The song is a vocal genre. Vocal genres. Leisurely important prickly

Lecture

Singing– performing music with voice; the art of conveying the figurative content of a musical work using the voice; the most ancient form of musical art, the same age as human speech. At the dawn of the existence of human society, at the same time when man learned to use sound speech as a means of communicating with other people, the first primitive forms of vocal music arose, closely related to the very forms of existence of primitive tribes. These were shepherd calls, hunting or military cries, exclamations that united the efforts of people in joint work. From these exclamations, labor songs subsequently emerged.

Even then, music, and specifically vocal music, accompanied a person throughout his life. Mothers lulled babies to sleep with lullabies, song accompanied children's games and adults' entertainment, and, finally, people mourned the loss of their loved ones in lamentation songs.

Since those ancient times, humanity has come a long, centuries-long journey. The art of music has also changed, developed and become more complex, enriched with new means of expression. But many of the most ancient forms of vocal music continue to live, preserved in the everyday life and art of civilized peoples, and not as a relic, but as a natural expression of human feelings. Such immortal forms of vocal music include, for example, a lullaby, and many other genres of folk song art, rooted in the distant past.

Starting from the simplest, primitive forms of ancient art and ending with large complex works of our time, vocal music is inextricably linked with speech, with the word, since speech and singing are very close to each other. The more lively and expressive a person’s speech, the more melodious it is, the more clearly we hear the rise and fall of the voice in it (the so-called speech intonations), sometimes so bright that the ear clearly catches the peculiar “melody” of the speech, although the sounds of this melody do not have a fixed pitch and therefore cannot be accurately written down on the musical staff. The less expressive the speech (for example, a boring speech by a speaker “from a piece of paper”), the more monotonous it is, the more monotonous its intonation, the less music it contains. But there is also a significant difference between them. For pronouncing and understanding words, it is not so much the difference in pitch of sounds that is important, but rather their color, a difference resulting from a change in the position of the lips, teeth and tongue, as a result of which we hear vowels and consonants.

Vocal music- a rich and diverse field of musical creativity. Classification of voices:

Children's voices (discount). It is known that the voices of boys who have undergone special training are distinguished by their lightness, mobility, beauty, and “silver” sound. It was these qualities of children's voices that the clergy always paid attention to and used the singing of boys in church choirs.

Each of these voices has its own distinct timbre coloring. For example, a coloratura soprano is suitable for conveying flirtatious girlish chirping, and a sternly rumbling bass is capable of embodying images of majestic, courageous, menacing sounds.

There are different forms of vocal music, requiring creative tension from listeners. These are monumental classical compositions for soloists, choir and orchestra: oratorios by Handel and Bach, requiems by Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi, cantatas by Taneyev, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev. Their musical content is by no means limited to the usual song motifs. They contain complex choral polyphony, solo arias, and extended symphonic fragments. In order to comprehend the music of these classical compositions, to embrace their majestic scale in its entirety, one must have the necessary aesthetic experience.

Although the melody of every favorite song in our minds inextricably merges with the words, we must still clearly imagine that its music constitutes a special, completely independent artistic value. The great Austrian composer Gustav Mahler once wittily remarked that “music in a song can express much more than what the words say.”

So, listening to vocal music, we not only follow the development of the poetic plot, but also perceive the very soul of the song, romance, their musical essence, which grew from this verbal image.

There are different types of vocal music and, accordingly, three styles of singing:

- melodious style. These works are dominated by a completed, smooth melody, close to a song. This kind of music is especially intelligible and loved by the masses. Wide, smooth, coherent singing - cantilena;

- declamatory style - a style that looks more like theatrical recitation than a plastic song motif. In such cases, the melodic pattern reproduces various shades of human speech - intonations of anger and surprise, joy and tenderness, anger and indignation. For example, Dargomyzhsky’s vocal sketch “The miller returned at night” to the words of Pushkin. The declamatory principle of performance clearly prevails in it: the singer imitates either the drunken muttering of a miller on a spree or the angry cries of his grumpy wife.

Declamation techniques are especially widely used in opera. In vocal music, in particular opera, one should not look for only completed melodies of the song type. You must be able to listen to declamatory singing. True, it does not always please the ear, like a beautiful flowing cantilena, but it often captures the finest details of human experiences, real living passions.

This technique of performance in music is called recitative (a type of vocal music that approaches natural speech while maintaining a fixed musical structure and rhythm). Used in opera, oratorio, cantata. In the 17th – 18th centuries. “dry recitative”, “accompanied recitative” arose, i.e. accompanied by harpsichord chords (later orchestra).

- Coloratura style- here there is a departure from the word, a large number of decorations (sometimes crushing the word), passages, and rapid movement of the melody.

Of course, it also happens that mediocre music is written to excellent poetry. In this case, a successful aria or song will still not work out, no matter how good the text is. And vice versa, there were examples when brilliant music was combined with mediocre poetry. Thus, Tchaikovsky created some of his romances based on the words of minor poets D. Ratgaus or K. Romanov. Consequently, it is music that determines the artistic value of a vocal piece, its true content. And listening to a song, romance, aria, we, first of all, enjoy the beauty of the melody inspired by the poetic word. Another important circumstance serves as a criterion for the artistic quality of such music: how faithfully it embodies the ideas and images of the poems.

