CHAMBER AND INSTRUMENTAL WORKS BY OLENA ILNYTSKA: GENRE AND STYLE ASPECTS

Abstract

The genre and stylistic features of chamber instrumental works by contemporary Ukrainian composer Olena Ilnytska are considered in the article. By applying contemporary techniques of playing the instrument, the composer changes not only the timbral palette of the instrument, but also the genre paradigms of chamber music. The purpose of the article is to highlight the genre and stylistic features of O. Ilnytska’s chamber instrumental works (Sarabande for solo cello, Bagatelle for solo clarinet, Serenade for violin and piano, and ‘Whirlwind’ for violin, double bass, and piano). The theoretical, interpretive, comparative, complex methods, and the method of generalization comprise the methodology of the research. Their combination enables achieving the aim of the article. Scientific novelty. The chamber works by O. Ilnytska in the context of genre and style paradigms is analyzed for the first time in the article. Conclusions. In chamber instrumental music, O. Ilnytska continues the traditions of domestic and Western European compositional schools. She uses familiar genres of instrumental pieces (sarabande, bagatelle, serenade) and techniques for playing of ancient and romantic music. However, the composer combines traditional instrumental performance techniques with the means of contemporary musical language, which deepens the genre basis of the works and expands the timbral and sonorous possibilities of the instruments. In the presented works, O. Ilnytska clearly demonstrates the characteristic features of the genre, but expands its paradigm, using lexemes of contemporary compositional writing. Her chamber works embody the characteristic features of her style: subjectivity of expression; focus on inner experiences; attention to detail in texture, intonation, and performance skills. The technical complexity of traditional genres gives them a philosophical dimension. O. Ilnytska’s work is part of Ukrainian musical culture, which she presents in the European artistic space, emphasising its originality and uniqueness.