”, they hear either love languor, or notes of woeful detachment, or the dazzling joy of being."

Along with the “lyrical landscape”, the theme of the “lyrical portrait” became no less typical for the Impressionists. In such pieces, composers manage to create a very real, lifelike musical image with a few precise strokes. For example, musical portraits: full of humor, with features of the grotesque, the play “General Lyavin the Eccentric”. Or the light, with a hint of sadness play "The Girl with Flaxen Hair". Debussy's play "Girl with Flaxen Hair" sounds.

Against the background of music, a story about a painting by Renoir. ... Renoir was introduced to the young actress of the Comedy Francaise Jeanne Samary. “What kind of skin, right, it illuminates everything around” - this is how the impressionist artist expressed his admiration. It was he who wove her portrait from colorful overflows, shining with a warm light on her face, neck, chest, white dress. She stepped from the depths of the living room, her face lit up, her eyes flared and darkened, her cheeks gently reddened, the silk of her skirt fluttered lightly. But take Jeanne one more step, and she will come out of the stream of light and everything will change - and it will be a different Jeanne, and another portrait needs to be painted. One random, beautiful moment...

In the Impressionist painters we often find portraits depicting models, young ladies from the suburbs, milliners dancing in the small cafes of Montmartre, ballerinas, artists, jockeys, petty bourgeois, cafe visitors. The image of a contemporary, charming Parisian was central to the work of Auguste Renoir. In the portrait of Jeanne Samary, brilliant blue eyes and red lips attract the eye. The bright color accord of emerald and pink sounds attractive. In the very portraiture of the Impressionists, it is not the physiognomic description of the face and the in-depth psychological disclosure of character that attracts, but that individual unique aspect of the personality, revealed through a cursory glance, head tilt, special plasticity, demeanor.

They are also attracted by the genre of everyday life - the public in a cafe, boatmen at boat stations, a company in the park for a picnic, regattas, swimming, walks - all this is a world without any special events, and the main events take place in nature. The magical effects of the water surface: the swell of water, its play, the brilliance of reflection, the pattern of clouds and the swaying of foliage - this is the true passion of the Impressionists. And only Edgar Degas found in the everyday genre something that could captivate the Impressionists: he shows the reality of the modern city, using the techniques of future cinema - framing, showing fragments, zooming in on the camera, unexpected angles. He writes, “Sitting at the very feet of a dancer, I would see her head surrounded by chandelier pendants.” In his sketches, one can see cafes with multiple reflections in mirrors, various kinds of smoke - smoker's smoke, steam locomotive smoke, factory chimney smoke. Working in pastels, he achieves unusual color effects. The sonorous decorative chord of blue and orange in Blue Dancers seems to be self-luminous.

Impressionist composers also turn to genre scenes. In his genre sketches, Debussy uses everyday musical genres, dances from different eras and peoples. For example, Spanish folk dances in the plays "Interrupted Serenade", "Gate of the Alhambra". Debussy's play "The Interrupted Serenade" sounds.

Debussy also turns to modern rhythms. In the play "Minstrels" he uses a modern pop dance, the kek-walk. Debussy's play "Minstrels" sounds.

There are plays inspired by fabulous and legendary motifs - "Fairies - lovely dancers", "Sunken Cathedral", "Peck's Dance". A number of plays are connected with other types of arts: with poetry (“Fragrances and sounds in the evening air hover”, “Terrace illuminated by moonlight”), with works of ancient fine art (“Delphian dancers”, “Canopa”). It is important to emphasize that in the depiction of all these subjects, as well as in the transfer of the "lyrical landscape", Debussy is primarily interested in the atmosphere surrounding this image. That is, he draws the phenomenon along with the background surrounding it. Debussy, it is important to show the emotional perception of this phenomenon in combination with all sorts of visual or auditory associations. Therefore, the images depicted by him are often unsteady, elusive, vague, elusive. This is also connected with the composer's desire to convey his first, direct impression of a phenomenon or image. Hence comes the attraction of impressionist composers not to large forms, but to miniatures, in which it is easier to convey fleeting impressions from various phenomena, a change of mood.

The works of the Impressionist composers are programmatic, that is, they have names, and in Debussy's Nocturnes suite, there is even a small literary preface before each of the three pieces. Impressionist composers are characterized by pictorial and contemplative programming, without the active development of the image, the plot. Program headings and literary comments are conditional. They express only the general poetic idea, the pictorial and pictorial, and not the plot idea of ​​the work. In addition, as if not wanting to “impose” his idea on the performer and listener, Debussy in the preludes, for example, puts the title at the end of the play, enclosing it in brackets and surrounding it with dots. For Debussy, the figurative side of the performance of his plays is very important. Since they do not have a consistent development of the plot, picturesque and colorful tasks come to the fore. To express them as accurately as possible. Debussy uses verbal indications in his works. The composer's remarks are amazing in their diversity and brightness. These are apt metaphors and clarifying explanations for the performer. For example, “like a distant sound of a horn”, “like a tender and sad regret”, “like a guitar”, “almost a drum”, “sounds softly in a thick fog”, “vibrating”, “poignantly”, “nervously and with humor”. It can even be a detailed description, as, for example, in "Steps in the Snow": "This rhythm should correspond in sound to the sad and cold background of the landscape." Such author's indications emphasize the composer's desire to subordinate technical, virtuoso tasks to pictorial, pictorial, artistic ones.

Common features in the work of impressionist artists and composers are found not only in the field of content, themes, but also in the artistic method.

An unusual view of the world around him determined the technique of painting by the Impressionists. Plein air is the main key to their method. They did not pass by the main scientific discoveries in optics about the decomposition of color. The color of an object is the impression of a person, which is constantly changing from lighting. The Impressionists applied paints to the canvas only of those colors that are present in the solar spectrum, without neutral tones of chiaroscuro and without pre-mixing these colors on the palette. They applied paint in small separate strokes, which at a distance cause the impression of vibration, while the contours of objects lose their sharpness.

The Impressionists updated not only the light-color system of painting, but also compositional techniques. The Academy taught to build a composition like a theater stage - right in front of you, in horizontal lines, while strictly observing the laws of linear perspective. In the Impressionists, we see the most diverse points of contemplation - from above, from a distance, from the inside, and others. In contrast to the canons of academic art, which included the obligatory placement of the main characters in the center of the picture, the three-dimensionality of space, the use of historical plots, the Impressionists put forward new principles for the perception and reflection of the surrounding world. They stopped dividing objects into main and secondary. They banished narrative from pictures. The Impressionists focused on the study of the nature of light, the careful observation of specifically colored light. The Impressionists for the first time entered the realm of transformations of reality, barely noticeable to the ordinary eye, which proceed so quickly that they can only be noted by a trained eye and are carried out at a pace incomparably greater than the pace of creating a picture. The effect of a stretched moment - "rapid" - was applied 25 years before the discovery of cinema.

Picturesque impressionism has greatly influenced music in the field of means of expression. Just as in painting, the search for Debussy and Ravel was aimed at expanding the range of expressive means necessary to embody new images and, first of all, at the maximum enrichment of the colorful and coloristic side of music. These searches touched the mode, harmony, melody, metro-rhythm, texture, instrumentation. Debussy and Ravel create a new, impressionistic musical language.

The value of the melody, as the main expressive element of music, is weakened, it dissolves into a harmonic background. There are no bright, wide melodies, only short melodic phrases flicker. But the role of harmony is unusually increasing. Its colorful meaning comes to the fore. In the works of the Impressionists, color is very important. The brilliance of the sound is achieved by using new, unusual chords of the tertian and non-tertian structures, in the combination of which the lead-tone gravity is overcome. Complex, unstable harmonies are characteristic: increased triads, decreased seventh chords, non-chords. They expand the vertical to twelve sounds, surround the tertiary structure with side tones, use the parallel movement of chords. For example, in Debussy's play The Sunken Cathedral.

Frets play an important role in creating a special colorful sound. Debussy and Ravel often turn to old folk modes: Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, pentatonic. For example, in the play "Pagodas" - pentatonic scale. They use a fret with two extended seconds - “Gate of the Alhambra”, unusual combinations of major and minor - “Snow is dancing”. In addition to major and minor modes, they turn to the whole-tone mode - “Sails”, to the chromatic one - “Alternating thirds”. Such a variety of the modal palette of the Impressionist musicians is similar to the huge enrichment of the color palette of the Impressionist artists.