Vocal music most often combines singing with instrumental accompaniment, or, as they say, accompaniment. In many romances, songs, and opera arias, the accompaniment acts on an equal footing with the vocal part.

Accompanied by a piano or orchestra, the main images of the text are often illustrated and the sound background against which the action is played out is emphasized.

Thus, when listening to vocal music, we perceive three artistic elements in inextricable connection: the poetic word, the vocal melody and the instrumental accompaniment. It is the combination of these three elements that creates a cohesive, unified image.

Vocal music can be represented by works with words, without words, for solo (one-voice), ensemble (1,2,3,4,5 voices) and choral performance.

Singing without words - vocalise (from the French Vocalise - vowel sound). Vocalise is viewed more as an exercise for developing vocal technique. Vocalises for concert performance are also known (S. V. Rachmaninov “Vocalise”).

Usually singing is accompanied by instrumental accompaniment, but sometimes a cappella (without accompaniment).

Vocal examples of these styles: most operas of the 19th century were in a singing style: Puccini’s “Tosca”, Verdi’s “Aida”.

Scenes and monologues from the 19th and especially the 20th centuries were written in a declamatory style: Berg's "Wotseck", Prokofiev's "The Gambler", Shostakovich's "The Nose". Works are most often written in the coloratura style for high, light voices that have mobility, but at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries in Italy there was a craze for the coloratura style. This technique was practiced by all singers, regardless of voice type. An example is the music of G. Rossini, the opera “Cinderella”, where the main part is written for mezzosoprano and even the bass part is also coloratura.

Very often, vocal melodies of different styles are used in one piece to create different characters and images.

The wonderful Italian singer L. Volpi wrote a remarkably interesting thing about singing: “Singing is the most important manifestation of human nature, because it is an expression of feelings, passions, imagination, thoughts, closely related to the anatomical and spiritual structure of a person. But artistic singing, like chamber singing , and theatrical, requires technical knowledge, exercises, method and style, which only training can provide, you need to be able to sing in order to serve the art and preserve the voice. What does the school give? It creates a musical instrument, transforms the larynx, the respiratory system. and resonators into a harmonious whole, which can generate a musical sound that corresponds to aesthetic and acoustic laws, but acoustic laws do not care about different schools, because they only know the physical nature of sound. The school only corrects shortcomings and imperfections, fills in the gaps. But methods change. , and each school, each teacher, unfortunately, has its own method."

Issues and problems of vocal technique were touched upon in the works of Hippocrates (Greek physician, founder of ancient medicine of the 4th-5th century BC) and Plato (Greek philosopher, student of Socrates of the 4th century BC). 2500 years ago, Hippocrates wrote that “the voice is born in the head, that is, in the cranial cavities,” which emphasized the importance of resonance and resonators.

One of the first works on the art of singing, instructions on voice production and singing technique that have reached us is considered to be the treatise of the Arab Abual-Hasan (nickname - Zirab - thrush). The treatise was published in Spain at the turn of the 8th-9th centuries. In the Middle Ages (13th century), a treatise on singing by Gerolamo di Moravia was known.

The most famous authors of vocal pedagogical works of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries are L. Zacconi, G. Caccini, P. F. Tosi, G. Mancini. Throughout the centuries, the study of the human vocal apparatus and its capabilities, the improvement of schools, methods, and principles of performance continued, but all the works were descriptive in nature, their authors dwelt in detail on the development of vocal technique and principles of performance.

After the invention of the laryngoscope (a mirror with a handle) in 1855 by the Spanish teacher M. Garcia and the study of respiratory movements in singing (the 40s of the 19th century by Didey and Petrequin), methodological guidelines and teaching techniques began to receive scientific justification. Professional vocal art was known in the ancient world; this is evidenced by literary evidence from Greece from the 8th to 4th centuries: Homer, Sappho, Aeschylus, Sophocles.

The Aeds composed and performed their works to the accompaniment of a string instrument. Several names of singer-composers of Ancient Greece have come down to us, in particular the name of Terpandra, the singers Stekhizor, Xenocritus, Cleomenes, the singer Nissa of Locris and others. The Aeds were replaced by rapseds, these were Greek reciters who, in recitative, without musical accompaniment, performed excerpts from texts learned from recordings at holidays and feasts, that is, they did not compose, but combined and performed fragments of famous poems, mainly by Homer. In the countries of the ancient East, music occupied a very important place. It is believed that the most ancient art of professional singing originated in China (from the countries of the East).

By the 6th century BC. refers to the “Book of Songs” - “Shijing”, the compilation of which is attributed to Confucius. According to Confucianism, music was a microcosm that embodied the great Cosmos, and song played a very important role in Chinese music. Confucius argued that beautiful music contributes to true government, which is why it has a strictly defined structure. During the Han period (2nd century BC), a special Yuefu music chamber was created at the emperor's court, with a group (up to 800 people) of singers and dancers from various regions of China. Yuefu figures were engaged in collecting and processing folk songs. In 714, 5 special educational institutions were opened in China, where they taught music, singing, and dancing.

The poets Du Fu, Li Bo, Bo Ju wrote songs based on their poems.

In the 10th century, the largest musical and theoretical treatise, “Records on Music,” appeared. In the 13th and 14th centuries, theater emerged and developed; music and singing occupied a dominant place in it.

