SYNTHESIS OF EUROPEAN TRADITIONS AND NATIONAL SPECIFICITY IN THE CREATIVE WORK OF QIGANG CHEN (ON THE EXAMPLE OF A CONCERT FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA REFLET D`UN TEMPS DISPARU)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the synthesis of elements of Eastern and Western cultures in a cello concerto by one of the most famous Chinese composers of our time, Qigang Chen. The composer carries out an important mission of demonstrating Chinese music to the world cultural space, and in various forms of his activity – composing, conducting, organizing and performing – strives to bring professional music of the West closer to the traditional music of the East. The composer develops throughout his entire career the idea of such a synthesis, embracing the entire world musical culture and supported by a religious and philosophical worldview. The concert for cello and orchestra Reflet d`un temps disparu (1995–1996) is notable for its style originality, vivid artistic imagery, organic combination of Chinese folk art traditions and composer music styles of the XX century. The composition is characterized by exclusivity, sometimes uniqueness of musical means and compositional and dramatic patterns. Qigang Chen refers to Chinese culture at different levels: modal (pentatonic), melodic (citation of a folk song and variant principles of its development, ornamentation), metro-rhythmic, textural, timbre, combining national musical "codes" with the characteristic features of French music. The pitch of the concerto has the parameters of 12-tones, free atonality, freely interpreted dodecaphony, microchromatics. French features are realized in colorful multi-tertian consonances – diatonic scales, whole-tone verticals and horizontals, characteristic of Achille-Claude Debussy, a complex metrical organization formed as a result of additional durations, reminiscent of the style of Qigang Chen's teacher – Olivier Messiaen. The principles of the teacher's thinking (in the field of modes, rhythm) are embodied in a free form. The work of Qigang Chen embodies the idea of a dialogue between East and West in its modern sense: revealing the commonality of two civilizations, the composer emphasizes their originality. By means of the musical language, the composer embodies the philosophical ideas belonging to both Western and Eastern civilizations.