For the music of Debussy and Ravel, it becomes characteristic: an unexpected change of distant keys, a comparison of tonics of different keys, the use of unresolved dissonant harmonies. All this leads to a blurring of the feeling of tonality, modal foundations, to obscuration of the tonic. Hence the tonal uncertainty, instability. Such a “balancing” between distant tonalities, without a clear preference for one of them, is reminiscent of the subtle play of chiaroscuro on the canvases of impressionist artists. And the juxtaposition of several tonic triads or their inversions in distant keys produces an impression similar to small strokes of “pure” paints located side by side on the canvas and forming unexpected new color combinations. For example: nocturne "Clouds". In this play, Debussy gives the following literary preface: “Clouds are a motionless image of the sky with gray clouds slowly and melancholy passing and melting; receding, they go out, gently shaded by white light. The play recreates a picturesque image of the bottomless depth of the sky with its difficult to define color, in which various shades are whimsically mixed. The same progressive, as if swaying, sequence of fifths and thirds creates a feeling of something frozen, changing shades only occasionally. Sounds play Debussy "Clouds".

Against the background of music: ... This musical picture can be compared with the landscapes of Claude Monet, infinitely rich in terms of the range of colors, the abundance of penumbra, concealing the transitions from one color to another. The unity of the pictorial style in the transfer of many paintings of the sea, sky, rivers is often achieved by him by the indivisibility of the distant and close plans in the picture. About one of the best paintings by Monet - “Sailboat in Argenteuil” - the famous Italian art critic Lionello Venturi writes: “Purple and yellow tones are woven into both the blueness of the water and the blueness of the sky, the different tonality of which makes it possible to distinguish between these elements, and the mirror surface of the river becomes, as it were, the foundation of the firmament of heaven. You feel the continuous movement of the air.

Together with the harmonic language, orchestration plays the main expressive role in the works of the Impressionists. Debussy's orchestral style is distinguished by a particularly striking originality. Debussy had an amazing gift to hear the inner voice of the instrument, its sounding soul. Destroying stereotypes and habitual ideas, Debussy discovered a beautiful and hitherto unheard of sound that seems completely natural to everyone. This ability allowed the composer to understand and reveal the essence of the instrument. She helped to hear in the sound of the alto flute the sad sound of a horn lost in the foliage, in the sound of the horn - the melancholy of a human voice drowned out by the murmur of water, and in the harmonics of the strings - raindrops flowing from wet leaves. Debussy significantly expands the coloristic possibilities of the orchestra. The composer rarely introduces new instruments into the orchestra, but uses many new techniques in sounding both individual instruments and groups of the orchestra. In Debussy, “pure” timbres predominate, the orchestra groups (string, woodwind, brass) rarely mix, but the colorful and coloristic function of each group and individual solo instruments increases. The string group loses its dominating importance, and the woodwinds occupy a central place due to the bright characteristic of the timbres. The role of the harp has increased, its sound brings transparency, a feeling of air. Debussy uses unusual registers of instruments, a variety of playing techniques. Debussy uses the human voice as a new timbre paint. For example, in the play "Sirens" from the "Nocturnes" suite, the main thing for the composer is not to depict the singing of the sirens, but to convey the play of light on the sea waves, the diverse rhythm of the sea. Debussy's play Sirens.

The art of Debussy and Ravel, like the canvases of impressionist artists, sings of the world of natural human experiences, conveys a joyful feeling of life, reveals to the listeners a wonderful poetic world of nature, painted with subtle, original sound colors.

Since antiquity, the world aesthetics was dominated by the theory of imitation in art, the Impressionists approved a new concept, according to which the artist should embody on his canvases not the objective world around him, but his subjective impression of this world. Many trends in the art of the subsequent, 20th century, appeared thanks to the new methods of impressionism.

There is a mini quiz at the end of the lesson. In the first stage, it is proposed to choose: from three piano, and then from three symphonic musical fragments, works belonging to impressionist composers. In the second - from the proposed cards with fragments of artistic analysis of paintings, you need to choose those that belong to impressionist artists.

1. The charm of the young model seems to be most expressive against the backdrop of clear greenish distances of the landscape and the gentle blue sky. This endless landscape seems fabulous, evoking a feeling of the immensity of the world.
2. A sense of scale, a sense of immensity and scope of what is happening. The allegorical figure is the semantic center of the picture: a classical antique profile, a powerful sculptural torso. The idea of ​​freedom seems to be visibly embodied in a beautiful woman.
3. With small strokes of paint, the artist recreates on the canvas the game of the midday sun, which gives rise to many color shades. Bright flowers tremble in the light, long shadows fluctuate. The lady's white dress is written in a blue tone - the color of the shadow that fell on him from a yellow umbrella. A short moment of the life of a blooming garden lives on this canvas.
4. A pink ball without rays emerges from the cloud, coloring the sky and the bay, reflecting in a fluttering path on the surface of the water. Wet fog softens the silhouettes of objects. Around everything is unsteady, the boundaries between the sky and the river are barely perceptible. Another minute - the morning fog will dissipate, and everything will take on a different look.
5. The musical variation of the shining colored spots of the face, hairstyle, dress, background, played by the artist in this exquisite canvas, repeated in an unfolded fan, adds up to the image of a dreamy and tender girl, like a beautiful flower.
6. The space of the landscape, in which a slight asymmetry is emphasized, is formed by tree lines, contours of figures and color spots of white, green, blue, trembling shadows on the ground. Blinding sunlight deprives the figures of volume, which turn into silhouettes. The freedom of the stroke, the dazzling freshness of the palette, the illusion of light, the tranquility of the mood become the main features of the new painting style. The picture, endowed with the unique charm of the atmosphere, seems unusually decorative and major.
7. Cut off by the frame, in a slight diagonal shift, it appears as a mysterious phantom of the past. The midday sun ignites the plane of the facade with a light golden flame, but the glow also comes, as it were, from inside the stone.

1. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, portrait of Mademoiselle Riviere, 1805, Paris, Louvre.
2. E. Delacroix, "Freedom leads the people", 1831, Paris, Louvre.
3. C. Monet, Lady in the Garden, 1867, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage.
4. C. Monet, “Impression. Sunrise”, 1873, Paris, Marmotan Museum.
5. O. Renoir, "Girl with a fan", 1881, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage.
6. C. Monet, "Women in the Garden", 1886, Paris, Museum d'Orsay.
7. C. Monet, "Rouen Cathedral at noon", 1892, Moscow, GIII im. A.S. Pushkin.

(French impressionnisme, from impression - impression) - an artistic movement that arose in the 70s. XIX century in French painting, and then manifested in music, literature, theater. Outstanding impressionist painters (C. Monet, C. Pizarro, A. Sisley, E. Degas, O. Renoir, and others) enriched the technique of depicting wildlife in all its sensual charm. The essence of their art is in the subtlest fixation of fleeting impressions, in a special manner of reproducing the light environment with the help of a complex mosaic of pure colors, cursory decorative strokes. Musical impressionism arose in the late 80s and early 90s. He found his classical expression in the work of C. Debussy.

The application of the term "impressionism" to music is largely arbitrary: musical impressionism is not quite analogous to the eponymous movement in painting. The main thing in the music of impressionist composers is the transmission of moods that acquire the meaning of symbols, the fixation of subtle psychological states caused by the contemplation of the outside world. This brings musical impressionism closer to the art of symbolist poets, which is characterized by the cult of the "inexpressible". The term "impressionism", used by music critics of the late 19th century. in a condemning or ironic sense, later became a generally accepted definition, covering a wide range of musical phenomena at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. both in France and in other European countries.

The impressionistic features of the music of C. Debussy, M. Ravel, P. Duke, F. Schmitt, J. Roger-Ducas and other French composers are manifested in the attraction to the poetically inspired landscape ("Afternoon of a Faun", "Nocturnes", "Sea" Debussy, "The Play of Water", "Reflections", "Daphnis and Chloe" by Ravel, etc.). Proximity to nature, subtle sensations arising from the perception of the beauty of the sea, sky, forest, are capable, according to Debussy, to excite the composer's imagination, to bring to life new sound techniques, free from academic conventions. Another area of ​​musical impressionism is refined fantasy, generated by ancient mythology or medieval legends, the exotic world of the peoples of the East. The novelty of artistic means was often combined by impressionist composers with the implementation of exquisite images of ancient art (rococo style painting, music by French harpsichordists).

Musical impressionism inherited some of the features inherent in late romanticism and national schools of the 19th century: an interest in the poeticization of antiquity and distant lands, in timbre and harmonic brilliance, and the resurrection of archaic modal systems. The poetic miniaturism of F. Chopin and R. Schumann, the sound painting of the late F. Liszt, the coloristic discoveries of E. Grieg, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the freedom of voice and spontaneous improvisation of M. P. Mussorgsky found an original continuation in the work of Debussy and Ravel. Talentedly summarizing the achievements of their predecessors, these French masters at the same time sharply rebelled against the academicization of romantic traditions; pathetic exaggerations and sound oversaturation of the musical dramas of R. Wagner, they opposed the art of restrained emotions and transparent stingy texture. This was also reflected in the desire to revive the specifically French tradition of clarity, economy of expressive means, opposing them to the heaviness and thoughtfulness of German romanticism.

