PARADIGMS OF WESTERN EUROPEAN MUSICAL PROFESSIONALISM: ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL STAGES OF FORMATION

Abstract

Purpose of the article. The aim of the study is to highlight the initial manifestations of the formation of musical-pro- fessional paradigms of the composer, performer, music theorist (as a predecessor of the musicologist), and music teacher during the ancient and medieval stages of Western European culture. Research methodology. The research is based on the theory of stages (O. Zinkevych) and a comprehensive approach that combines general scientific methods (retrospection, systems analysis, generalization) with methods of art studies – namely, the source-based method (for selecting necessary information from historical musical treatises, manuals, and contemporary scholarly works), the typological method (for determining trends typical of the indicated stages in the formation of musical-professional paradigms), and the explora- tory method (for identifying prominent figures and their professional achievements). Scientific novelty. The novelty lies in tracing the formation of paradigms of musical professionalism in relation to historical and social demands and con- sidering the gender factor; in identifying significant compositional and theoretical achievements, genre dominants, prin- cipal instruments, performance capabilities, and educational aspirations at each stage; and in emphasizing patronage as an external factor in musical professionalism. Conclusions. Antiquity, considering the long and consistent maturation of the archetypes of the professional author-performer, music teacher, and music theorist, can be regarded as the founda- tional stage in the emergence of Western European musical professionalism paradigms. This was manifested in the rise of composer-performer schools, the gradual expansion of the genre system, attempts at the autonomy of the instrumental sphere (which was separating from ancient ritual syncretism), valuable music-theoretical ideas, and educational aspira- tions that, through their spiritual and moral influence on youth, gained worldwide recognition in subsequent centuries. The ancient poetess Sappho (Safo) became the originator of female composition and performance. The achievements of the Middle Ages in both ecclesiastical and secular spheres of musical creativity and performance (choral polyphony, the lyric and epic works of court musicians and knights, the appearance of the author’s collection, itinerant musicians), in pedagogy (guild and school training, functioning of creative schools), and in music theory (improvement of notation, modal thinking, etc.) mark the next stage in the crystallization of musical-professional paradigms. At this stage, a dis- tinction between the composer and the performer began to emerge, although most composers remained anonymous. Only a few names of women composers of that period have survived – the nuns Kassia, Hildegard of Bingen, and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. In both stages, patronage served as an external factor of musical professionalism, contributing to the self-realization of creative individuals.