The music of India is the oldest unique culture. Ancient Indian literary monuments have preserved numerous evidence of the integral part of music in the life of the community, in which musicians were held in high esteem. Each tribe had its own singers, whose duties included singing hymns during religious and magical rites. Ritual chants are reflected in the Rigveda, one of the most ancient written monuments of India (2nd millennium BC).

The treatise on theater, music and dance "Natyashastra" (1st century AD) gives reason to believe that long before its creation, the Indians had a highly developed, deeply unique and original musical system.

The art of Indian singers and instrumentalists organically combined in folk and classical Indian theater. During the heyday of Sanskrit drama in the 4th to 7th centuries, Indian classical music achieved great development. The changes that the Indian musical system experienced in the process of long historical development did not affect its basic theoretical principles. The ancient musical canons remained unshakable for many generations of Indian musicians, and they were inherited by modern Indian theorists and musicians. At the beginning of the 20th century, R. Tagore, who returned to Indian professional music the tradition of the unity of the word and its musical expression, lost in the Middle Ages, first put forward the idea of synthesizing the musical culture of East and West, which was the beginning of a new stage in the development of the musical art of India.

European vocal art developed mainly in the form of folk and religious singing. The first historical representatives of vocal art are folk singers. In the Middle Ages in Western Europe these were: bards - England 10th century, troubadours - France 11th century, minesingers - Germany 12th century, buffoons - Russia 11th century, bandura players, kobzars - Ukraine, Poland 15th century, guslars - Russia 16th century, lyre players - Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Ukraine 17th century; in the Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan - geese 5th century, and sugs 10th century; in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan - akyns of the 19th century.

Folk singers were often also creators of songs. The art was passed down through oral tradition from generation to generation. With the emergence of Christianity, singing entered church worship and spread in this form throughout the world. Until the 10th-12th centuries it was monophonic, and then polyphonic.

Ancient singers did not need special technical methods to perform their simple one-voice songs, which used the sound of the middle voice register and were accompanied by chords of simple musical instruments. They sought not so much for acoustic effects as for the expression of feelings.

The high and ultra-high register of the human voice is thus a discovery of modern times, when the voice, the word, the idea are gradually fused together and adapted to create a direct impression.

Schools of singing arise so that the human voice can master two octaves, necessary for the performance of musical works with a wide variety of tessitura, often unnatural and puzzling.

The art of singing was also cultivated in Ancient Rome. It is known that there, in the 5th century AD. under Pope Illaria, the first European singing school was opened.

It is also known that in the 8th century there were special church singing schools in Metz and Soissons, where the first teachers were the Roman singers Peter and Roman, sent to Charlemagne by Pope Adrian the First, as well as in the Saint-Gal and Tours monasteries (in Switzerland), and in the 9th and 10 centuries in Dijon, Toul, Cambrai, Chartres and Nevers (in France).

One should not confuse “school” singing with “folk”; they represented two different movements, which later had a significant influence on each other. Folk singing brought the surprise of flight, brilliance of sound and boldness of variations to school.

Secular musical culture developed during the Renaissance, new, more complex genres of vocal and vocal-instrumental music arose, which led to the rapid growth and further development of the art of singing.

The final formation of vocal art, a genuine and real school of singing, began only with the emergence of opera. In 1599, at the Palazzo Korea in Florence, the performance of Daphne by Jacopo Peri, based on a libretto by Rinuccini, marked the beginning of opera, a mixture of oratorio and masquerade, and with it the cultivation of good voices.

The teaching was carried out by the composers themselves, also famous singers, trying to make real musical instruments of flesh and blood out of their students by teaching breathing techniques, sound delivery, developing the power of sound and in accordance with a strictly thought-out system. Later, in 1600, the rulers of Florence were amazed by the well-trained voices of Francesca and Settimia Caccini, the daughters of the composer, whose opera Eurydice they performed at the Palazzo Pitti on the occasion of the marriage of Marie de' Medici to Henry IV, King of France. In the 17th century, national vocal schools were formed in the countries of Western Europe, each of them is characterized by its own style of performance, manner of sound management and the nature of the singing sound.

Singers-composers-teachers appear, and at the same time national composing schools are emerging, putting forward certain artistic and performing requirements for singers. The national vocal style of singing reflects performing traditions, features of language, temperament, character, intonation, modal and rhythmic components of a particular country and region, and their folk music. Already at the beginning of the 17th century, an Italian school of solo singing emerged, distinguished by its perfect bel canto (beautiful singing) technique and brilliant voices. The climate of Italy, the vocality of the Italian language and the ease of Italian melodies for the voice made it possible to make maximum use of the singing capabilities of the vocal apparatus.

The Italian school developed a standard for the classical sound of the voice; it influenced the formation and development of other national vocal schools.

The most prominent musicians of that time: J. Peri, G. Caccini, C. Monteverdi, A. Scarlatti. Opera was at first a privilege of court circles, but in 1637 the first paid theater opened in Venice, making opera accessible to the people.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Italian singing was characterized by an abundance of coloraturas. The coloratura style of performance is associated mainly with the performing art of castrati singers, the dominance of “male sopranos” and falsettos. They sang in churches, chapels, theaters, dressed in women's clothes, performing female parts. Women did not participate in public theatrical performances. There are authoritative testimonies about the brilliant successes of castrati (Casanova, Rossini). The voices of the best castrati sounded pure, light, beautiful, boundless; they were inferior to the sound of even the brilliant singers Patti and Cotonya. Having abandoned everything earthly in the name of singing, they sounded like voices from other spheres, but they did not have the life and warmth of a female soprano, and physiological disorders, as a result of castration, entailed monstrous obesity, which was not aesthetically pleasing.

