THE AESTHETICS OF SILENCE AND PAUSE IN MODERN GUITAR MUSIC

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the role of silence and pause in modern guitar music as full-fledged elements of the artistic image and interpretative process. The work considers silence not as the absence of sound, but as an active means of dramaturgy, which forms a space for the perception of music, creates the effect of expectation, internal tension and expands the boundaries of emotional impact on the listener. The author emphasizes that it is in guitar performance, where the sound has a natural tendency to quickly fade away, that the pause acquires special significance, organically combining with the specificity of the instrument and becoming a component of its “language”. The article analyzes the philosophical and aesthetic prerequisites for understanding silence in art, starting from the Eastern tradition and Christian culture of silence to the concepts of minimalism and experimental searches of the 20th century. Special attention is paid to examples of the use of pauses in the works of modern composers, in particular Leo Brouwer, Toru Takemitsu, as well as Ukrainian authors, in whose work silence appears as an independent means of expression. The interaction of silence and sound in the structure of the work is considered, its ability to enhance emotional contrasts and create a sense of space that “continues to sound” even after the disappearance of the sound wave. A special emphasis is placed on the performance aspects of the interpretation of the pause. It is highlighted how the performer gives meaning to the silence through tempo nuances, agogy, dynamic contrasts and internal psychological filling. The pause becomes a kind of “breath” of music, which requires the guitarist to have a deep sense of time and artistic tact. The pedagogical aspect is also important: the formation of students' ability to perceive and reproduce the pause as a “living” element of the musical process, which contributes to the upbringing of a high performing culture. The conclusions emphasize that silence in modern guitar music is not only a technical element of the musical text, but a deep semantic phenomenon that forms a new level of perception of music and opens up wide possibilities for interpretation. Her research is of great importance both for the development of musicology and for the practice of modern performance, as it allows us to understand guitar art in the context of global artistic trends of the 20th–21st centuries.