Journal articles on the topic 'Children's choral songs'

Dimo Boychev (1878–1966) was a choir conductor and music pedagogue, considered the progenitor of children's musical bands and popularizer of children's choral singing and children's operetta in Bulgaria. From 1923 to 1935 he was a singing teacher at the Bulgarian primary school „Josif 1“ in Istanbul, at the same time leading the Exarchate Mixed Choir and the Children's Musical Band „Macedonka“. In the present text, based on materials from the Bulgarian archives, memories and publications in periodicals, we make an attempt to provide a more comprehensive presentation of his musical and pedagogical activity in the city near the Bosphorus. As a teacher of singing, reading and liturgy at the Bulgarian School, he revived the activity of the exarchal mixed choir and established the Children's Music Band „Macedonka“. With their active school and out-of-school events, the two choirs led and conducted by Dimo Boychev unite the Bulgarian community in the city and bring variety to the busy workday of gardeners and dairy farmers. The programs of concerts, parties and evenings, which are held on various occasions, include performances of Bulgarian and Turkish songs, including folk songs, and operettas. Dimo Boychev plays a mediating role between Bulgarian and Turkish musicians.

Born on Moldavian soil, on January 28, 1931, in Bacău, the composer Felicia Donceanu completed her musical studies at the “Ciprian Porumbescu” Conservatory in Bucharest, under the high supervision of some already established personalities of Romanian music. She composed for various genres, from instrumental theater, children's music, to chamber music, stage music, vocal-symphonic, choral, thus exhibiting, with exquisite skill, her mastery of laying down the notes on the musical scale. With a special love for Romanian poetry and literature and beyond, Felicia Donceanu dipped her writing pen in ink to give voice to her music and through the power of her own words. Authentically feeling this vein of poetic art, she also stood out with texts dedicated to various choral works of Romanian composers. She wrote scripts for various musical-choreographic performances, or radio dedicated, and with her painting talent she gave life to illustrations in children's books. As for the admiration that Felicia Donceanu gives to the distinguished man of culture, George Călinescu, it is drawn in two directions, holding a profound respect for the originality of the personality and the works of this illustrious representative of Romanian culture and literature, who ravished souls and became a source of inspiration, both for the young students of the Faculty of Letters and for people of culture in general. It is not surprising that Felicia Donceanu found in the creation of the poet George Călinescu a never-ending source of inspiration. In 1964, the cycle Three songs for Til was born, including the lieds: The Steps, The Leaf and The Living Water. It is based on the love poem structured and rendered in three different forms from a poetic and compositional point of view. Felicia Donceanu thought of the three lieds, in a “suite in pre-classical style: gavotte (The Steps), saraband (The Leaf) and courant (The Living Water)... each of them being doubled by meanings close to popular creation... in the first one, the game..., in the second one, the romance (with depressive, chromatic accents) and in the third one, the enchantment” (Constantinescu, 1966, p. 24). The musical interpretation of the poems is not a simple metaphorical game, the musical character of the poems, in general - far from being just an ornament - being part of the act of creation necessary for a fair reception, because it is created in a certain mood and a special tension of tone, and the reader or listener will have to perceive it in the same tension and texture. The quality of the sound, the form and the point of crystallization of the feeling make up an act of creation and not a borrowing, made by the poet or performer, from life. Poetry is the intimate form of creation, the acquired vocal timbre that identifies itself entirely with the musicality of the content.