The singers themselves began to compose various vocal and technical embellishments in the arias, based on their technical vocal capabilities. Singing began to turn into “tournaments of vocal technique,” thought and words began to disappear from music, giving way to purely sound beauties that made a huge impression on the listener. "Poetry has drowned in decorative singing." Rossini put an end to "vocal hooliganism." He began to write out mandatory cadences for the party, demanding their exact execution. By the end of the 19th century, natural balance had been established, and operatic creativity

G. Rossini, V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, and later G. Verdi, led the Italian vocal school to the development of the cantilena sound of the voice, to expanding the range and increasing its dynamic advantages. Vocal parts have become more individualized in accordance with the characteristics of the images.

Later, the work of G. Puccini, R. Leoncovallo, P. Mascagni, U. Giordano led to an intensification of the arioso-declamatory principle, to the emotional aggravation of singing, which characterizes the modern art of Italian singers. Most famous
Italian singers:

G. Pasta, A. Catalani, A. Bosio, G. Rubini, L. Lablache, A. Patti, A. Masini, M. Battistini, E. Caruso, T. Ruffo, A. Galli-Curci, G. Lauri- Volpi, G. Simionato, M. Del Monaco, F. Corelli, G. Di Stefano, R. Scotto, M. Freni, F. Cossotto, P. Cappuccili. The French school, led by J. B. Luly, rebelled against the Italian bel canto school. The peculiarity of this school was determined by the declamatory style, which originated from the chanted recitation of poets and actors of French classical tragedy of the 16th century. The national character of song is also reflected in this school. This style was formed under the influence of the works of J.B. Luly, Rameau, K.V. Gluck, A. Grétry, and then J. Meyerbeer. C. Gounod, C. Saint-Saens, J. Masne, J. Bizet. The largest representatives of the school were the singers: A. Nourri, J. Dupre, D. Artaud, M. Malibran, P. Viardot, J. Devoyo.

An interesting fact is the split of French society into 2 camps of supporters of the Italian and French schools of singing. The opinions of the king, queen, the entire court, Rousseau and Voltaire were divided. This “division” of society remained in history under the name “wars of jesters.” Romain Rolland characterizes the French vocal school of the 18th and 19th centuries as a school of excellent acting and recitation. It is no coincidence that the Paris Conservatory receives the name of the conservatory of “music and declamation.”

The German-Austrian school sought to combine Italian bel canto and the excessive "expressionism" of the French school, so that emotion and thought took their rightful place. This is how the work of J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel arose. W.A. Mozart synthesized the achievements of all the main contemporary schools.

The music of German composers L. Beethoven, K. M. Weber, F. Schubert, F. Mendelssohn, R. Schumann, J. Brahms, H. Wolf is very connected with German national songwriting, truly national, it gave rise to a new role at that time : chamber singing, chamber singer. The work of R. Wagner stands apart in German music. It brought to life a special style of singing with sublime declamation, power of timbre, richness of the sound of the voice (often excessive, even destructive for the human voice), and the performance of long phrases with increasing sonority. The voices of Wagner's vocalists were woven into the sound of the orchestra, like one of the instruments. Operas are huge canvases. Some were performed 5 evenings in a row ("Ring of the Nibelungs", "Das Rheingold"). The performance style of German singers of subsequent generations was influenced by the operatic works of R. Strauss, A. Schoenberg, A. Berg, P. Hindemith, K. Orff and others.

The most famous singers: G. Sontag, W. Schröder-Devrient, L. Lehmann, J. Stockhausen, E. Schwarzkopf, L. Fischer-Dieskau, T. Adam. Other countries have their own national vocal schools, their own wonderful singers and teachers, but the leading place has always been occupied by the Italian school and singers.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the history of world vocals included: E. Lind - Sweden; K. Novello - Great Britain; E. Reschke, A. Didur, E. Bandrowska-Turska - Poland; H. Darkle - Romania; E. Destinova -Czechoslovakia. By the middle of the 20th century, vocal art was widely developing in all European countries, the USA, Canada, South America, as well as in Japan, Korea and other countries.

In Russia, until the beginning of the 18th century, vocal art existed only in the form of folk and church singing. Since the establishment of Christianity, the training of singers was carried out in monasteries, and then in parish church schools. There is historical data confirming the presence of a domestic singing culture back in the 10th-11th centuries. For example, it is known that under the Kiev prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich (978-1015) there were professional singers.

Attempts to organize musical theater in Russia date back to the mid-17th century; then, under Peter the Great, a troupe of seven actors led by Kunst was invited to give musical performances. In 1735, an Italian opera troupe was invited to Russia for permanent work, which took firm roots on Russian soil.

