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PIANO SUITA, MAIN TRENDS OF EVOLUTION
R.A.Iseev
Senior lecturer at the Nukus branch
of the Uzbekistan State Conservatory
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15437739
Annotation:
The article examines the main aspects of the formation of the
piano suite genre in the works of various composers. Information is presented
on the leading trends in the development of the piano suite and their features in
different periods of the genre's development.
Анотация:
В статье рассматриваются основные моменты формирования жанра
фортепианной сюита в творчестве разных композиторов. Представлена
информация о ведущих тенденциях в развитии фортепианной сюиты и их
особенности в разные периоды развития жанра.
Key words:
Piano, suite, world classical music, musical education, musical
analysis, composer, baroque, romanticism, contemporary music, piano suite.
Ключевые слова:
Фортепиано, сюита, мировая классическая музыка, музыкальное
воспитание, музыкальный анализ, композитор, бароко, романтизм,
современная музыка, фортепианная сюита.
Introduction:
The genre of suite in musical culture has always remained in
the focus of composer's attention. The periods of the suite's existence were
replaced by new turns in the evolution of this genre. This is confirmed, for
example, by the birth of a "new suite" in the work of romantic composers after
the displacement of this genre in the second half of the 17th century by
symphony and instrumental concerts. The reason for the genre's vitality lies in
the fact that the suite was formed as a genre of partial canonization. This initially
presupposed individualization of compositional solutions, including various
national, new "fashion" dances and concert genres of their time in the suite
structure. Moreover, the diversity of the genre composition of the suite by
various authors indicates the extraordinary mobility of its genre structure: "the
suite presents the author with freedom in choosing, interpreting, and arranging
parts". This also contributes to the great vitality of the genre under study. The
suite's receptiveness to new styles, creative explorations, and experiments has
served as a source for its diverse manifestations in piano and chamber
instrumental music. Researchers have established that the birth of the suite as
an independent genre of instrumental music dates back to the mid-16th century
- the time when dance cycles emerged.
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Main part:
In the Baroque era, two main aesthetically equal types of suite
existed in musical practice - dance and programmatic. The first of these styles
developed with J. J. Froberger and received classical treatment in the works of G.
F. Handel and J. S. Bach, while the second was outlined by English virginalists and
reached its lavish peak in the keyboard suites of F. Couperin. The expansion
beyond the purely dance sphere, which contributed to broadening the range of
expressive means and enriching the palette of imagery, became apparent even in
the early stages of the suite's formation. Thus, according to most researchers of
the suite genre's history, its origins lie in the works of English virginalists who
emerged as a national school at the end of the 16th century, represented by
William Byrd, John Bull, Orlando Gibbons, and Giles Farnaby. A distinctive
feature of English virginal music was its emphatically secular character.
According to O. Sokolov, who examines the typological system of genres, the
compositions of English virginalists - unique musical pictures - can be
considered the first examples of the programmatic suite genre alongside the
works of French harpsichordists. Interestingly, the researcher points to
pictorialism as the most common phenomenon in the field of programmatic
music. The school of French harpsichordists, such as L. Marchand, J.F. Dandrieu,
F. Dagincourt, L.-C. Daquin, and Louis Couperin, addresses both dance and
programmatic types of suites. French harpsichordists' suites, unlike the German
variety of the genre consisting solely of dance movements, were structured more
freely. They rarely relied on the strict sequence of allemande - courante -
sarabande - gigue.
However, programmaticism gained prominence in the composition of suites
by 18th-century French harpsichordists. In most cases, these suites represent
collections of genre and landscape musical sketches (up to 20 pieces or more in a
suite). The programmatic variety of the suite genre reaches its peak in the
keyboard suites of François Couperin, whose work became the pinnacle of the
French harpsichord school. The well-known stable formula of a suite consisting
of a sequence of four dances was based on the logic of alternating fast and slow
motor movements, contrasting collective and solo dances.
