Sacredness in Piano Compositions: Signs and Interpretation
Doctoral student: Gabija Rimkutė
Supervisors: Prof. Veronika Vitaitė, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Judita Žukienė
Department: Piano
Duration: 2010–2014
Abstract
Gabija Rimkutė
The object of this artistic research is piano music with a religious dimension. The scope of research also covers works which have no direct references to religion but which are known to be created drawing on religious inspirations. The 300 years of piano music history demonstrates that this instrument has never been associated with religion. On the contrary, the values of piano music which were shaped by the aesthetics of the 19th century conflict with the religious worldview in many respects. This conflict and at the same time excellent examples of the genre such as piano works by César Franck, Franz Liszt, Olivier Messiaen, Arvo Pärt full of religious implications inspired the desire to study the area which often undeservedly stays in the shadow of other piano values. The research is limited to the 20th and 21st centuries.
One of the research objectives is to discover and define compositional methods of sacral expression that can be consistently found in the works of composers of religious music and to determine the degree to which these methods are both universal and specific to sacral piano music. To draw generalising conclusions, the author analyses the expression of sacrality in religious works of the most outstanding foreign composers of the 20th and 21st centuries with a special focus on the analysis of piano works by Messiaen and his musical and theological philosophy. The analyses of religious works of Lithuanian composers such as Alvidas Remesa, Mykolas Natalevičius, Algirdas Martinaitis also make an important contribution to this research.
The doctoral project also emphasises the interpretative aspect of the analysed music. The aim of this research is to raise and formulate major difficulties encountered by pianists wishing to perform religious works of music. To be able to define the specific nature of performing this untraditional genre of music, the author mostly relies on her personal experience as a performer. The theoretical part of research is complemented by practical activities as the analysed works are continuously performed at public concerts. This combination of theoretical and practical work is expected to help raise awareness of this genre of music, lead to its proper appreciation and deeper understanding.