In many samples of musical impressionism, an enthusiastic hedonistic attitude to life emerges, which makes them related to the painting of the Impressionists. Art for them is a sphere of pleasure, admiring the beauty of color, the sparkle of light, serene tones. At the same time, sharp conflicts and deep social contradictions are avoided.

In contrast to the clear relief and purely material palette of Wagner and his followers, the music of the Impressionists is often characterized by subtlety, tenderness, and a fluent changeability of sound images. "Listening to impressionist composers, you mostly revolve in a circle of vague iridescent sounds, tender and fragile to the point that the music is about to suddenly dematerialize ... only in your soul for a long time leaving echoes and reflections of intoxicating ethereal visions" (V. G. Karatygin).

The aesthetics of impressionism influenced all the main genres of music: instead of developed multi-part symphonies, symphonic sketches began to be cultivated, combining the watercolor softness of sound painting with the symbolist mystery of moods; in piano music - equally compressed program miniatures based on a special technique of sound "resonance" and picturesque landscape; the romantic song was replaced by a vocal miniature with a predominance of restrained recitation, combined with the colorful imagery of the instrumental background. In the opera house, impressionism led to the creation of musical dramas of semi-legendary content, marked by an enchanting delicacy of the sound atmosphere, avarice and naturalness of vocal recitation. With some deepening of psychological expressiveness, the statics of dramaturgy (Pelleas and Mélisande by Debussy) affected them.

The work of impressionist composers has greatly enriched the palette of musical and expressive means. This applies primarily to the sphere of harmony with its technique of parallelisms and whimsical stringing of unresolved colorful harmonies-spots. The Impressionists significantly expanded the modern tonal system, paving the way for many harmonic innovations of the 20th century. (although they noticeably weakened the clarity of functional connections). The complication and swelling of chord complexes (nonchords, undecimaccords, altered and fourth harmonies) are combined with simplification, archaization of modal thinking (natural modes, pentatonic, whole-tone complexes). The orchestration of impressionist composers is dominated by pure colors, whimsical highlights; woodwind solos, harp passages, complex string divisi, and con sordino effects are often used. Typical and purely decorative, evenly flowing ostinato backgrounds. Rhythm is sometimes unsteady and elusive. The melody is characterized not by rounded constructions, but by short expressions. phrases-symbols, layers of motives. At the same time, in the music of the Impressionists, the significance of each sound, timbre, and chord was extraordinarily enhanced, and unlimited possibilities for expanding the mode were revealed. A special freshness to the music of the Impressionists was given by the frequent appeal to song and dance genres, the subtle implementation of modal, rhythmic elements borrowed from the folklore of the peoples of the East, Spain, and in the early forms of Negro jazz.

At the beginning of the 20th century musical impressionism spread beyond the borders of France, acquiring specific national features among various peoples. In Spain, M. de Falla, in Italy, O. Respighi, the young A. Casella and J. F. Malipiero originally developed the creative ideas of the French Impressionist composers. English musical impressionism is peculiar with its "northern" landscape (F. Dilius) or spicy exoticism (S. Scott). In Poland, musical impressionism was represented by K. Szymanowski (until 1920) with his ultra-refined images of antiquity and Dr. East. The influence of French impressionism was experienced at the beginning of the 20th century. and some Russian composers (N. N. Cherepnin, V. I. Rebikov, S. N. Vasilenko in the early years of his work). In A. N. Scriabin, the independently formed features of impressionism were combined with fiery ecstasy and stormy strong-willed impulses. The fusion of the traditions of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s music with the original effects of French impressionism are noticeable in the early scores of I. F. Stravinsky (“The Firebird”, “Petrushka”, the opera “The Nightingale”). At the same time, Stravinsky and S. S. Prokofiev, along with B. Bartok, turned out to be the initiators of a new, "anti-impressionist" direction in European music on the eve of World War I.

I. V. Nestiev

French musical impressionism

The work of the two largest French composers Debussy and Ravel is the most significant phenomenon in French music at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a bright flash of deeply humane and poetic art in one of the most complex and controversial periods in the development of French culture.

The artistic life of France in the last quarter of the 19th century was remarkable for its striking diversity and contrasts. On the one hand, the appearance of the ingenious "Carmen" - the pinnacle of realism in French opera, a whole series of profound in design, artistically significant symphonic and chamber works by Franck, Saint-Saens, Fauré and Debussy; on the other hand, the established dominance in the musical life of the French capital of such institutions as the Paris Conservatory, the Academy of Fine Arts with their cult of dead "academic" traditions.

No less striking contrast is the spread in the widest strata of French society of such democratic forms of musical life as mass singing societies, the socially sharp in spirit of the activity of the Parisian chansonniers, and along with this - the emergence of an extremely subjective trend in French art - symbolism, which met primarily the interests of the aesthetic elite of bourgeois society with their slogan "art for the elite."

In such a difficult environment, one of the most interesting, vibrant trends in French art of the second half of the 19th century was born - impressionism, which arose first in painting, then in poetry and music.

In the visual arts, this new direction brought together artists of a very peculiar and individual talent - E. Manet, C. Monet, O. Renoir, E. Degas, C. Pissarro and others. It would be wrong to attribute unconditionally all the listed artists to impressionism, because each of them had his own favorite subject area, an original manner of writing. But at first they were united by hatred for the official "academic" art, alien to the life of modern France, devoid of real humanity and direct perception of the environment.

The “Academists” were distinguished by their exceptional predilection for the aesthetic norms of ancient art, for mythological and biblical subjects, while the themes and figurative sphere of creativity of such artists of the previous era as Camille Corot and especially Gustave Courbet turned out to be much more close to the Impressionists.

The main thing that the Impressionists inherited from these artists was that they left the workshops in the open air and began to write directly from nature. This opened up new ways for them to comprehend and display the world around them. K. Pissarro said: "You can not think about how to write a really serious picture without nature." The most characteristic feature of their creative method was the transfer of the most direct impressions from a particular phenomenon. This gave rise to some critics either to classify them as naturalism, then fashionable with its superficial "photographic" perception of the world, or to accuse them of replacing the display of real phenomena of reality with their purely subjective sensations. If the reproach of subjectivism had grounds for a number of artists, then the accusation of naturalism was not well founded, because most of them (Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh) have a number of paintings, although they seem to be instant sketches, as if snatched out " from life", actually appeared as a result of a long search and selection of a characteristic, typical and deep generalization of life observations.

Most Impressionists have always emphasized the importance of choosing a particular subject for their paintings. The eldest of them, Edouard Manet, said: “Color is a matter of taste and sensitivity. But you need to have something to say. Otherwise - goodbye! .. You also need to be excited about the topic.

The main theme of their work was France - its nature, life and people: fishing villages and noisy Parisian streets, the bridge in Moret and the famous cathedral in Rouen, peasants and ballerinas, laundresses and fishermen.

A real revelation in the canvases of impressionist artists was the landscape. Their innovative aspirations are revealed here in all their diversity and richness of shades and nuances. On the canvases of the Impressionists, genuine living colors of nature appeared, a feeling of air transparency, the subtlest play of chiaroscuro, etc.

New subjects, a constant huge interest in nature demanded from the Impressionists a special pictorial language, the discovery of stylistic patterns of painting based on the unity of form and color. They managed to establish that the color in the picture can be formed not necessarily by mixing colors in the palette, but as a result of a number of “pure” tones that form a more natural optical mixture; that shadows are not only the result of low illumination of the subject, but can themselves give rise to a new color; that color, like a line, can “blind” an object, give it a clear, defined shape, etc.

The novelty of the subject and especially the method of the Impressionist artists caused a sharply negative attitude from the official artistic circles in Paris. The official press called the first exhibition of the Impressionists "an attempt on good artistic morals", on respect for the masters of classical French art.

In an environment of ongoing struggle between traditional and new trends in painting and poetry, musical impressionism took shape. It also arose as a direct opposition to the outdated, but tenaciously held "academic" traditions in the musical art of France at the end of the last century. The first and most prominent representative of this trend was Claude Debussy. Maurice Ravel became a composer who in many respects continued the creative aspirations of Debussy, but at the same time found his original original path of development. Their first creative experiments met with the same hostile attitude from the leadership of official institutions - the Paris Conservatory, the Academy of Fine Arts, as well as the paintings of the Impressionist artists. They had to make their way in art alone, because they had almost no like-minded people and associates. The entire life and creative path of Debussy and Ravel is a path of painful searches and happy discoveries of new themes and plots, bold experiments in the field of musical genres and means of the musical language.

With the common origins of their work, the artistic environment, both artists are deeply individual in their creative image. This was manifested in the choice of certain themes and plots by each of them, and in their attitude to national folklore, and in the nature of the evolution of the creative path of each, and in many important features of style.

