Song and Russian Futurism: The Early Vocal Works of Nikolay Roslavets and Arthur Lourié

• Main Author: Rigling, Savanna
• Other Authors: Bazayev, Inessa
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: LSU 2017
• Subjects: Music
• Online Access: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-05202017-123705/

This thesis analyzes Nikolay Roslavetss Four Compositions for Voice and Piano and Ar-thur Louriés Azbuka and Corona Carminum Sacrorum, all works written during the height of the composers involvement with the Russian Futurist movement. These works represent oppo-site means of compositional experimentation. Lourié used Russian folk influences to stretch the limits of tonality through the use of peremennost. Azbuka and Corona Carminum Sacrorum contain equal tonal centers of A minor and C major with secondary harmonic areas of E minor and G major. Roslavets, however, invented his own system of composing with synthetic chords to free himself from past artistic trends. A combination of voice-leading analysis and setclass analysis reveals three types of transpositional organization: cyclic, derivative, and varied. Each type of transpositional organization has a different function that shapes the harmonic and ortho-graphical landscape of the songs. Louriés works manifest his shift to new simplicity (Sitsky, 87) as a means of musical experimentation whereas Roslavets sought to expand the boundaries of composition with synthetic chords.