In this form, the keyboard suite was established in the first half of the 17th
century in the works of the German composer J.J. Froberger. The genre of
keyboard suite occupies a central place in the composer's oeuvre. In his suites,
the principle of progressive tempo polarization (medium - fast - slow - fastest) is
preserved, and the intonational-thematic and tonal unification of movements is
widely used. While J.J. Froberger's suite cycles are undoubtedly close to French
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genre models, they possess sufficient independence and should be considered a
branch of the French tradition. The composer conceived the suite cycle not as a
collection of random dance movements, but as a unified whole, as evidenced by
the limited set of dances included.
In the works of major composers from the second half of the 17th century,
such as J.S. Bach (French and English suites, partitas for keyboard, solo violin,
and solo cello) and G.F. Handel (17 keyboard suites), the suite becomes one of
the key genres of keyboard music. It systematizes the general stylistic typological
features of the compositional-genre model of the baroque suite: among them are
the coordinative type of connection in the mobile multi-movement structure, the
dramaturgy of juxtaposition, and so on. Moreover, during this period, a more
individual and liberal approach to the traditional formula develops, and
consequently, to the genre structure of the cycle. Composers very selectively
incorporate individual movements from the traditional sequence into their
suites. "The dance sequence, while retaining the significance of a certain
standard, does not become the absolute determinant of the suite's genre
structure." The instrumental genres of the Baroque era (overture, prelude,
toccata, canzona, etc.) were organically incorporated into the process of
developing contrasting images in the suite. Thus, the structure of the early suite
reflected various genre and stylistic trends in the musical art of the Baroque
period. "With relative freedom and equality of the suite's parts, a form
possessing deep inner unity is established at its foundation. This unity, in terms
of content, can be called the artistic unity of a multifaceted world; the means of
its reflection are the elements of movement, in which physical movement is
primary.
It presupposes a special spatial "anfilade" logic of the development of the
multi-part composition, in which the time factor is secondary. The essence of
dramaturgy is not the "investigation" of the causal connection of phenomena, as
in the sonata of the new era, but the reduction of phenomena to organic balance.
A new turn in the development of the suite is gained in the work of romantic
composers, who, with a sufficiently broad understanding of programming,
recreated a whole spectrum of various interpretations from portraits and
paintings to typical paintings-states, paintings-moods, reflecting the diversity of
the world. Starting from the 19th century, miniature cycles (in instrumental and
vocal works) became a kind of substitute for the genre form of the suite in
Western European music, which, while preserving the lyrical piece as the basis
of the form, allowed for development on a large scale. These miniature cycles
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contributed to the resolution of one of the central problems of the 19th century -
the creation of a large-scale form in works of the romantic style. The works of
Western European composers such as F. Schubert, R. Schumann, and F. Chopin
belong to this direction of cyclization. In F. Schubert's work, mainly vocal
miniature cycles are presented; he is credited with the creation of two song
cycles - "Beautiful Miller" and "Winter Road," which are examples of both "plot"
and "plotless" development. Analysis of these cycles confirms the following
principles of arrangement in vocal cycles: this is the unification based on verbal
text, the principles of contrast (both musical and poetic), the tonal kinship
between song parts, the grouping of songs into separate contrasting groups, the
presence of closer intra-thematic connections based on leitmotifs, leitmotifs,
leitfacts, etc.
In his creative work, R. Schumann, alongside vocal cycles, turns to
instrumental cycles of miniatures. His oeuvre includes such instrumental cycles
as
"Butterflies,"
"Carnaval,"
"Davidsbu ndler,"
"Symphonic
Etudes,"
"Fantasiestu cke" (Fantastic Pieces), and others. Many researchers note that the
main cyclical form in these miniature cycles is the "new suite," however, in
almost every cycle, R. Schumann flexibly combines the features of the suite with
other forms - rondo, variations - and interweaves all the pieces with through-
lines, forming a "suite of continuous structure." In F. Chopin's work, the idea of
creating a large-scale form is resolved in a special way and takes on two
directions: 1) creating a cycle of piano miniatures; 2) creating a one-part ballad
(poem, fantasy). It can be emphasized that the creation of a series of piano
miniatures was highly relevant for solving the problem of creating a large-scale
form on new stylistic foundations. A series of miniatures demonstrates the
possibility of a "small" play growing into a large form. On the other hand, the
creation of a poem, both symphonic and piano (in the works of F. List and F.