The Russian opera singer emerged as a unique phenomenon. The inconsistency of some historians is obvious when they try to consider the singing of Russian singers only as a result of the influence of Italian vocal culture. In fact, the originality of the performing style of Russian singers, the depth of feelings characteristic of the Russian person, and finally, the phonetic features of the Russian language, made it possible for the national Russian vocal school to follow its own path. Of course, the influence of the Italian school of singing on Russian singers undoubtedly existed and was felt for a long time. One of the first Russian singing teachers was I. A. Rupin, a serf from the Kostroma province, who studied singing in Italy. The composer taught at the Court Choir

D. Bortnyansky.

The artistic activity of Russian singers and singers who laid the foundations of the Russian school of singing dates back to this period (18th century): A. Mikhailova, E. Uranova-Sandunova, N. Semenova, A. Krutitsky, N. Vorobyov, P. Zlov, V. Samoilov , N. Lavrov and others. It is impossible not to note the enormous role of the Russian “urban” romance in the history of Russian vocal art, as well as the activities of composers, singers and teachers A. Varlamov and P. Bulakhov.

The emergence of Russian opera as an independent musical genre is associated with the name of M. Glinka, and the role of Glinka as a performer and vocal teacher, creator of a unique school of “concentric voice development” was no less significant.

Glinka's students: O. A. Petrov, A. Ya. Vorobyova-Petrova, D. M. Leonova, A. P. Lodiy, S. S. Gulak-Artemovsky.

Subsequently, the development of the Russian vocal school and its performing principles was influenced by the creativity, as well as the critical and pedagogical activities of A. S. Dargomyzhsky, A. M. Serov, M. A. Balakirev, P. A. Cui, N. A. Rimsky -Korsakov, M.P. Mussorgsky, P.I. Tchaikovsky. The characteristic features of the Russian vocal school are the mastery of dramatic acting, simplicity and sincerity of performance with perfect vocal technique, the ability to combine vocal skill with emotionally charged living words.

Outstanding singers of Russia: F. I. Shalyapin, I. V. Ershov, A. V. Nezhdanova, L. V. Sobinov, G. S. Pirogov, K. G. Derzhinskaya, V. V. Barsova, N. A. Obukhova, E. K. Katulskaya, S. P. Preobrazhenskaya, E. A. Stepanova, S. Ya. Lemeshev, I. S. Kozlovsky, G. M. Nelepp, A. S. Pirogov, M. P. Maksakova. For readers who are interested in a detailed presentation of different vocal schools, I can recommend the work of I. K. Nazarenko “The Art of Singing”.

A wonderful singer and teacher of the 19th century. S.P. Yudin said: “The student must clearly understand that without his personal persistent and constantly demonstrated efforts, he will never be able to fulfill his desire - to become a singer. This task is not as easy as many people think. Having all the data to become a singer is not everything! It is necessary, firstly, to love the art of singing, to love truly, with enthusiasm, and, secondly, to be able to work hard, constantly, believing that work is not a burden, but a pleasure, without which life is not interesting.

Questions for self-control:

Literature:

As we all know, vocal music is music intended for singing, and the voice in this music takes the main or equal role with other instruments. Vocal music includes works written for one or multiple voices, as well as any musical works for singing with instrumental accompaniment. In all works, excluding vocalise, the voice is closely related to the poetic text, and such works are considered as musical and poetic works. In the past, almost all musical works were associated with everyday life; there were various work songs, play songs, lullabies, ritual songs, dance songs, and round dances.

One of the oldest vocal genres is song. There are folk and original songs. But, as often happens in art, these two elements constantly interact, the authors take into their works chants or melodic lines from folk songs to give them a specific sound. The origins of this genre go back to ancient times, to antiquity, where music and poetry were inseparable from each other. Basically, a song is a repeated repetition of the same tune, which is given different shades by the text changing from verse to verse. Songs are performed both with and without accompaniment. But it must be said that even the simplest accompaniment gives the song expressiveness.

Together with the song, he brought great popularity to vocal genres romance. This is a chamber piece of music for voice and instrument accompaniment. They received intensive development in the 18th-19th centuries. Unlike a song, the melody in a romance is more detailed, connected with the verse, reflecting not only the general character, but also individual poetic images. Musical accompaniment, which is an equal participant in the romance, is very important. Romance is divided into separate genres: ballads, elegies, barcarolles, etc. Romances occupy a very large place in the chamber vocal genre. They can be of love, comic, satirical, tragic content.

There are works for several voices, such works are called vocal ensembles(duets, trios, quartets, etc.) or choirs(works for a large singing group). Works for choir are divided into two groups - works with instrumental or orchestral accompaniment and without it a capella.

One of the largest vocal genres is opera. It combines theatrical action, vocal music, instrumental music, visual arts, and choreography. In opera you can find all forms of vocal music: here you can find arias, arioso, monologues, songs, recitatives, duets, trios, quartets, choirs.

Unlike opera oratorio, being also a major work for choir singers and symphony orchestra, it is performed without scenery, theatrical costumes or scenery. Usually written on a dramatic or biblical subject. The oratorio occupies an intermediate position between opera and cantata and includes solo arias, recitatives, ensembles and choirs. The action in the oratorio, just like in the opera, develops on a dramatic basis, but here there is more of a story about the action than a show as in the opera. Initially, oratorios were written based on biblical or evangelical texts and were intended to be performed in church on church holidays, but later the oratorio acquired a secular character and moved from the church to the stage.