The article considers some aspects of opera and choral performance on the example of analysis of the theatrical period of creativity of one of the prominent figures of Ukrainian choral culture, founder of the choir of the State Children’s Musical Theater — People’s Artist of Ukraine, Professor Mykhailo Krechko (1925–1996). M. Krechko as the first chief choirmaster of the theater built his individual principles of work and theatrical traditions inherent in such a unique opera choir. SCMT is the second in the world and the only professional opera and ballet theater in Ukraine for children and youth).The established traditions and peculiarities of the choir’s work in SCMT are analyzed, based on the repertoire of the newly created Theater and the genre range of performances of choir artists (opera, ballet, musical, cantata and oratorio works, a cappella music performance).Formulation of the problem in general. The relevance of the chosen subject is due to the lack of basic scientific research into the life and work of the famous Ukrainian choral conductor M. Krechko. This is the first comprehensive appeal to the activities of an outstanding master of choral work, active propagandist and collector of folk songs, composer, publicist, teacher and music and public figure, who devoted his entire creative life to the development of national choral culture. A separate task is to study and analyze the basis of the traditions of opera and choral performance initiated by M. Krechko during his work at the State Children’s Musical Theater. Also, it is important to systematically study the methodology and means of educating opera choristers on the example of the work of M. Krechko.
 Analysis of research and publications to solve the problem. General characteristics of the life and work of Mikhail Krechko are examined in the works of O. Bench-Shokalo, M. Kravchuk, A. Lashchenko, L. Mokanu. The issues of choir and opera choir are analyzed in the works of L. Butenko, O. Letychevska, B. Pokrovsky, K. Pigrov, P. Chesnokov, which explores the functioning of the choir and the nuances of managing this process, as well as the work of specialists in the opera house.The problem of the specifics of M. Krechko’s work with the opera choir was not raised in the scientific literature, which determined the relevance of this article. The research materials of the archive of the “Kyiv Municipal Academic Opera and Ballet Theater for Children and Youth” — programs of performances and concerts, reviews; family archival materials of the Krechko family; publications by M. Krechko and devoted to the work of M. Krechko (booklets, articles in newspapers and magazines, author’s books and reference books). Also, below are a number of personal conclusions of the author of the article while working as a choir artist under the direction of M. Krechko.The purpose of the article is to study the life and work of M. Krechko as an opera choirmaster, his methodology and practical implementation of the multitasking of choir artists in a wide range of synthesis of arts in the opera house.Conclusions and prospects for further exploration in this direction. The article explores for the first time the theme of opera and choral performance in the works of the outstanding Ukrainian choirmaster — People's Artist of Ukraine, Professor Mykhailo Krechko. The above facts from archival materials and analysis of the maestro's artistic activity allow to learn more about the master's contribution to the choral art of Ukraine and its important role in the formation of the vector of development of the State Children's Musical Theater. Emphasis is placed on the specifics and universalism of the theatrical choir. Summarizing all the above, we can say that the modern creative life of the choir Kyiv Municipal Academic Opera and Ballet Theater for Children and Youth is fundamentally based on the high artistic principles laid down by the founder of the choir — Mykhailo Krechko. The Maestro’s great love for the Theater Choir, which he called his “swan song”, high performing skills and a wide range of genres of repertoire, education of followers and like-minded people, and deep traditions established by the choirmaster are a strong foundation and guide to new artistic victories.

The article reveals the peculiarities of conducting and choral training for students of the second (master’s) level of higher education, specialty 014.13 Secondary education (Music art). The Hryhoriy Levchenko Department of Music of Poltava V. G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University has considerable experience in training masters of music art, in particular, in specialties 8.010103 Pedagogy and methods of secondary education. Music, 8.02020401 Music art, 014.13 Secondary education (Music art). Conductor and choir training in the educational and professional programs of master’s training occupies an important place and is carried out within the courses “Choir Conducting,” “Conducting,” and “Solo Singing and Conducting.” In the process of studying educational components, general competencies are formed (the ability to affirm humanistic ideals, democratic values, and traditions of Ukraine; the ability to critically analyze and evaluate modern pedagogical and artistic phenomena, generate new ideas when solving practical tasks, complex and innovative problems; the ability to form, based on self-knowledge own style of pedagogical and artistic and creative activity; the ability for self-improvement and self-education) and professional competence (the ability for artistic (instrumental, vocal, conducting and choral) and cultural and educational activities, for a competent assessment of artistic and pedagogical phenomena; the ability to justify and implement a pedagogical and performing idea and interpret a musical work by means professional and pedagogical speech). Program learning outcomes are the ability to take into account