Musical impressionism (as well as painting) grew up on the basis of the national traditions of French art. This manifested itself in Debussy and Ravel in strong, although not always outwardly visible ties with French folk art (where the most vivid example for them could be the deeply national in nature work of Wiese), in close contact with contemporary literature and painting (which was always typical of French music of various historical periods), in an exceptional role in their work of program instrumental music, in a special interest in ancient culture. But the closest phenomena that directly prepared musical impressionism are still modern French poetry (where at that time the figure of the poet Paul Verlaine, who was close in spirit to the impressionists, came to the fore) and, especially, pictorial impressionism. If the influence of poetry (mainly symbolist) is found mainly in the early works of Debussy and Ravel, then the influence of pictorial impressionism on the work of Debussy (and to a lesser extent on Ravel) turned out to be wider and more fruitful.

In the work of impressionist artists and composers, a related theme is found: colorful genre scenes, portrait sketches, but the landscape occupies an exceptional place.

There are common features in the artistic method of pictorial and musical impressionism - the desire to convey the first direct impression of the phenomenon. Hence the attraction of the Impressionists not to monumental, but to miniature forms (in painting - not to a fresco or a large composition, but to a portrait, sketch; in music - not to a symphony, oratorio, but to a romance, piano or orchestral miniature with a free improvisational manner presentation) (This is more characteristic of Debussy than of Ravel. In his mature work, Ravel shows a special interest in large instrumental forms - sonata, concerto, as well as opera and ballet.).

Most of all, pictorial impressionism influenced music in the field of means of expression. Just as in painting, the search for Debussy and Ravel was aimed at expanding the range of expressive means necessary to embody new images, and, first of all, at the maximum enrichment of the colorful and coloristic side of music. These searches touched on mode and harmony, melody and metro-rhythm, texture and instrumentation. The value of melody as the main expressive element of music is weakened; at the same time, the role of the harmonic language and the orchestral style is unusually increasing, due to their capabilities, they are more inclined to convey pictorial-figurative and coloristic principles.

The new expressive means of the Impressionist composers, for all their originality and specificity, have some analogies with the pictorial language of the Impressionist artists. The frequent appeal of Debussy and Ravel to the old folk modes (pentatonic, Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian and others), as well as the whole-tone scale in combination with natural major and minor, is similar to the huge enrichment of the color palette of impressionist artists; prolonged “balancing” between two distant tonalities without a clear preference for one of them is somewhat reminiscent of the subtle play of chiaroscuro on the canvas; the juxtaposition of several tonic triads or their inversions in distant keys produces an impression similar to small strokes of “pure” paints located side by side on the canvas and forming an unexpectedly new color combination, etc.

The work of Debussy and Ravel (as well as the Impressionist artists) was also affected by a certain limitation of the Impressionist aesthetics. It found expression in the narrowing of the range of topics, the artistic and figurative sphere of their work (especially in comparison with their great predecessor Berlioz, the music of the French Revolution), in indifference to the heroic-historical and social theme. On the contrary, a clear preference is given to a musical landscape, a genre scene, a characteristic portrait, less often a myth or a fairy tale. But at the same time, Debussy and especially Ravel, in a number of major works, overcome the limitations of impressionist aesthetics and create such psychologically profound works as the Second Piano Concerto and The Tomb of Couperin (Ravel), grandiose in terms of the scale of symphonic development, Waltz and Bolero ( Ravel), bright colorful pictures of folk life, like "Iberia" and "Celebrations" (Debussy), "Spanish Rhapsody" (Ravel).

In contrast to the numerous trends in modernist art that flourished at the beginning of the 20th century (expressionism, constructivism, urbanism, and others), the work of the two French artists is distinguished by the complete absence of painful refinement, savoring the terrible and ugly, the substitution of emotional perception of the surrounding by the “design” of music. The art of Debussy and Ravel, like the canvases of the Impressionists, sings of the world of natural human experiences, sometimes deeply dramatic, but more often conveys a joyful feeling of life. It's really optimistic.

Most of their works, as it were, reopen before the listeners the beautiful poetic world of nature, painted with subtle, charming and captivating colors of a rich and original sound palette.

The historical significance of the legacy of Debussy and Ravel was aptly and accurately defined by Romain Rolland, saying: "I have always looked at Ravel as the greatest artist of French music, along with Rameau and Debussy, one of the greatest musicians of all time."

B. Ionin

The artistic movement of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, based on the desire to convey fleeting impressions, subjective feelings and moods of the artist. Initially originated in French painting, then spread to other arts and countries. In choreography, the desire to fix the moment, characteristic of impressionism, relied on improvisation and opposed the creation of a complete art form. In a ballet theater based on complex dance techniques and developed dance forms, consistent impressionism would mean its self-destruction, and therefore it did not gain significant popularity. Impressionism manifested itself mainly in the so-called. free dance. A. Duncan defended the idea of ​​"liberation of the body" and the intuitive interpretation of music, without any. dance standards. Impressionism in dance also spread in Germany. M. M. Fokin tried to bring impressionism closer to the ballet scene. Recreating scenes from various eras in performances ("Pavilion of Armida", "Chopiniana", both - 1907; "Egyptian Nights", 1908, etc.), Fokine resorted to stylization. Later, in his works, the structure of the dance became more and more blurred. Completed forms (pas de deux, adagio, variation, etc.) were rejected and even parodied (for example, in the Bluebeard ballet). At the same time, the features of impressionism in Fokine's work are only one of its facets.

In the future, the big performance is increasingly replaced by a miniature. However, in pursuit of the fidelity of the transfer of an instant impression, the subject matter was shredded, and the script dramaturgy was neglected. Impressionism quickly exhausted its possibilities.

Ballet. Encyclopedia, SE, 1981

Impressionism is still a little studied phenomenon in the history of the artistic life of Russia. Meanwhile, it was one of the most distinctive trends in Russian art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was closely associated with a number of cultural and historical processes of that time. In most domestic musicological works, although impressionism is not considered as a trend that had a significant impact on the development of Russian music, nevertheless, the embodiment of “impressionist colors” in individual works by Russian composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is noted. They can be seen in the late works of N. Rimsky-Korsakov and A. Lyadov, the works of I. Stravinsky, Nikolai Cherepnin, S. Vasilenko, some works by S. Prokofiev, S. Rakhmaninov, A. Skryabin, N. Myaskovsky and others.

The culture of Russia at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries is inscribed in history as one of the most controversial and, at the same time, its most beautiful pages. Saturation with events, a variety of artistic trends predetermined the ambiguous nature of many art phenomena of this period. Despite the deep socio-economic and political crisis phenomena (revolution of 1905, Russian-Japanese and World War I), art experienced a new flourishing. Impressionism was among the various artistic trends. A powerful stimulus for its appearance in Russia was the development of Russian-French cultural ties: in 1891, a Russian-French military-political alliance was concluded, followed by the popularization of Russian art in France (concerts of Russian music, entreprises by S. P. Diaghilev, etc.) , and French - in Russia (exhibitions of French impressionist artists, entreprises of S. A. Koussevitzky and A. I. Siloti, where works by C. Debussy, M. Ravel, etc. were performed). The formation of impressionism in Russia is associated with processes aimed at updating traditions. If in France they were expressed in the opposition of progressive artists to the art of the Salon, then in Russia - in an effort to revise the ideas of the Wanderers due to the appearance of a significant number of their epigones (Lyadov, S.K. Makovsky, D.S. Merezhkovsky and others wrote about this) . Scientific and technological progress also contributed to the discovery of new possibilities in art (the invention of photography by L. Dager, the discovery of the theory of mixing colors and the perception of color by the human eye by M. Chevreul, the research of O. Rud and G. von Helmholtz in the field of optics, etc.). At the same time, scientific and technological progress also had a downside, expressed in the crisis of positivist ideals: the discoveries that appeared were accompanied by a revision of established ideas about the world around. The public consciousness did not have time to comprehend such a powerful breakthrough: the very role of science was called into question. The artistic environment of those years (not only in Russia) was dominated by disappointment in the ability of man to influence nature. Appeared "calls" for the harmonious existence of man in nature. These ideas turned out to be close to impressionism.

