Songs by Bogdan Vesolovsky in the arrangements of Viktor Stepurko: features of the artistic solution

Abstract

The study characterizes arrangements of pop songs by Bohdan Vesolovsky, an outstanding representative of Ukrainian retro style, written by contemporary Ukrainian composer Viktor Stepurko. The research methodology consists in the use of historical-cultural and analytical methods to characterize V. Stepurko’s adaptations of B. Vesolovsky’s pop songs. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time in Ukrainian science the vocal-instrumental arrangements of pop songs by B. Vesolovsky, written by the outstanding Ukrainian composer V. Stepurko, were characterized. The appeal of modern composers to pop classics is a sign of the times, since in postmodern times there is a convergence of “serious” and “light” music, a reduction to a common denominator of their achievements in the 20^th century. Among the interesting examples of pop retro music arrangements are arrangements of songs by the king of Ukrainian tango B. Vesolovsky, written by contemporary Ukrainian academic composer V. Stepurko. The latter created arrangements for a number of works by B. Vesolovsky, including the songs “Cornflowers’, “Nights”, “Masonry’, ‘The time will come’, “Quiet without words”. V. Stepurko, when referring to the musical heritage of B. Vesolovsky, did not change the nature of the music of the songs and their dramaturgy, while the features of his composer’s thinking were reflected in the musical solution of the arrangements of B. Vesolovsky’s song works. V. Stepurko’s adaptations of the master’s pop songs are marked by a change in the timbre palette, in particular, a departure from the solo type of performance and a shift in emphasis to ensemble and choral sound. V. Stepurko’s instrumental solutions in B. Vesolovsky’s songs are very diverse and include the use of both academic instruments with a basic string group, and those traditionally used in jazz (brass group with saxophones). A number of arrangements are characterized by polyphonization of the musical texture and the complication of the musical drama of the songs, which became possible due to the appeal to the achievements of academic music, of which V. Stepurko is a representative.