the specifics of artistic directions, styles, and genres in the verbal and performance interpretation of musical (artistic) works; mastery of basic means and methods of performing musical works; skills to integrate complex performing techniques (instrumental, vocal, conducting) in professional activities; formation of an individual style of pedagogical and artistic and creative activity through self-discovery, self-improvement and self-education in the educational space. The specificity of the educational discipline involves the implementation of the educational process in the form of individual practical classes. They have an established structure: checking the performance of individual independent tasks; analysis and characterization of works of the educational repertoire; intonation of choral parts; instrumental performance of choral scores; work on conducting equipment; conducting choral works; self-accompanying performance of songs from the children's repertoire. The main principles of successful training are the pedagogical direction of special conducting training; gradual complication of tasks, directing them to the creative level of mastering the course; providing conditions for the master’s student to choose ways and means of solving specific executive tasks; taking into account personal experience during the formation of professional competences; constant attention and demand for professional literacy; creating an emotional background, a creative atmosphere as a guarantee of the effectiveness of classes. Compilation of individual work programs is carried out on the basis of a thorough and systematic study of personal, and professionally significant abilities and qualities of the master’s student; development, correction, and optimistic forecasting of these qualities in the direction of integral professional training of the future specialist; correspondence of the educational material to individual abilities, the level of their general musical development and conducting technique; diversity of the repertoire in terms of content, style, genre, form, texture. Control and evaluation of educational achievements takes place in the form of the current, modular, and final evaluation of the achievements of master’s students in all types of classroom and extracurricular educational activities. The criteria for evaluating classroom work are executive conducting, vocal and instrumental interpretation of choral works; systematic, effective, purposeful work of a master's student to improve conducting and choral skills; highly artistic performance of works of the educational repertoire. The conducting and choral training of master’s students is carried out in the conditions of formal and non-formal art education, in particular in the creative laboratories of the Hryhoriy Levchenko Department of Music of PNPU.

The article highlights the process of formation of professional competencies of future music teachers in the process of mastering professionally-oriented disciplines, in particular, during a workshop on school repertoire. The article argues that during the mastering of the workshop from the school repertoire is the formation of theoretical knowledge, skills needed in practical work in the study of school repertoire; mastering the vocal-choral and instrumental repertoire of the current school program "Music", other experimental programs; mastering various methods of studying and working with works of the school repertoire; formation of the ability to lead a children's choir, to accompany songs of the school repertoire, to read from a sheet and transpose vocal choral works, to select by ear easy melodies by interval composition, accompaniment to them by means of the main functions. Since the subject of the discipline "School Repertoire Workshop" is the process of perception and reproduction of musical works of the school repertoire, correlating them with professional competencies, we can say that the main ones are: expanding, deepening and consolidating professional and pedagogical knowledge of teachers and professional competencies musical art; gaining experience in analyzing its essence, content, structure, levels; acquaintance with the civilizational changes influencing formation of professional competence of teachers of musical art; improvement of organizational, communicative, constructive, creative skills; preparation for professional functions The question of the need to develop soft skills, such personal characteristics, skills that allow a future music teacher to successfully interact in a team when solving any issues. In our opinion, the formation of soft skills in the process of professional training of future teachers of music is a systematic and purposeful process, as a result of which during educational activities is the formation of necessary for modern teachers skills for interpersonal communication and non-standard problem solving (disputes, conflicts). pedagogical interaction on the principles of respect, tact, tolerance, team awareness, which, of course, will have a very positive effect on the quality of the educational process in general secondary education.

This article is devoted to the study of the history of music education in Uzbekistan. Generalized questions about the changes in the field of music that occurred after the establishment of Soviet power in Uzbekistan, the subordination of music education to the ideas of communist ideology, the organization of local music, choral schools, schools of folk music, which focused on the promotion of European music.
 Analyzed information about the first institutions of music education organized in the region at the beginning of the 20th century, the representatives who carried out their activities there, as well as the transformation processes that took place in this area, the formation of the music education system, ranging from elementary schools to higher musical education.