Since the 1870s, artists (I. N. Kramskoy, I. E. Repin, and others) have been discussing ways to implement French impressionism by the Russian school. The traditions of Russian impressionism in the visual arts were laid at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (mainly due to the teaching of K. A. Korovin, I. I. Levitan, V. D. Polenov, V. A. Serov and others. ). Teachers, graduates and students of this educational institution formed the basis of the "Union of Russian Artists" (1903-1923) - an association of landscape painters whose work opened the "stage of Russian impressionism." Documentary primary sources, including memoirs, letters of artists, composers of that time, make it possible to designate the "Russian version of impressionism" as an aesthetic concept. In the "mirror of letters" of figures of Russian art, those historical and cultural processes, which became the basis for the emerging aesthetics of impressionism. Let's designate them: this is the desire to "close" from the surrounding world in creativity, replacing the actual reality with the idealized or unreal world of the work; the desire to renew traditions, to “breathe new life” into the decadent aspects of artistic life; the impact of thinking about significance; scientific and technological progress for art. It is also obvious that the most important reason for the strengthening of impressionism in Russia was the mutual cultural exchange with France, which flourished at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

were ambiguous views of Russian composers on impressionism- from enthusiastic to wary, and sometimes sharply critical attitude towards him. Representatives of the older generation, recognizing the importance of the means of expression cultivated in impressionism, emphasized the “poor thoughts” of its aesthetics ( S.Taneev). The negative perception of modern trends, including impressionism, was inherent in C. A. Cui(a parody of Debussy's "Afternoon of a Faun" called "Reverie d" un Faune, apres la lecture de son journal", a musical joke "Hymn to Futurism", dedicated to "countless modern supergeniuses", and also "A brief instruction on how not being a musician, to become a brilliant modern composer"). Unlike the older generation, young authors ( Cherepnin, Stravinsky, Vasilenko, Prokofiev and others) found the manifestation of impressionistic tendencies as a natural stage in the development of musical art. So, Vasilenko considered his symphonic poems The Garden of Death and The Flight of the Witches, the suites In the Sunbeams and Night Complaints to be impressionistic. The only composer who not only did not hide his interest in impressionism, but also recognized himself as an impressionist, was V. I. Rebikov. At the end of November 1901, in a letter to V. Ya. Bryusov, he wrote: “For some reason they call me a “decadent”. I'm an impressionist." The older generation sought to preserve the inviolability of established canons (“the social purpose of art”), while the younger generation questioned the very idea of ​​the influence of art on social processes like a “moral law” (“art for art’s sake”). Like many representatives of the Russian artistic intelligentsia, composers mainly accepted linguistic (technical) discoveries. Comprehending the development of Russian art as a whole both in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th, the figures of Russian culture saw in it a single, indivisible process in which the innovations of the 20th century were a continuation of the 19th century.

As a trend, impressionism in Russia developed in St. Petersburg. He aligns with "exotic-romantic" tradition, pronounced in Petersburg Composer School and focused on aestheticism, sophistication and colorfulness. Therefore, the origins of the impressionist beginning “shine through” long before its appearance and are already noticeable in such works as “Night in Madrid” by M. Glinka, “In Central Asia” by A. Borodin, “Pictures from an Exhibition” and “Night on Bald Mountain” M. Mussorgsky, "Spanish Capriccio" and "Scheherazade" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov and many others. They contain properties close to the methods of absolutization of the moment and color. It is no coincidence that picturesqueness, magnificent, luxurious instrumentation, an unusually “delicious” harmonic language are the properties of Russian music that won the hearts of French impressionists. In this line, one sees a "stylistic connection" with impressionism, which anticipated special features of the Russian version of impressionism: aesthetically refined; to spice and even cloying "sweet" and at the same time almost epic contemplative. It can be said that under such conditions, impressionism received the prerequisites for its interpretation not as something elusive and mysterious (as in the French version), but as a very close and dear “creature”, as if the composers, thanks to impressionism, managed to “catch the Firebird” and transfer all its beauty into your music.

The work "Aesthetics of Musical Art" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov deserves special attention. The ideas and provisions set forth in it are not just the composer's author's view of the nature of art. They could turn into an impressionist program in Russia. The composer's thinking is in direct contact with the impressionistic type of artistic vision. The key ideas of his work serve as peculiar intersecting “points”: the sense of beauty is decisive both in life and in art; The world of beauty is perceived only subjectively, through imagination and contemplation; Man and the World are one, that is, Man, his thoughts are inseparable from "nature and life." The composer analyzes the features of the musical language that has been established in Russian music since the time of Glinka. At the same time, the musical means of expression he calls turn out to be close to impressionism (including in connection with the expansion of coloristic, phonic properties that can create the effect of pictorial, colorful sound painting).

Rimsky-Korsakov , despite the fact that the composer retained a deep connection with tradition, he played a leading role in the formation of impressionistic methods of absolutization of the moment and color in Russian music. Their crystallization can be seen in individual scenes from the operas The Snow Maiden, Sadko, Kashchei the Immortal, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia. So, if the scenes of the melting of the Snow Maiden and the appeal of the Sea Princess to the river are solved by the composer in the "exotic-romantic" tradition - they are preceded by the story of the heroines about what is happening and are accompanied by a sound-visual device (harp overflows according to the sounds of a reduced triad), then the transformation of Kashcheevna into a weeping willow can be called impressionistic . In this scene, there is a decrease in the role of the word: the heroine only hints at her transformation. However, at the same time, the role of orchestral means with coloristic properties is enhanced (the descending trembling movement of the strings along the sounds of the “Rimsky-Korsakov scale”, emphasized by the tritone moves of the basses, against which the ascending sounds of the reduced seventh chord of the harp with the English horn, and then with oboe). The features of impressionism in Rimsky-Korsakov have deep soil foundations, which is achieved through the use of concentrated musical thematics created in the “folk spirit”. In particular, in the scene of the Snowstorm (“Kashchei the Deathless”), “folklore thematicism” has a singing nature. Imitation techniques are widely used by the composer. In the scene, signs of such genres as magic-incantatory ritual round dance songs, partly trepak, are heard. At the same time, the harmonic solution of the scene is connected with the reliance on tritone revolutions, as well as on the symmetrical “Rimsky-Korsakov mode”, which contributes to the creation of an impressionistic sonority of a winter fantastic landscape. The forerunner of "Kashchei" in the composer's work is the third act of "Mlada" - "Night on Mount Triglav" - a fantastic scene in the kingdom of Chernobog (in the same place, by the way, some foreshadowings of "The Golden Cockerel" are seen). Rimsky-Korsakov often expands his color palette by attracting oriental sounds. The methods of absolutization of the moment and coloristics are manifested, for example, when exposing the musical characteristics of the "eastern" heroes - the Queen of Shemakhan and the Astrologer in the Introduction to the opera "The Golden Cockerel", in scene IV "The Appearance of Queen Cleopatra" from the III act of the opera-ballet "Mlada". In the last example, the first theme of the heroine is especially indicative. It is an improvisational instrumental melody that sounds on the small clarinet, piccolo flute and sometimes glissando of the strings against the background of the measured “swaying” of the strings. The composer uses a variety of harmonic colors (major-minor variability, passages based on the sounds of the Lydian mode, exquisite chromaticisms, diminished harmonies). This creates a languid, ghostly-fantastic impressionistic atmosphere.
N. Rimsky-Korsakov, while teaching in St. Petersburg, could not but influence his colleagues and students. However, in the works of the latter, impressionism was "refracted" through the prism of the author's styles, giving examples of his individual decisions.

fabulous picture "Magic Lake" (1909) A. K. Lyadov became the most striking embodiment of the specifics of Russian musical impressionism, created in line with the nature-centric worldview. In particular, both Lyadov's statements about the history of the creation of The Magic Lake and the music itself testify to the composer's desire not only to depict the landscape, but also to convey the impressions of it. All the musical-thematic elements of "Magic Lake" grow from the vibrating background. The fifth, third and second declared in the introduction become the most important intonation grains. From them, micromotives are born (“nature”, “stars”, “splashes of water”, etc.) and motives (“dead nature”, “dawn”, etc.). Their variant changes and combinations form a kind of unfolded relief, disappearing into the background sonority. The intonational unity of the miniature, with the constant modification of thematic elements, contributes to the creation of a picture of a static landscape in the play, which is constantly changing. Magic Lake themed elements have their own paint. However, sometimes, in accordance with the composer's creative intent, they acquire different shades (for example, due to variant change or timbre transformation). So, the micromotive of "stars" passes at the celesta and flute, then at the celesta and harp; the theme “on the branches” is heard by the oboe, and later transferred to the flute. Together with a group of woodwind strings, they contribute to the creation of various colorful paintings within the miniature: the transformation of a magical lake, its mysterious life. Celesta and harp enhance the fabulous imagery. The composer also attaches great importance to the pedal, which gives the musical landscape a special depth. In the "Magic Lake" three stages of the transformation of the landscape are distinguished: from late evening to night and predawn. Each of his next paint appears under the influence of a new impression observed by the composer. Lyadov's work is similar to Debussy's "Sea", where the landscape is also shown in a different state. However, the French composer embodies in the seascape the impressions of a person observing nature from the side. Nature, in turn, awakens in his soul moods close to this landscape. Here unity is formed only between Man and his vision of the World. The nature of the “Magic Lake” is perceived as a living organism that has its own soul, which Lyadov seeks to reveal to the listeners by “dissolving” the Man (and himself, and each listener) in the contemplated World. It is in this that the important difference between the nature-centric worldview and the human-centric one is rooted. Absolutizing the moments of all transformations, the composer epicly embodies the impressionist theme of nature, telling about the secrets of her life. The fairy-tale picture is likened to a sketch of a theatrical scenery: the beauty of the landscape of a mysterious lake, lost in the wilderness of the forest, “captured” and transferred to the musical “canvas”, against which the action can begin. The composer conveys to the listener a sketch of his own fantasies, forcing the listener to fantasize, thereby realizing the theme of a dream. At the same time, Lyadov is childishly surprised by this World, he does not get tired of rejoicing at him and admiring him. He is likened to a cameraman, trying to capture every frame of the transformation of the landscape, or a magician, wanting to breathe life into this landscape and “dissolve” in it.

