REQUIEMS BY J. G. RHEINBERGER: SPIRITUAL, STYLISTIC AND PERFORMANCE ASPECTS

Abstract

The article is devoted to analytical generalizations regarding the peculiarities of the interpretation of the typological features of the Latin requiem in the work of J. G. Rheinberger. The purpose of the work is to identify the poetic-intonational and performance features of the requiem genre in the legacy of J. G. Rheinberger in the context of spiritual and aesthetic searches of German culture in the middle – second half of the 19th century. The methodology of the work is based on the intonation concept of music from the perspective of intonation-stylistic analysis, as well as on interdisciplinary and historical-culturological approaches, which allow us to reveal the spiritualsemantic and stylistic specificity of the requiem heritage of J. G. Rheinberger in the context of not only the individual authorial style of the composer, but also the evolutionary paths of German choral art and its spiritual and confessional guidelines. The scientific novelty is determined by the fact that it presents for the first time analytical generalizations of the poetics of the Latin requiem in the work of J. G. Rheinberger, which reveal not only the genre-stylistic specificity of the composer’s heritage, but also its spiritual and semantic component. Conclusions. J. G. Rheinberger entered the history of German musical culture of the 19th century as a bright personality who inherited the attraction to creative universalism (performance, pedagogy, conducting, teaching and composing) that was indicative of German romanticism, which was also complemented by his high working capacity and desire to master the heights of musical professionalism. At the same time, J. G. Rheinberger’s work reveals his deep interest in the spiritual and religious guidelines of German culture, as evidenced by his numerous choral heritage, in particular, requiems (op. 60, 84, 194). Their poetics is formed at the intersection of the genre and liturgical guidelines of the Latin Catholic requiem and the reproduction of its «model» in composer practice, taking into account the guidelines of the «Cecilian Movement». At the same time, the harmoniously enlightened, meditative tone of these works reveals their affinity with the «German Requiem» by J. Brahms, which had a Protestant genesis. At the same time, both J. Brahms and J. G. Rheinberger, in the intonational language of their funeral compositions, appeal precisely to ancient examples of church singing, which, despite belonging to different confessions, in the conditions of the German musical and historical tradition of the second half of the 19th century symbolize a deep connection with its age-old religious and ethical guidelines and the desire for the spiritual unification of the nation.