 Considered such issues as the creation of textbooks, textbooks on music education, the publication of collections of children's songs, other books for schools and kindergartens, since the 30s of the twentieth century.
 The opening of musical institutions in a number of regions of the country in the 60s of the twentieth century was important in the positive solution of the personnel question in the musical sphere, the organization of special classes on Uzbek folk musical instruments in all these institutions were positive changes in the musical sphere, these data are highlighted based on archival sources.
 At the same time, the article describes the changes that occurred during the years of Soviet power in the field of music education in Uzbekistan, in particular, the organization of primary music schools, music schools, changes in this area, problems, information about the material and technical base of music education institutions.
 The essence of such issues as widespread promotion of music schools mainly in large cities of Uzbekistan, training in these educational institutions in most cases only urban children, problems existing in this field, the proportion of representatives of local nationalities, teaching music theory in secondary schools, special music schools, colleges and conservatories was one of the most serious problems.

Background. The article deals with the choral creativity by the famous Ukrainian composer Mark Karminskyi. The weight of M. Karminskyi’s choral works in the legacy of the composer and in choral art in general stimulates research interest in this area of his activity. However, there are relatively few scientific studies that examine the composer’s choral work; most of them are aimed at reconstructing his general creative portrait or at examining other pages of his heritage. The scientific novelty of this research is determined by the comprehensive coverage of children’s choral creativity by M. Karminskyi and the consideration of his unpublished choral works. The research methodology, synthesizing analytical and generalizing approaches, is based on the traditions of national musicology and is determined by the specifics of vocal and choral genres, first of all, by the inextricable link between musical drama and text. The purpose of the article is to recreate the most complete picture of M. Karminsky’s choral work for children and to determine its role in contemporary choral performing. The results of the research. The composer’s early works were distinguished by meaningfulness, optimism, brightness of musical images, which was embodied in easy, convenient and accessible tunes. Many Soviet-era songs created for children of different school age were included in the “Songs for Students” collections as a new program material for choral singing of Ukrainian secondary schools students in music lessons. Several works of the author became known throughout the country and published in the leading music publishers in Kiev and Moscow: “What Boys Are Made Of” (lyrics by R. Burns translated by S. Marshak), “Quicker to the Gathering” (by L. Galkin), “Balloons” (lyrics by Ya. Akim). The songs about Victory in the Second World War are popular: “Victory is celebrated by the people” (S. Orlova), “The soldier has forgotten nothing” (E. Berstein), “Red Poppies” (poems by G. Pozhenyan). The composer combines his songs into vocal-symphonic suites. One of the main genre of choral creativity of the author has become a miniature that is able to absorb a variety of musical expressive means to expand and deepen the content of the work in a small area of the form. The works by M. Karminskyi revealed such features of choral miniature as philosophicity, attentive attitude to the word, its emotional and semantic meaning, which is reflected in the detailed development of the thematic material. Most of the composer’s choral works are written for a cappella choir. The collections of “Choral Notebooks” (1988) and “Road to the Temple” (1995) have reflected the artist’s thoughts for several decades. The figurative content of “Choir Notebooks” includes the lyrical states caused by contemplation of pictures of nature; the collection “Road to the Temple” represents philosophical reflections not only of a personal nature, but also thoughts about the universal problems of today. The cycles reveal the principles of the composer’s thinking and are one of the pinnacles of his creative heritage. The article looks at one of the best works of the cycle “Road to the Temple”, the choir “Remembering Drobitsky Yar” (lyrics by E. Yevtushenko) for children’s choir, soloist (tenor) and piano. Also, the article deals with unpublished choral works by M. Karminskyi “Paraphrases on the Sonata of Mozart” and “Guitar” on F. G. Lorka’s poems. In the work “Guitar” on Lorca’s