Also, an expanded work for solo singers, sometimes a choir with an orchestra, is cantata. They can be lyrical, narrative, solemn, composed in honor of an event or date. This is usually a work of small size with homogeneous content, consisting of an introduction (symphony, prelude, overture, etc.), arias, recitatives and choruses. A cantata is similar to an oratorio, but differs in its smaller size and scale of action, lack of dramatic development of the plot and chamber character.

We examined the largest genres of vocal music, which include many more subtypes and varieties, such as serenade, ditties, barcarolle, gandoliera, aria, arietta, arioso, epithalamus, psalm, spiritual, chanson, etc.

The human voice is a musical instrument that each of us has from birth. This quivering mechanism, which requires special care and constant tuning, is capable of tickling all the nerve endings in the body and pushing them to the limit.

Before you find out what musical genres of vocal music exist, you should understand what vocals are in general.

Main

Vocal music has no date of origin; it is the oldest form of art. Vocals arose with the appearance of a man and quietly dozed, waiting in the wings.

The voice does not need outside support; it is capable of creating compositions on its own. But, despite the fact that everyone has a vocal apparatus, not everyone can create an “instrument” out of it. The vocalist must have certain characteristics in order to be able to take control of his voice:

ear for music;
sense of rhythm.

Voice abilities should be added to the list, but everyone is born with different vocal capabilities, and practice confirms that the singer is not the one who naturally received everything, but the one who, from nothing, was able to develop an amazing gift that captivates people’s hearts.

And this is indeed true. People remember simple melodies, listen to those songs that they perform, first of all, with soul. Ordinary technical voice exercises will not touch the human insides, and they will not be sung centuries later.

Genres of vocal music

Over the entire existence of people, millions and millions of compositions have been performed. Whether it's a simple song or an aria from an opera. Vocal music shimmers with its versatility, and it can be divided into two directions:

chamber;
concert

Chamber genre

Chamber vocal genre (from Latin camera - “room”) is music performed by a small group of performers, intended for a small audience:

song;
romance;
ballad;
barcarolle;
serenade;
elegy and other miniature works.

Let's look at the genres of vocal music in more detail.

Song

Song is the simplest and most common form, the basis of all foundations. It is divided into folk and author's.

The first type is classified as folklore (oral folk art); everyone could make an individual contribution to its creation. The song flowed from mouth to mouth like a stream, and was composed in its own way. A sufficient number of folk masterpieces that are immortal hits have survived to this day. One of the most popular Russian folk songs is the well-known “Kalinka”.

The name “author's song” speaks for itself. A specific composer and poet puts effort into creating it. It emerged as a genre in the middle of the 20th century. Distinctive feature: the author of the text, music and performer are one person. Priority is given to the text rather than the musical guitar accompaniment.

It is worth noting that the song belongs not only to the chamber genre, but also to the concert genre. If earlier it meant simplicity and miniature, now it is one of the main numbers of large-scale scenes.

Romance

Romance is a genre of chamber vocal music. In the Middle Ages, the term meant a poem in the "Roman" language (Spanish), which was composed to be set to music. It was a simple composition. In a romance, in addition to the text, accompaniment plays a big role. Most often, vocals are accompanied by the shimmer of guitar strings or the support of a piano. Composers A. L. Gurilev, A. A. Alyabyev, A. E. Varalmov made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian romance as a genre of vocal and instrumental art.

In the 19th century, during the era of romanticism, romance became the leading genre of vocal music, because it was he who was able to convey in all details the inner experiences of a person, which was so characteristic of that artistic movement.

Ballad

Ballad is a musical genre that implies a narrative, a story in a poetic form. Originally it was a one-voice song with dance elements. As a lyrical genre, it has become popular since the 18th century. Worthy samples:

“The Forest King” or “The King of the Elves” by J. W. Goethe, accompanied by music written by F. Schubert (1815), or version by Karl Leve
R. Schumann (romances and ballads, opus 49);
F. Liszt;
F. Brahms;
F. Mendelssohn (for choir "The First Walpurgis Night").

Our compatriots did not stand aside either:

M. P. Mussorgsky ("Forgotten");
A. G. Rubinstein ("Ballad");
P. I. Tchaikovsky ("Kings");
A. P. Borodin ("Sea");
A. N. Verstovsky;
A. E. Varlamov is a titan of the vocal genre.

Barcarolle

Originally a “song on the water”, it was performed by gondoliers in Venice. It is distinguished by a melancholic character, a minor mood and a rhythmic pattern that looks like swaying waves.

You can listen to Schubert's ballad performed by Oleg Pogudin.

Since the 18th century, the ballad has grown into a professional genre. Later it even began to be used in Italian and French opera numbers. Some composers:

F. P. Schubert ("The Fisherman's Luck of Love");
M. I. Glinka (“The blue ones fell asleep”);
F. Brahms (from opus 44 for female choir).

Serenade

Anyone asked what a serenade is will answer that it’s just a song under the window. Initially, a serenade was recognized as a song that men performed for their beloved, as a rule, under her window and in the evening or at night. The genre became widespread in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The origins of the serenade are considered to be the song of the troubadours. Later, it began to be understood as any musical composition performed in someone’s honor. Gradually, the serenade became part of the opera, for example, Mozart's Don Giovanni, and the chamber genre. The brightest work is “Evening Serenade” by Schubert.

Of the Russian composers, serenades were written by M. I. Glinka, A. S. Dargomyzhsky, P. I. Tchaikovsky.

