Compositions for a cappella choir by S. Balasanyan: features of polyphonic writing

The subject of the study is polyphony, considered as a way of organizing polyphony in compositions for unaccompanied choir by the outstanding Russian composer S. Balasanyan. The purpose of this article is to study the stylistic features of polyphony in compositions for a cappella choir by S. Balasanyan. The object of the research is the few completed opuses of S. Balasanyan's choral heritage: "Symphony for Unaccompanied Mixed Choir" (1968), "Polyphonic Triptych on themes of Armenian folk songs" (1971), "Polyphonic Concerto for a cappella Choir" (1980). The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as compositional features and polyphonic means in S. Balasanyan's choral compositions from the perspective of integration of national traditions and European forms of musical art. Special attention is paid to imitation polyphony in a cappella choral compositions. The article describes various positions and points of view of famous scientists on the compositions of S. Balasanyan and the understanding of polyphony in a cappella choral music. The methodology of the subject area of research in this article consists in the use of various methods: the descriptive method, the historical method, the method of analysis, the method of comparison, as well as the method of synthesis of techniques of historical-biographical and musical-stylistic analysis. The main conclusion of the conducted research is the paradigm of deep stylistic synthesis of national and professional folk in S. Balasanyan's compositional thinking. The dialogue of cultures has become a determining factor for polyphony as the dominant parameter in his choral compositions. The author's special contribution to the research of the topic is the study of S. Balasanyan's choral compositions, which were not previously the object of special research. It is especially valuable that the unpublished works of S. Balasanyan "Polyphonic Triptych on the themes of Armenian folk songs" and "Polyphonic Concert for a cappella Choir" have not yet come to the attention of researchers of musical science and represent a new source for the study of S. Balasanyan's choral heritage. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that polyphonic writing in S. Balasanyan's a cappella choral compositions is analyzed for the first time. Attention is focused on the need to study the genre and stylistic features of choral compositions for unaccompanied choir by S. Balasanyan, due to the integration of national and European forms of musical art.