poem (translated by M. Tsvetayeva), the composer uses signs of Spanish color: imitation of techniques of playing the guitar, rhythmic copyism of the castanets playing and other. The poetic text “decorated” by flexible, broad, expressive melody that gives words greater emotion. The piece is full of sharp changes of genre signs of melodic structures (vocal without text, dance, austinous repetitions) revealing the semantic implication of the poem. The basis of the “Paraphrase on the theme of Mozart’s Sonatine” was the fourth part (Allegro) of Sonatina No. 1 in C Major from the Six Vienna Sonatas by W. A. Mozart. M. Karminskyi noticed the vocal nature of many parts of this cycle and skillfully made a “translation” of one of them for the children’s choir. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he wrote music that does not fundamentally claim to be innovative. As a true professional, he pays attention to the integrity of the compositions elaborating the smallest details. He strives for the laconism of expression and, at the same time, is able to saturate the choral texture with modern expressive means, if the artistic image of the work requires it. Natural expressive intonation, intonation as emotional content of vocal language distinguishes choral music by M. Karminskyi. A special role in intonation is played by breathing, it is inextricably linked with melodic movement and energy. The breath of the melodies of the author is enriched by the lively intonations of the language, which reveal her “soul”, give a feeling of warmth, strength, caress, greatness, truthfulness. Musical form of the composer’s works is determined by the intonation of the music. Based on linguistic-vocal intonations, most of the author’s works have strophic forms that follow from the semantic aspect of the literary text. Karminskyi is a master of choral unison. This mean of expressiveness, which is not often used by composers, in Karminsky’s works is a carrier of expressive melodism and suppose the performance with a great inner feeling. Features of declamation always find a place in his choirs, they reproduce the living human language, the spiritual experiences of a man. Conclusion. The works for the children’s choir have a special purity and cordiality that is so subtly perceived by children. Mark Karminsky’s music is capable of drawing children’s attention to musical values that purify the soul and nurture personality. His music makes you think and feel! M. Karminsky’s creativity has forever entered the concert practice of children’s choirs of Ukraine.

Relevance of the research topic. Music for children’s choir is represented by a significant layer in the creative heritage of Ukrainian composers. However, children’s choral music has hardly been considered in musicolo-gical research. Among the composers of the Kharkiv region, the choral works of V. Drobiazhina received special recognition. The lack of musicological research on the composer’s work has determined the relevance of this work.
 The purpose of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of the artistic aesthetics and compositional style of V. Drobiazhina’s choral music for children.
 The methodology of the theoretical analysis combines fundamental methods and approaches to modeling a holistic picture of the composer’s children’s choral heritage: genre-stylistic; functional-structural; systemic.
 The results. The first collection “Merry Songs” for junior children’s choir, was published in 1976. Jazz rhythms and harmonies, alternating recitation and singing, consonant intonation characterize this cycle. “In the Forest Workshop” is the most popular one among V. Drobiazhina’s works, and it is performed by many children’s choirs in Ukraine. The choir imitates the sounds of the winter forest and creates a premonition of spring. “Spring” is one of V. Drobiazhina’s last compositions. The artist’s extremely delicate sensual soul, passionate love for Ukraine and its musical culture are fully reflected here.
 The scientific novelty of the research. The genre-stylistic aspect of V. Drobiazhina’s choral music for children, the peculiarities of aesthetics and composer’s style are highlighted in the article for the first time.
 The practical significance of the article lies in the fact that these materials can be used in the courses “Choral Literature” and “History and Theory of Choral Performance”.
 Conclusions. Music for children’s choir is one of the most outstanding pages of V. Drobiazhina’s composi-tional heritage. The uniqueness of V. Drobiazhina’s children’s choral music lies in the combination of the extraordinary richness of the musical material with accessibility both for perception and performance. The composer’s music organically combines Ukrainian national traditions with modern means of expression.