Chopin), contributed to the resolution of the main aesthetic problem in 19th-
century music. The form of the poem presupposed the merging of a sonata-
symphonic cycle into a single-part work. The Russian suite of the 19th and partly
the 20th centuries represents unique forms of assimilation of Western European
experience in the person of R. Shuman's new romantic suite. Having absorbed
the influence of R. Shuman's suites, Russian composers uniquely implemented
the logic of suite self-movement in their works. For example, the genre
kaleidoscope "Pictures from the Exhibition" by M. Musorgsky, "Children's Album"
by P. Tchaikovsky, "Storms" by G. Sviridov are born from the theme of wandering,
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while the orchestral suites by P. Tchaikovsky, "Aphorisms" by D. Shostakovich,
and "Partitas" by G. Sviridov represent an excursion into the history of culture.
According to researcher S. Masliy, the figurative relationships in 19th-
century romantic suites can be traced back to the psychological poles of
introversion and extroversion. This dyad becomes the artistic dominant of R.
Shuman's worldview, and in P. Tchaikovsky's cycle "Seasons," it serves as the
dramatic core of the composition. In the works of S.Rakhmaninov and G.Sviridov,
it is broken in the lyrical-epic mode. Being the initial binary opposition, it gives
birth to a special type of plot development of suite dramaturgy associated with
the process of introversion (Tchaikovsky's "Seasons of the Year," Rachmaninoff's
First Suite, Sviridov's "Night Clouds"). D. Shostakovich's last three suites
represent a new type of suite - confessional-monologic. In G. Sviridov's cycle
"The Departed Rus," the confessional-monological beginning appears under the
powerful, majestic dome of the epic.
The evolution of the suite genre in the second half of the 19th century is
also connected with the activities of German and French composers of the
romantic and post-romantic directions, such as C. Debyussi, M. Ravel, I.
Stravinsky, and P. Hindemit. "The idea of alternating contrasting parts in their
creative practice is reproduced through complex, diverse principles of
cyclization, but in the 20th century, the instrumental suite model is restored in
variants as close as possible to the genre archetype." Thus, for French
composers, the task of recreating national traditions, diverse poetic reflection of
the world in a clear and distinct form, is of leading importance. The
reinterpretation of ancient genres in K. Debyussi's suites is connected with the
expansion of the sound-color environment, the inner sensualistic understanding
of the image, aimed at going beyond the boundaries of selected genre
foundations. In this, one can see certain parallels with the programmatic parts of
F. Cooper's suite. According to the researcher A. Samoilenko, in the works of K.
Debyussi, there are premises that..."a symbolic generalization of new
assessments of the semantic possibilities of music is the birth, development, and
autonomy of the sonoric-sonoric sphere in music (as a stylistic dominant)."
Specific analogies with individual compositional principles of the past are
manifested in the suites of F. Pulenck, J. Orik, and A. Onegger. Bella Barto k's early
suites continue the traditions of romanticism. Suite No. 1 is oriented towards the
genre symbiosis of a suite and a sonata-symphonic cycle, Suite No. 2 is composed
in the style of a symphonic poem. For A. Shenberg, a representative of a different
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direction - Expressionism - the genre model of the suite becomes, first of all, an
example of rationality, constructive methods of organizing musical material.