Elegy

Elegy translated from Greek is “funeral singing.” Originally it was a poetic and musical genre in Ancient Greece. Gained wide popularity in the era of sentimentalism and romanticism. Philosophical thoughts about disappointment, dissatisfaction and suffering in life were reflected in this work.

G. Purcell is one of the early representatives of this genre. In Russian culture there are still the same masters: Varlamov, Glinka, Alyabyev, Yakovlev, Dargomyzhsky, etc. For Russian elegy, performance in the form of a monologue with accompaniment characteristic of romances (guitar or piano sounds) is specific.

One of the striking examples is “Do not tempt me with the misfortunes of need” by Glinka. The elegy was performed by Oleg Pogudin, a currently famous chamber singer.

What other genres belong to vocal music?

Concert genre

This genre includes music intended, as a rule, for one or more solo musical instruments with an orchestra. It originated in Italy in the 16th-17th centuries as a polyphonic vocal work for church choirs. This genre includes:

vocalization;
cantata;
opera;
oratorio;
rhapsody;
aria;
hymn.

Vocalise

Vocalization is singing using one or more vowel sounds. Most often performed as a way to practice vocal technique.

R. M. Gliere managed to create a full-fledged work from a technical exercise, writing a concerto for voice and orchestra. In the video it is performed by opera singer Anna Netrebko.

In addition to him, vocalise in concert performance was written:

S. V. Rachmaninov;
J. M. Ravel (in habanera form);
N.K. Medtner - “Sonata-Vocalise” and “Suite-Vocalise”.

Cantata

A cantata is a large-scale work, performed by not only a soloist, but also a choir and orchestra. Initially (in the first half of the 17th century) it was placed in opposition to the sonata, an instrumental genre. It is divided into two types: spiritual (church) cantatas and secular ones.

The first Russian cantatas appeared in the 18th century thanks to P. A. Skokov. Later his work was continued by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Taneyev and others. One of the most famous cantatas is “Alexander Nevsky” by S. S. Prokofiev.

Opera

Opera is the foundation of vocal music. It is synthesized with choral, instrumental, dance and theatrical numbers and combines all aspects together.

It is believed that the distant predecessor of opera is the tragedy of Ancient Greece. It alternated between dialogues and singing (solo and choral).

In 1597, the first opera "Daphne" was written by the Italian composer Jacopo Peri.

In the 17th century, despite the fact that Italy wanted to make this genre exclusively its own, opera became popular in Russia. M. I. Glinka is considered the “father of Russian opera.” The essay “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was a breakthrough.

In the 19th century, A. Dargomyzhsky (“The Mermaid”, “The Stone Guest”), M. Mussorgsky (“Khovanshchina”, “Boris Godunov”), P. I. Tchaikovsky (“The Queen of Spades” and “Eugene Onegin”) became famous for their compositions. , N. Rimsky-Korsakov (“Sadko”, “Snow Maiden”).

The traditions of Russian opera in the 20th century were developed by many composers, including S. Rachmaninov, I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofiev.

Oratorio

An oratorio is a fairly large composition intended for a vocalist, choir and symphony orchestra. It occupies an intermediate place between the two genres described above.

In Russia, oratorio was not used so often. One of the few works is “Minin and Pozharsky” by S. Dyagterev.

Rhapsody

Rhapsody is an unusual genre of vocal music because it is written in a free style. May consist of different parts. The genre was revived in the 19th century under the influence of romanticism, which was characterized by an interest in folklore. It was originally written for piano and resembled a fantasy on the theme of folk music. For example, the famous nineteen Rhapsodies of the Hungarian composer F. Liszt). Later she approached poems (J. Brahms), solo works for piano and orchestra (S. Rachmaninov, S. Lyapunov, D. Gershavin) and cantatas.

Aria

Aria is a vocal song that is part of major genres (opera, cantata, oratorio). The most famous can be considered Carmen's aria (Habanera). Almost everyone recognizes it from the first sounds.

Aria should be divided into 2 subspecies:

arietta - smaller in volume and simplest in structure;
arioso - a composition located between an aria and a recitative, more reminiscent of a conversational tune.

Hymn

The anthem is a solemn composition designed for mass perception. It plays a great role in public and state life. The melody is simple and catchy by ear. The history of hymns dates back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.

The anthem of the Russian Empire was “God Save the Tsar.”

Genres of instrumental music

Chamber instrumental genres:

variations;
sonatas;
suites;
foreplay;
musical moment;
nocturne.

Large form:

symphony;
concert;
overture;

5th grade

Lesson topic: Genres of vocal music.

Music in which the leading role belongs to the voice is called vocal . It can be written for one, two or many performers, with or without accompaniment. The genres of vocal music, as well as instrumental music, having gone through a long path of development, were formed under the influence of the social functions of art.

Genres of vocal music:

Ensemble

Song(fragment from the film “Cheburashka” - song “Blue Car”)

Appeared back in time immemorial. It combines literary text with a fairly simple, catchy melody. This most ancient and primary genre, in the course of its evolution, was widely differentiated. The first songs created by the people conveyed all the diversity of rural life (calendar and ritual, family and everyday songs, round dances and dance songs). Over time, more professional author's essays appear.