Second graders through sixth graders ( N = 343) listened to 10 musical selections in music classes and marked their preference and perception of each selection's tempo on rating scales. Listeners responded to children's songs played with nine electronic keyboard sequenced accompaniments, including popular to more traditional folk styles. The tenth accompaniment style featured simple chords with piano timbre, included to represent a typical acoustic piano accompaniment. All selections were performed at the same tempo. Three versions of the survey, recorded with various song-style combinations, were prepared. Responses indicated lower preference for older students, but also revealed that students across grades judged styles more similarly than the songs. The most preferred styles were those labeled Hip-Hop, Heavy Rock Shuffle, Samba, and Funk2; the least preferred were Polka, March, Bluegrass, and Piano Chords. Song and style combinations affected children's musical preference. There was a significant correlation between perceived faster tempo and style preference for third through sixth graders, but not second graders. All styles except Samba revealed a significant but modest positive relationship between faster perceived tempo and greater preference. Students perceived the piano-chordal accompaniment to be much slower than the other styles.

WILLIAM BOLCOM: Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Christine Brewer, Measha Brueggergosman, Hana Davidson, Linda Hohenfeld, Carmen Pelton (sops), Joan Morris (mezzo-sop), Marietta Simpson (con), Thomas Young (ten), Nmon Ford (bar), Nathan Lee Graham (speaker/vocals), Tommy Morgan (harmonica), Peter ‘Madcat’ Ruth (harmonica and vocals), Jeremy Kittel (fiddle), The University of Michigan Musical Society Choral Union, Chamber Choir, University Choir, Orpheus Singers, Michigan State University Children’s Choir, Contemporary Directions Ensemble, University Symphony Orchestra c. Leonard Slatkin. Naxos 8.559216-18.AARON COPLAND: Inscape. ROGER SESSIONS: Symphony No. 8. GEORGE PERLE: Transcendental Modulations. BERNARD RANDS: …where the murmurs die… . The American Symphony Orchestra c. Leon Botstein. New World 80631-2.KYLE GANN: Nude Rolling Down an Escalator: Studies for Disklavier. New World 80633-2.

A lullaby is a genre that has been known since ancient times. Humanity has always had the need to lull a child and induce sleep. Based on the folklore tradition, the lullaby genre attracts the attention of professional composers. From the simplest songs to part of the complex synthetic genre of opera – such a wide genre inclusion of the lullaby. Songs, choral works, instrumental works of solos and various ensembles, operas – lullabies appear in various musical genres. Koliskova is manifested in poetry and children’s literature, stage art and art of animation. It is known that the lullaby was embodied in professional music during the Age of Enlightenment as part of the opera “Ronald” (1750) by H. Handel. Even earlier, during the Renaissance, in 1588, composer William Byrd’s author’s lullaby “Lullaby my sweet little baby” was published in the collection “Psalms, Sonnets and Songs of Sadness and Pietie”. Lullaby, becoming an artistic genre, gets the opportunity to acquire new meanings, thereby developing means of expression. With the help of genre, we can get information about people’s worldview. A lullaby in opera genres takes on different roles and functions depending on the macro world of this opera. However, having the influence of the author’s style of the composer, the era, it does not destroy the core of the genre.

