1. ANTUN DOBRONIĆ: PJESME NEOSTVARENE LJUBAVI.
- Author
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BABIÆ-SIRI©ÈEVIÆ, MIRJANA
- Subjects
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CHORAL music , *FOLK music , *SONG lyrics , *MELODY , *OSTINATO , *SOPRANOS (Singers) , *TENORS (Singers) - Abstract
The cycle of three choral compositions entitled Pjesme neostvarene ljubavi (Songs of Unrealized Love) belongs to earlier compositions written by the Croatian composer Antun Dobroniæ (1878-1955). Nevertheless, it shows all the characteristics of the composerÕs stylistic orientation. All three songs were inspired by folk lyrics. The first one, Predviðanje smrti (A Foresight of Death), was composed upon ten verses in dodecasyllables. The textual model has determined almost all the elements of the musical form: the melody is developed upon an ostinato accompaniment based on the repetition of a two-measure unit in three harmonic variants. Each verse is situated within a Ôsmall sentenceÕ, and two verses are situated above the same accompanying model. The form has the outline of an upward-downward arch for which the third ostinato model serves as a symetrical axis, and the incline towards the centre and the decline towards the end are realized by the harmonic and melodic means. In the second song Ñ ®elja ljubavi (A Wish of Love) Ñ the verse of the textual model is a decasyllable set to music in three-measure phrases. The form is threefold and partly polyphonically conceived. One part of this song develops above an ostinato bass. The interesting aspect of this composition lies in the fact that both high and low voices are composed in octaves, in which sopranosand tenors sing the melody while altos and basses accompany them, or are added in canon. The third song Ñ Vapaj za ¾ivotom (A Cry for Life) Ñ is formed by consecutive twomeasure phrases composed upon octosyllabic verses. A complex and rich harmony, imbued with polyphony, results in a sound of mighty gradations. DobroniæÕs harmonizations of folk tunes, or melodies inspired by music folklore, belong to those types of arrangements in which melody fits into stylistic frames of the composer Õs era. Such mixtures full of compromises are sometimes inconsistent, but sometimes they also offer skilfull solutions when produced by such a knowledgable composer as Dobroniæ surely was. Although when heard, Pjesme neostvarene ljubavi do not directly suggest their folk origins, their elements are nevertheless clearly indicated by non-functional progressions with modal allusions, by the application of a pedal fifth in the accompanying ostinatos, and by the musical texture inspired by the characteristic folk singing Ôon the bassÕ (Ôna basÕ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005