Sonata form in the a cappella choral works of Yu. A. Evgrafov

The subject of this study is the problem of sonata form, one of the most pressing issues in contemporary Russian musical culture. The object of the research is to examine contemporary methods of interpreting sonata form in choral music. The purpose of this article is to study the sonata form in the a cappella choirs «Strekoza Sonata» and «Balasanyan Sonata» by Yuri Evgrafov. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the literary and textual source and the stylistics of the composer's choral writing. A number of key concepts are identified: form formation, choral texture, musical monogram, and citation method. Particular attention is paid to issues related to neoclassical stylistic guidelines in the works of Russian composers. The author states that at the present time, a wide range of means of musical expression opens up virtually limitless possibilities in the synthesis of tradition and innovation, which brings constant updates to both the individual author's style and to the general development of neoclassicism as an important trend in contemporary musical art. The methodology consists of a synthesis of historical and theoretical methods. Based on this, the historical preconditions for the development of sonata form in vocal and choral genres of the second half of the 20th century are revealed. Particular attention is given to the role of S.I. Taneyev. The research experience is aimed at establishing the relationships between instrumental and vocal forms in Russian choral music. The main conclusion of the study is the paradigm of the profound connection between instrumental and vocal forms in contemporary Russian art. In particular, this position became a defining factor in the work of Moscow composer Yuri Anatolyevich Evgrafov, who was born in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The author’s special contribution to the disclosure of the topic is the study of the a cappella choirs «Strekoza-Sonata» and «Balasanyan-Sonata», which have not previously been the subject of special research. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time materials are presented on the refraction of neoclassical tendencies in the choral work a cappella of Yu. A. Evgrafov. The emphasis is placed on the need to study the historical and theoretical aspects of the formation and development of non-classical stylistic tendencies in contemporary Russian choral music. In this regard, it is the achievements of the Moscow School of Composers, and in particular the a cappella choral work of Yu. A. Evgrafov, that are becoming a landmark phenomenon.