Fantasy "Fireworks" (1908) I.F. Stravinsky - one of the remarkable milestones of Russian impressionism. The associativity of this play is so great that not only the feeling of an enthusiastic state is conveyed to the listener. He, as it were, becomes an accomplice to the whole “action”, building in his mind a whole series of “pictures” associated with various types of fireworks. All kinds of fireworks-turntables, fountains, cascades, rockets, balls, the effects of explosions, claps are “heard” in a variety of performance techniques, timbre colors, sound extraction methods. Among them are colorful roll calls, pizzicato, jete, divisi techniques for strings, closed sounds for horns, playing cymbals with timpani sticks. Of great importance is the use of sparkling timbres: bells, triangle, harp, cymbals, celesta in a high register (such sound representation is close to the colors of the symphonic poem "The Fountains of Rome" by O. Respighi). The vivid associativity of Stravinsky's Fantasy is achieved by dynamic, tempo, harmonic means. Fascinating with reduced harmonies (the main constructive element of Fireworks), the whimsicalness of the “breaks” of themes in an extended tonality, the “twisting” of chromatic passages, the composer creates an amazing coloristic action. Its fluidity makes the three sections of the play seem blurry. Even contrasting tempo and textural changes are not capable of distinguishing between them in the listener's perception. Colorful "blotches-strokes" of "Fireworks", fluidity, whimsicality, unpredictability of emerging images-associations create an impressionistic picture of a fireworks festival. At the same time, Stravinsky, unlike Lyadov, does not seek to "dissolve" in the colorful cascades of fire action. Rather, he is characterized by the unity between the World and the vision of the World. In the center of the composer's attention is the rejoicing Man - himself, either the hero of the crowd, silently present in his play, or the listener, admiring, admiring and enjoying the performance. The impressionism of I. Stravinsky, to a greater extent, is characterized by Western thinking. Vivid confirmation of this is his opera The Nightingale, the ballet The Firebird. In the colorful images of the ballet "The Firebird" the opposing lines of people (folklore) and fairy-tale creatures (impressionist) do not combine. And although the second line is solved by the composer in the spirit of Rimsky-Korsakov's traditions, and the first line is not devoid of brilliance, they do not merge with each other, and the person does not "dissolve" in the enchanted landscapes of Kashcheev's kingdom. Perhaps this is the root of the reason for Igor Fedorovich's openness to the most diverse trends of the time: throughout his life, in his work, he appears as a Russian Man who shares with us his impressions, including the impressions of the latest compositional techniques.

In many works Nikolay Tcherepnin of the Russian period, a harmonious combination of the “exotic-romantic” tradition with the influence of the French Impressionists can be traced (a sketch for orchestra for the fairy tale about the Firebird “The Enchanted Kingdom”, “Fairy Tales”, six musical illustrations for the fairy tale “About the Fisherman and the Fish” by A. Pushkin, ballet "Narcissus and Echo", pieces from "14 Sketches for the Russian "ABC in Pictures" by Alexandre Benois"). The sketch for orchestra for the fairy tale about the Firebird "The Enchanted Kingdom" (1910) is in many ways consonant with the "Magic Lake". Like Lyadov, Cherepnin focuses his attention on the moments of evening and night landscapes, on their transformation and state of enchantment, which no one and nothing can interrupt. Absolutizing them, the composer is likened to an artist-decorator, then a cameraman, who brings the overall picture closer or further away, and in other cases - an lighting artist, showing the landscape in different highlights. The "germination" of all thematic elements from a single "grain", immersed in bright timbre and harmonic colors, creates the effect of static movement. Variable mixing and highlighting of the background with the relief demonstrate the amazing impressions of an impressionistic, childishly naive contemplation of the fabulous. The atmosphere of contemplation (drowsiness) is achieved by the composer through the method of coloring. A static musical picture is “painted” with long admiring one color (most often such colors are associated with the use of a whole-tone fret and an increased triad). Timbre means, like no other, contribute to strengthening the phonic side of the composition. Numerous methods of sounding strings (with mutes, divisi, solo, col legno, etc.), wind instruments and such colorful instruments as bells, celesta, xylophone, harp, piano, give an impressionistic “feeling” of sound close to sonorant. It is they who are assigned an important function: to show highlights, light and shadows, play of colors, etc. Tcherepnin's implementation of impressionist methods aimed at realizing the themes of fairy tale, nature and dreams reveals not only a nature-centric worldview, but also a human-centric one. In particular, associativity in miniature, subject to the “dissolution” of Man in the World (as in Lyadov), is not always maintained. An example is the theme of “the tunes of the Firebird”, where one can talk about the dominance of the subjective Self over the World (as in Debussy). The score of the ballet "Narcissus and Echo", written for Diaghilev's "Russian Seasons", belongs to the highest achievements of Cherepnin as a symphonist and to a new type of ballet score, the musical style of which was determined by the pictorial-pictorial principle. There are no more rounded numbers of classical ballet here. Impressionistic plasticity, visual impression, picturesqueness, a kind of statics of a decorative panel came to the fore. In "Fairy Tales", continuing the tradition of "Children's Songs" by Lyadov, Cherepnin introduces his own, new, freely combining elements of folklore and contemporary musical and visual techniques: whimsical harmony, capricious rhythms, sketchy melodies, etc. At the same time wittily and subtly used associations with the works of Debussy. In the musical illustrations for the ABC, Benoit Tcherepnin created a gallery of pictures and images that are entertaining for children's imagination, among which the most striking were images of nature (“Forest”), distant countries (“Egypt”) and fairy tales (“Arap”, “Baba Yaga "). In the play "Arap" the character of Russian fair performances is vividly recreated - Arap dancing to a fake barrel organ, in whose appearance individual elements of the style of Stravinsky's "Petrushka" are guessed. The play "Baba Yaga" is also effective. The fantastic nature of the images - the flight of Baba Yaga on a broomstick and her dashing whistle - are emphasized by the technique of a three-line, as it were, "orchestral" presentation.

Interesting impressionist tendencies, manifested in the work Sergei Prokofiev. So already "Autumn" resurrects the well-known images that arose earlier in "Kashchei the Immortal" by Rimsky-Korsakov, but the gloomy impressionism of the play (coming from Rachmaninov's "Isle of the Dead"), with all its attractive features, is, in fact, little characteristic of Prokofiev. In the music of "The Ugly Duckling" and "Five Poems on the Poems of Anna Akhmatova", some "Fleeting" there is something watercolor, coming from a soft, impressionistic brilliance, in which the composer's growing craving for lyrics was manifested. In the score of the Scythian Suite, Prokofiev put all the mastery of orchestral writing accumulated by that time, which was formed on the basis of Russian classical traditions, but was to some extent enriched by the influences of impressionism (perceived mainly through Stravinsky), in particular, "discord , imposing a picture on the background without much matching them to each other "(V. Karatygin).

Unlike the works of composers of the St. Petersburg school, in the works of Moscow authors, impressionist methods are present along with other, non-impressionist ones, and are subject to the aesthetic concepts of individual author's styles (and to a much greater extent than in the works of their St. Petersburg colleagues). However, to some extent they can also be considered in the sphere of influence of impressionism. Among such examples are some pages of creativity S. Rachmaninov(“The Bright Holiday” from the First Suite for 2 pianos, the vocal-symphonic poem “The Bells”, many romances (Lilac, Ostrovok, etc.), Etudes-paintings), A. Scriabin(Preludes op. 11, "Poem-Nocturne" op. 61, 4th, 5th and 10th sonatas, Prometheus), A. Stanchinsky(some numbers from the Twelve Sketches, Nocturne), some compositions M. Gnesina, G. Catuara.