These principles also stem from the high achievements of the Austrian-
German national culture. In his "Lyrical Suite," A. Shenberg relies on the
dodecaphonic method of composition, and the names of the parts of the cycle
Prelude, Gavot, Muzet, Intermezzo, Minuet, Zhiga point towards the genre
system of Baroque music. Olivier Messiah's cyclical compositions ("Images of the
Word Amen," "Twenty Views on the Infant Jesus") are wrapped in a religious-
mystical aura. In the first half of the 20th century, the traditions of the ancient
suite were not so noticeable in the piano works of neo-classicism
representatives. They often lack instrumental and dance genres. In these works,
the multi-part structure represents a hybridization of features characteristic of
various ancient cyclical genres (clavire, ensemble, orchestral). These are the
neoclassical piano suites of A. Casella, D. Malipiero, and I. Stravinsky. "In general,
neoclassicism as a stylistic direction in the field of piano music does not
subordinate the dance-genre model of the instrumental suite of the 17th-18th
centuries itself, but widely uses the principle of suite, including them in various
genres (operas, concerts, symphonies)." The genre of suite in Ukrainian music
truly gained widespread development only in the 20th century, and its
implementation in the work of Ukrainian composers is diverse. Based on the
experience of domestic classics (primarily the work of N. Lysenko) and Western
European art, Ukrainian composers presented original examples of the national-
characteristic embodiment of the suite as early as the 1920s. This occurs in
parallel with the search for content that resonates with modernity and,
consequently, new intonational sources, expressive means, and forms in this
genre. One of the leading trends in the interpretation of the suite by Ukrainian
composers is the appeal to the suite cycles of the Baroque period. For the first
time, this direction manifested itself in the work of the founder of Ukrainian
professional music, N. Lysenko. One of his first opuses was "Ukrainian Suite in
the Form of Ancient Dances Based on Folk Songs," in which the composer
creatively realized the invariant combination of slow and fast dances. In the
second half of the 20th - beginning of the 21st centuries, the genre of the suite
continues to remain the center of active attention of Ukrainian composers. It
receives a diverse embodiment, on the one hand, due to the deepening of the
themes, the expansion of genre possibilities, and the programmatic factor.
On the other hand, through the activation of the search for new expressive-
timbral (and hence figurative) possibilities, the expansion of the instrumental
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composition. Suites for bayan, flute, cello, alto, flute and harp, etc., appear.
Among the piano suites, the works of M. Skorik, M. Karminsky, V. Silvestrov, V.
Shumeiko, Yu. In them, the reinterpretation of instrumental genres with a
Baroque genesis, classicism, and Baroque stylistics as a whole, intensifies. For all
opuses of this period in the evolution of the suite genre, the realization of the
"Baroque - 20th century" dialogue becomes common not only at the level of
reproduction of ancient genres and forms, but also at the level of
"communicative "breakthrough" into the sphere of a certain stylistic space." The
modern attitude towards Baroque traditions is characterized by the synthesis of
the latest compositional techniques with the widespread use of stylization and
allusions. In addition, researchers note other trends in the development of the
Ukrainian suite. For example, P. Dovgan points to the functioning at the initial
stage of the genre's development of a suite of neofolklore-oriented cycles,
revealed through the assimilation of the achievements of European culture with
the dominance of national themes. The crystallization of these principles occurs
in Ukrainian piano music by O. Nizhankivsky, M. Zavadsky, V. Sokolsky, and
others. The researcher will also highlight a number of characteristic features of
this direction. Among them are: the synthesis of the lexical basis, organically
combining the linguistic and stylistic features of folklore studies and
impressionism; the advantage of variational-variational techniques in the
development of thematicity; the expansion of the rhythmic factor, combining
regular and irregular accentuation (the term of V. Kholopova), as a result of the
indirect influence of the individual stylistics of I. Stravinsky and B. Bartok. In the
second half of the 20th century, there is a process of forming a new image of the
instrumental suite in the field of program cycles as the most accessible for
listeners. Ukrainian composers articulate a wide range of stylistic and genre
components in their own way, which define the essence of the principles of
cyclization. "Often, genre regulations determine the specifics of compositional
structure and create an attitude towards its adequate perception and
understanding."
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we can conclude that, despite the diversity of
compositional interpretations of the suite genre, when characterizing cyclical
forms, researchers most often turn to the experience of Western European
music, especially when it comes to its instrumental forms. In the area of cyclical
forms, thus, the Western European experience becomes a classic example; other
national schools simply inherit it. In this regard, identifying the national-specific
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stylistic interpretations of this genre form becomes an important perspective in
researching the evolutionary paths of the piano suite in the 20th century.
1.
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