DOI: 10.36871 / hon.202004017

Authors

A. V. Limitovskaya
Children's Art School no. 1 named after N. P. Rakov, Kaluga, Russian Federation
I. V. Alekseeva
Ufa State Institute of Arts named after Zagir Ismagilov, Ufa, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russian Federation

Abstract

The article presents the results of the research on musical and artistic creation of the image of one of the most striking creatures — the cuckoo. The ways to implement the peculiarities of its singing in instrumental compositions of the XVIIth – XIXth centuries are revealed and described in cultural and stylistic context.
The authors analyze the role of timbre-intonational components of the bird's singing in the formation of some acoustic model, which becomes the basis for its representation by instrumental means in composer's works. The special sound pitch and rhythmic organization, together with timbre, representing the characteristics of the acoustic signal source, make it possible to recognise the cuckoo's voice in nature, while measured and repeated intonational complex becomes an absolute index-sign for perception.
This research revealed that the method of artistic modeling appears to be the main one in creating the image of a cuckoo in music. A two-step falling intonational figure, which migrates in the works of composers of different styles and nationalities, becomes the invariant. Preserving its main features, it changes under the influence of the context — metrorhythmic, dynamic, agogic and other components of the text. Distinguishing the characteristic intonation in our perception, the timbre component largely determines its transformation in a musical text. The result is a wide development of timbre-intonational model.

Keywords

cuckoo, sound image, instrumental music, timbre, falling intonational figure, modeling method, index-sign, symbol, invariant, variability