In writings Rachmaninov Impressionistic features appear only at the level of musical expressiveness, in particular when carrying out the theme of bell chimes, the ostinato repetition of which against the background of two seventh chords (small major and small diminished) reproduces impressionistic colorfulness, close to the chime of bells of different sizes. However, behind the external imitation of bell chimes, there are complex psychological processes of a thinking Man, aimed at gaining some meaning and essence, a Man striving to find answers to the difficult questions of Existence. This is seen as a tradition of M. P. Mussorgsky, who managed to embody, through the chimes of bells in the coronation scene from Boris Godunov, the doubts and feelings of the tsar ascending the throne. The focus of Rachmaninoff is a Man who, under the influence of an audible bell ringing, finds the appropriate emotions in himself, and this is consonant with impressionism in the tradition of a nature-centric worldview. However, such emotions are endowed by the composer with additional meanings, whereby the reverse unity between the World and the vision of the World is not formed. Man, striving to “dissolve” in the World, does not merge with it, but remains an eternally searching wanderer who has dedicated himself to serving a lofty goal. As a result, for Rachmaninoff, the impressionistic method of coloring turns out to be a way of conveying the symbolist concept-idea. Such an interpretation of impressionism (only at the level of means of musical expression) in the compositions composers of the Moscow school is dominant. This is largely due to the traditions of P. I. Tchaikovsky and S. I. Taneyev, in the concepts of whose works intellectuality, a tendency to philosophical understanding, and a deep experience of emotional upheavals predominate. This is also observed in the opuses of their followers: musicians are attracted by subjective images filled with inner psychologism. It is not surprising that the implementation of the "exotic-romantic" tradition in the works of Muscovites occurs only sporadically and is subject to other aesthetic tasks.
Nevertheless, some authors, for example, I. Golubenko in the article “Levitan and Rachmaninov: lyrical “mood landscape” and Russian impressionism”, come to the conclusion that the content of the work of the two masters is endowed with an impressionistic “sound”. Moreover, the “sound” of precisely Russian impressionism, the specificity of which is determined, in her opinion, by the lyricism of their "landscapes of moods", which become not only a fixed moment of the first impression, but also act as “a means of knowing the world around us and a person’s place in it, a means of “dialogue” with nature and that “quiet abode” in which the soul finds peace and rest”

In particular, such an appeal to impressionist means is characteristic of A. N. Scriabin. Gradually convinced of his supreme mission as the creator of the Mystery, the composer resorted to using them solely to emphasize the magical properties of art. Impressionistic sound painting, subject to an ecstatic impulse, was “translated” by him into the perspective of mystical, extraterrestrial, Universal dimensions. The use of impressionistic colorfulness within the framework of other aesthetic “settings” is also characteristic of the works of G. L. Catoire (for example, the romance “Twilight”), some "Tales" by N. K. Medtner, individual plays from the "Twelve Sketches" by A. V. Stanchinsky and others.

At the same time, in some works of representatives of the Moscow school of composers, the influence of the impressionism of Petersburgers is also observed. So, close to the "exotic-romantic" tradition is V. S. Kalinnikov(introduction to the second movement of the First Symphony). Creativity is an exception. Sergei Vasilenko, which also absorbed the traditions and principles of the work of St. Petersburg composers. The embodiment of not only the technical techniques of impressionism, but also its aesthetics can be traced in his symphonic poems The Garden of Death, The Flight of the Witches, and The Chinese Suite. Particularly indicative is his play "Echo of the Golden Lakes" from the VI part of the "Chinese Suite". Despite its closeness to the “Bright Holiday”, the interpretation of the bell ring here does not have a symbolist “subtext”: the concept of the play appears to be similar to the impressionism of the St. Petersburg authors (its nature-centric worldview). Absolutizing the moments of imitation of the sounds of bells and sacred stones, Vasilenko seeks to convey to the listener the very breath of nature: light wind, sunlight, clear water, echoing melodic ringing. This landscape is perceived as a sketch of a theatrical scenery, which the composer “sees” with his unbiased gaze and demonstrates the harmony of Chinese culture, connecting everything with his state of contemplation and daydreaming. Coloristic means are also aimed at this (the use of ringing and soft-sounding timbres; ostinato repetition of figuration according to individual sounds of the pentatonic scale of the harp and piano). A study of individual works by composers of the Moscow school shows that they also possess features of impressionism. The methods of absolutization of the moment and coloristics manifested in them bring a sense of space, a state of contemplation, dreaminess. However, these methods are not always used by composers of the Moscow school to the full extent, since they often set themselves the tasks of a completely non-impressionist aesthetics.

The transitional processes of Russian history (not only at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, but throughout the entire 20th century) predetermined impressionism as a mixed and rapid development in a short time (about ten to fifteen years in total), and its long-suffering subsequent fate (from admiring exaltation to contemptuous denial). It is difficult to imagine how the fate of the current of impressionism would have developed if fatal revolutionary events had not taken place in Russia; if I. Stravinsky (1914), S. Rachmaninov (1917), N. Cherepnin (1921) had not left their homeland; if N. Rimsky-Korsakov and A. Lyadov had lived longer, as well as G. Catoire, V. Rebikov, A. Skryabin, A. Stanchinsky. And yet, friends, students, adherents, followers of these composers remained in Russia. Therefore, it is not surprising that impressionistic methods can be traced in the works of Russian masters and in other aesthetic conditions. Impressionism continues to manifest itself later in the work of a number of composers: these are A. Alexandrov, S. Vasilenko, V. Deshevov, A. Dzegelyonok, L. Knipper, A. Crane, N. Rakov, A. Khachaturyan, S. Feinberg, A. Shenshin, B. Shekhter. Representatives of the "first wave" of the avant-garde in their early period did not pass by the hobbies of impressionism ( A. Mosolov, N. Roslavets and etc.). In their work, the impressionistic principle is present in other aesthetic conditions: as part of the search for new means of expression. The influence of impressionism can be traced in mature works S. Prokofiev a (Scenes from the opera "The Love for Three Oranges", some harmonic and orchestral techniques of "The Fiery Angel", Five melodies for violin and piano, even in such a late composition as the 8th piano sonata). In early symphonies N. Myaskovsky(8th, 12th, etc.) the harmonic devices characteristic of Debussy are noticeable, up to explicit quotations, such as the theme from "Clouds" at the beginning of the 12th symphony. Georgy Sviridov in the works of the 50s-60s ("The Poem in Memory of Sergei Yesenin", "Kursk Songs", etc.), continuing the search for Mussorgsky, Borodin (partly also Debussy and Stravinsky) in the field of natural-mode harmony, free from the traditional functionality of the European major-minor, used a variety of fourth and second harmonies, bi- and poly-functional complexes, which have a purely coloristic meaning. In these Sviridov's compositions, colorful statics and timbre sophistication, the impressionistic beginning, organically merged with the folk.

The specific application of impressionist methods can be observed in the work of composers in the second half of the 20th century - R. Shchedrin, A. Eshpay, R. Ledenev, N. Sidelnikov, E. Denisov. The predominance of the method of absolutization of the moment is evident in R. Shchedrin's concerto for orchestra "Rings". Andrey Eshpay's influences and attachment to the French school of composition partly determined such features of his style as colorfulness, picturesque presentation, refinement of the harmonic language. Impressionist influence is also felt in N. Sidelnikov's Russian Fairy Tales. The predominance of the color method is traced here. For the composer, the desire for colorful sound representation of characteristic “stories”-sketches is closer. A harmonious combination of both impressionistic methods is found in the work of R. Ledenev. Perhaps that is why researchers call his author's style "neo-impressionist". In general, the embodiment of the method of absolutization of the moment can be found in such compositional techniques as spatial music, minimalism. The meditativeness inherent in this method also contributes to its penetration into twelve-tone techniques and aleatorics. The method of coloristics was one of the fundamental ones for the development of sonoristics. As a result, the "life" of impressionism is extended to the present day, which retains its attractiveness for further research.

As terminological apparatus, which characterizes the properties of the aesthetics of this style, one can take figurative, but well-aimed and capacious formulations, “thrown” once by L. Leroy: “impression”, “incompleteness”, “freedom” and “softness”. Impressionism has two methods - "absolutization of the moment" and "coloristics". The first is associated with the semantic level of musical works (theme and imagery), its forms and genres, and is aimed at realizing such aesthetic properties as the desire to convey an impression and the principle of incompleteness. The second with the means of musical expressiveness (thematism, texture, harmony, etc.) and reveals the properties of "freedom" and "softness" of the embodiment. The study of musical impressionism in the works of Russian composers, taking into account worldview and aesthetic positions, allows us to determine some of its features. In the opuses created in the first twenty years of the last century, impressionist methods of absolutization of the moment and color are realized, akin to the pan-European properties of impressionist compositions. In the mind of the listener, an atmosphere of colorful coloring of the impressions of the surrounding world is also created, time stops, barely noticeable vibrations of air, water appear, and each next paint is inspired by the composer with a new impression.