Romance(“And lastly, I’ll say” a fragment from the film “Cruel Romance”)

This genre of chamber vocal music emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century. A romance is a piece of music written for voice with accompaniment (harp, piano, guitar). At the same time, the task of the accompaniment is to more fully reveal the content of the composition, conveying the deeply lyrical and subtle experiences of the author. Such famous composers as P. Tchaikovsky, M. Mussorgsky, A. Alyabyev, M. Glinka, S. Rachmaninov and others turned to this genre.

Ballad(Vladimir Vysotsky “Ballad of Love”)

This is the name of a piece of music written on a legendary or historical plot. It carries a narrative, epic and at the same time lyrical beginning. The first musical ballads appeared in Scotland and England. They were performed by a soloist accompanied by a choir, telling about various historical, satirical or dramatic events. F. Schubert is considered the founder of this genre in vocal art.

Aria(Aria of Prince Igor from the opera “Prince Igor”)

Vocalise(Vocalise from the film “The Little Mermaid, Anna Rudneeva”)

Previously, vocalises were composed by singing teachers for educational purposes, as studies for the voice, and had no artistic significance. Now these are independent artistic works for voice with accompaniment (for example, a concert for voice and orchestra). They are now interested in vocalizing several voices.

Ensemble(It`s sand, Man - vocal ensemble Eva)

An ensemble (from the French word ensemble, which means “together”) is, first of all, a joint performance of a piece of music by several participants. But this is also the name of a piece of music for a small group of performers. Depending

for two performers - duet,

for three - trio, or terzetto,

for four performers - quartet,

for five performers - quintet,

for six - sextet,

for seven - septet,

for eight - octet, etc.

20-30 people also sing together and this is called a choir.

Choir(Jingle Bells performed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Choir)

A choir is primarily a singing group that performs vocal music. But a choir is also a piece of music written for choral performance.

Choirs can be different, first of all, in the composition of the performers: homogeneous - separately for children, women or men, and mixed, when both children's, women's, and men's voices participate in the choir at the same time or in different combinations.

Choirs sing a capella, that is, without accompaniment, and with instrumental accompaniment.

Canon(W.A. Mozart. Canon "Hallelujah". Performed by the youth vocal and choral ensemble "Iris")

This is a performance of one melody by a choir, when each voice (and there are two, three, four, or even more) begins to sing the same melody, with a deliberate delay, one after the other.

Reflection.

What new did you learn in the lesson?

What interesting things did you learn in the lesson?

What was not interesting in class today?

What genres of vocal music did you know? What genres did you recognize?

What genre of vocal music did you find most interesting? Why?

Homework: Prepare a short message about any great vocalist of the 19th-21st centuries (www.muz-urok.ru)

). There are also works in which the human voice is used as orchestral color (The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), in which the voice is accompanied by a melody.

Genres of vocal music:

Operatic,
Oratorial,
Chamber,
Operetta,
Jazz.

Cantata- a work of a solemn or lyric epic nature. It is characterized by a small size and uniformity of content (one topic is expressed). Opera (from Latin - work, product) is a type of synthetic art. A work of art, the content of which is embodied in stage, musical and poetic images.

Opera combines in a single theatrical action: vocal (solo) ensemble (choir), instrumental music (symphony orchestra), drama, fine arts (scenery, costume) choreography (ballet). The opera embodies all forms of vocal music: (aria, arioso, song, monologue, recitative, duet, trio, quartet, grand finales with choir).

Opera of its time is divided into genres

Historical-heroic;
Historical-romantic;
Heroic-poetic;
Folk-fairy tale;
Lyrical;
Dramatic;
Comedy;
Satirical.

Oratorio (from Latin I say, I pray) is a large musical work for singers (soloists) of a choir and symphony orchestra. They usually wrote on dramatic and biblical subjects. Chamber genre - (Latin: Chamber, room.) A very extensive layer of vocal music that arose in the Renaissance and Baroque era. At this time, madrigals, cantatas, and masses are written. Singing requires virtuosity and poshness. Works are written for soloists, a small choir and a small orchestra. Baroque style (whimsical) - characterized by pomp, effects, and the desire to combine reality with illusion. There are sophisticated cadences in the singing next to the cantilena. Madrigal - (Latin song in native language). (verses, choruses) - a short poem, laudatory, flattering, loving, tender, subtle and poignant. In the 16th century it becomes a vocal poem (usually 4 - 5 people) In the 17th century it becomes lyrical poems addressed to a woman. A cantata is a work of a solemn or lyrical-epic nature. It differs from an oratorio in having a smaller orchestra and a less developed plot. The content is secular and spiritual-ecclesiastical. Romances occupy a very large place in the chamber vocal genre. Romance-Spanish (Romanso, sing in Romanesque.) It began to develop intensively in the 18th and 19th centuries, elegies, ballads, and dramatic monologues appeared. A little later, songs of love, humorous, satirical and tragic content appear. The best examples of classical romance are the composers: Schumann, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dargomyzhsky. Operetta (from Italian - small opera) A musical and stage work of a comedic nature, combining in its dramaturgy: music, dance, conversation, dialogue. The performance involves soloists, a choir, an orchestra and a small amount of ballet. Operetta as an independent genre emerged in France in the mid-19th century. The creators were playwright F. Hervé and composer J. Offenbach. The following composers brought fame to the operetta: Strauss, Lehár, Kalman, Dunaevsky, Langerbelli.