Reconstruction" of impressionism as a type of artistic vision and its comparison with Russian mentality highlights the ideological aspects of this movement in Russia.

Aesthetics of Impressionism is based on a trend aimed at expressing the ideal position of a person in the world. In accordance with this, the creative process is also taking shape: while working on a work, the composer prefers to embody the optimistic impressions of the surrounding world. In the concepts of impressionist works, such impressions are determined by a number of aesthetic provisions: the unity of the World and the vision of the World; a feeling of joy of a Man in relation to the World; immediacy (childhood) perception of the World; the beauty of the world . The interpretation of these provisions in different national schools is different. Thus, for the Western European, in particular, the French tradition, it is predetermined by the pronounced dominance of the subjective Self over the World, the human-centric worldview. In the Russian tradition, the interaction between Man and the World is most often accompanied by the “dissolution” of the subjective Self in the World and is defined as nature-centric worldview. This turns out to be consonant with such properties characteristic of the mentality of a Russian person as a special feeling of the space-expansions of the Russian Earth, the ability to almost pagan, but at the same time idealized, poetically perceive and spiritualize the world around. At the same time, there were processes of "cultural exchange" between Russia and France. This allowed us to conclude that Russian culture, regardless of French influence, could independently develop an aesthetic concept close to impressionism.
Analyzing the impressionistic works of Russian and French composers, one can identify them similarities. This is the lack of a consistent plot narrative and pronounced contrast; preference for picturesqueness (often with sketchy features) in genre interpretations; the desire to "obscure" the boundaries of the form, its personnel. At the level of the method of coloring, this is the use, along with concentrated, dispersed thematics; relief and background equalization; manifestation of interest in colorful harmonies (increased, reduced), frets with a special color (whole-tone, symmetrical, pentatonic), timbres that bring a fabulous atmosphere (bells, celesta, harp, etc.) and contribute to associativity, and sometimes sound representation.

However, they emphasize national features of impressionism. In particular, in the Russian composing school they are formed within its “exotic-romantic” tradition, saturated with a special color: intonation environment of Russian song folklore, features of epic and orientalism. In the implementation of the instant absolutization method, one can trace the predominance of the following themes: fabulousness or mythology, dreams, holidays, nature. The traditions of the embodiment of fabulousness were laid down by M.I. Glinka (“Ruslan and Lyudmila” - the scene of Lyudmila’s abduction) and found their logical continuation in Lyadov’s “Magic Lake”, Cherepnin’s “The Enchanted Kingdom”, Stravinsky’s “Firebird” and others. In the interpretation of the mythological theme, the themes of dreams and nature, one also sees proximity to a fairy tale, which is manifested in the involvement of such elements of figurative transformation as the appearance, transformation and disappearance (the moment Narcissus turns into a flower in Tcherepnin's Narcissus and Echo). In addition, works for children and about children (Mussorgsky's Nursery, whose traditions were continued by Tcherepnin in the Fairy Tales vocal cycle), as well as most love romances by Russian composers, are associated with the theme of dreams.
On the example of the interpretation of the theme of nature, one can see the difference in the approaches of the impressionist and non-impressionist traditions. If in the aesthetics of the 19th century nature played the role of the background of the emotional upheavals of Man (the blizzard scene in the finale of Act IV of Glinka's opera Ivan Susanin), or appeared as a contrast to human experiences (the moonlight nocturne in the act of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Pan Voivode ), then impressionist aesthetics, with its nature-centric view, assumed that the composer, conveying the impressions of the surrounding beautiful World, seemed to “dissolve” himself in it, inspiring it and finding in it an inner, often fabulous life (“Narcissus and Echo” by Cherepnin, “Magic Lake ” Lyadov, “Echo of the Golden Lakes” from the VI part of the “Chinese Suite” by Vasilenko and others).

So let's bring results. Impressionism in Russia at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries was not only the result of the influence of French culture, but also had its own development path. Its genetic basis can be traced in the "exotic-romantic" tradition of Russian music of the 19th century, which predetermines the national specifics. As a result, impressionism in Russia resulted in a holistic artistic movement, the signs of which were:
the presence in Russia of the first twenty years of the 20th century of a relatively close-knit group of composers, in their aesthetic views close to impressionism, including Stravinsky, Cherepnin, Vasilenko, Lyadov, Prokofiev, and others;
the manifestation in the musical work of these composers not only of technical methods, but also of aesthetics akin to French musical impressionism;
the formation of impressionism, its formation in Russian music is directly related to the work of Rimsky-Korsakov (literary, musical), which has the features of impressionism;
despite the absence of an announced manifesto that could serve as a cementing factor for uniting musicians in a direction, it is obvious that an analogue of such an association was formed thanks to the pedagogical and social activities of Rimsky-Korsakov.
- the origins of impressionism in Russia are laid in the "exotic-romantic" tradition;
- the path of development of impressionism in Russian music had two "trends: the first was determined by a specifically Russian worldview, the so-called nature-centric, and was associated with the"exotic-romantic" tradition, developed mainly in the St. human-centric - accumulated the traditions of composers of the Moscow school;
- the stylistic features of musical impressionism are aimed at conveying the first impression and are associated with the implementation of impressionistic methods of absolutization of the moment (at the levels of themes, ideas and images, genre and form) and color (with the help of musical expressiveness);
- the above-mentioned stylistic features of musical impressionism in Russia are specific, since they highlight the color of Russian song folklore and orientalism, epic features and properties reminiscent of theatrical sketchiness.
- the sincerity, contemplative attitude to nature, a special feeling of space - the expanses of the Russian Earth, characteristic of a Russian person, as well as the ability to almost pagan, but at the same time idealized, poetically perceive and spiritualize the world around, are close to the impressionist artistic vision. The implementation of the aesthetic principles of impressionism in the works of Russian composers is carried out with the help of certain themes: fabulousness or mythology, dreams, holidays, nature.

Studying Impressionism in Russia has never been systemic. Although at the beginning of the century in brief observations about impressionism as part of critical notes on concerts ( V. G. Karatygin, V. I. Sokalsky, Yu. D. Engel), new musical editions ( B. V. Asafiev, V. V. Derzhanovsky), articles devoted to the work of individual composers (B. V. Asafiev, V. G. Karatygin), the idea is voiced that the germs of the impressionistic searches of Russian composers are rooted in the work of representatives of the New Russian School, in impressionism they mainly saw signs of decadence, in 1930 years - formalism, in the post-war years - cosmopolitanism. Due to objective reasons, in the Soviet era for about fifty years, researchers were extremely cautious about topics that were somehow connected with the manifestation of impressionism. Until 1956 (XX Congress of the CPSU), negative perception of impressionism in all forms of art dominated in research work (S. P. Varshavsky, D. B. Kabalevsky, P. I. Lebedev, J. Reinhardt, etc.). Its positive evaluation ( B. V. Asafiev, Yu. V. Keldysh, Kremlev etc.) is condemned, and sometimes plays a fatal role in the fate of researchers (dismissal D. V. Zhitomirsky from the Moscow Conservatory;). The turning point in the history of Russian thought about impressionism was the discussion in March 1957, where “one-sided, indiscriminately negative assessments of impressionism that took place in Soviet art history” are being revised. Before this discussion, I. Nestiev published in the newspaper of the conservatory "Soviet Musician" on March 4 a summary of his opening speech, in which he outlined the key issues requiring revision. One of the important provisions of the article is the understanding of impressionism as a trend in Russian music. As a result, studies of the work of French Impressionist composers began in the late 1950s. But the features of impressionism in Russian music remain outside the attention of researchers. Apparently, the memory of the difficult circumstances of the activities of scientists under ideological pressure was the reason for their caution: they only mention impressionistic features in the “Russian” works of I. F. Stravinsky V. V. Smirnov and B. M. Yarustovsky, S. S. Prokofiev - I. V. Nestiev; the manifestation of impressionism in the “Magic Lake” by A. K. Lyadov is indicated N. V. Zaporozhets and M. K. Mikhailov; foresight of impressionism in the works of M. I. Glinka notes O. E. Levasheva, M. P. Mussorgsky - V. P. Bobrovsky, M. D. Sabinina etc. A landmark event for the study of impressionism in Russia was the defense of V.A. Filippov’s dissertation (1974), the subject of which was Russian impressionism in painting. The art critic traced the history of the development of impressionism in Russia, including the work of artists of the first half of the 19th century and the Soviet period. The post-Soviet period was marked by the appearance of a number of studies by domestic culturologists (O. Yu. Astakhov, M. G. Dyakova), art historians (N. S. Dzhumaniyazova, O. I. Selivestrova), philologists (V. E. Fedotova), philosophers (Yu. A . Griber), musicologists ( T. N. Levaya), which gradually fill in the gaps in the study of the specifics of impressionism.

Materials of the dissertation of Aliya Saduova were used. 2002

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