Background. Choral work of American composers of the second half of the XX century is characterized by new qualities that have appeared because of not only musical but also non-musical factors generated by the system of cultural, historical and social conditions. Despite of a serious amount of scientific literature on the history of American music, the choral layer of American music remains partially unexplored, especially, in Ukrainian musical science, that bespeaks the science and practical novelty of the research results. The purpose of this study is to discover and to analyze the peculiarities of the historical formation and identity of American choral art of the second half of the twentieth century using the the works of famous American artists as examples. The research methodology is based on theoretical, historical and analytical methods, generalization and specification. Results. The general picture of the development of American composers’ practice in the genre of choral music is characterized by genre and style diversity. In our research we present portraits of iconic figures of American choral music in the period under consideration. So, the choral works of William Dawson (1899–1990), one of the most famous African-American composers, are characterized by the richness of the choral texture, intense sonority and demonstration of his great understanding of the vocal potential of the choir. Dawson was remembered, especially, for the numerous arrangements of spirituals, which do not lose their popularity. Aaron Copland (1899–1990), which was called “the Dean of American Composers”, was one of the founder of American music “classical” style, whose name associated with the America image in music. Despite the fact that the composer tends to atonalism, impressionism, jazz, constantly uses in his choral opuses sharp dissonant sounds and timbre contrasts, his choral works associated with folk traditions, written in a style that the composer himself called “vernacular”, which is characterized by a clearer and more melodic language. Among Copland’s famous choral works are “At The River”, “Four Motets”, “In the Beginning”, “Lark”, “The Promise of Living”; “Stomp Your Foot” (from “The Tender Land”), “Simple Gifts”, “Zion’s Walls” and others. Dominick Argento’s (1927–2019) style is close to the style of an Italian composer G. C. Menotti. Argento’s musical style, first of all, distinguishes the dominance of melody, so he is a leading composer in the genre of lyrical opera. Argento’s choral works are distinguished by a variety of performers’ stuff: from a cappella choral pieces – “A Nation of Cowslips”, “Easter Day” for mixed choir – to large-scale works accompanied by various instruments: “Apollo in Cambridge”, “Odi et Amo”, “Jonah and the Whale”, “Peter Quince at the Clavier”, “Te Deum”, “Tria Carmina Paschalia”, “Walden Pond”. For the choir and percussion, Argento created “Odi et Amo” (“I Hate and I Love”), 1981, based on the texts of the ancient Roman poet Catullus, which testifies to the sophistication of the composer’s literary taste and his skill in reproducing complex psychological states. The most famous from Argento’s spiritual compositions is “Te Deum” (1988), where the Latin text is combined with medieval English folk poetry, was recorded and nominated for a Grammy Award. Among the works of Samuel Barber’s (1910–1981) vocal and choral music were dominating. His cantata “Prayers of Kierkegaard”, based on the lyrics of four prayers by this Danish philosopher and theologian, for solo soprano, mixed choir and symphony orchestra is an example of an eclectic trend. Chapter I “Thou Who art unchangeable” traces the imitation of a traditional Gregorian male choral singing a cappella. Chapter II “Lord Jesus Christ, Who suffered all lifelong” for solo soprano accompanied by oboe solo is an example of minimalism. Chapter III “Father in Heaven, well we know that it is Thou” reflects the traditions of Russian choral writing. William Schumann (1910–1992) stands among the most honorable and prominent American composers. In 1943, he received the first Pulitzer Prize for Music for Cantata No 2 “A Free Song”, based on lyrics from the poems by Walt Whitman. In his choral works, Schumann emphasized the lyrics of American poetry. Norman Luboff (1917–1987), the founder and conductor of one of the leading American choirs in the 1950–1970s, is one of the great American musicians who dared to dedicate most of their lives to the popular media cultures of the time. Holiday albums of Christmas Songs with the Norman Luboff Choir have been bestselling for many years. In 1961, Norman Luboff Choir received the Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus. Luboff’s productive work on folk song arrangements, which helped to preserve these popular melodies from generation to generation, is considered to be his main heritage. The choral work by Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) – a great musician – composer, pianist, brilliant conductor – is represented by such works as “Chichester Psalms”, “Hashkiveinu”, “Kaddish” Symphony No 3)”,”The Lark (French & Latin Choruses)”, “Make Our Garden Grow (from Candide)”, “Mass”. “Chichester Psalms”, where the choir sings lyrics in Hebrew, became Bernstein’s most famous choral work and one of the most successfully performed choral masterpieces in America. An equally popular composition by Bernstein is “Mass: A Theater Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers”, which was dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy, the stage drama written in the style of a musical about American youth in searching of the Lord. More than 200 singers, actors, dancers, musicians of two orchestras, three choirs are involved in the performance of “Mass”: a four-part mixed “street” choir, a four-part mixed academic choir and a two-part boys’ choir. The eclecticism of the music in the “Mass” shows the versatility of the composer’s work. The composer skillfully mixes Latin texts with English poetry, Broadway musical with rock, jazz and avant-garde music. Choral cycles by Conrad Susa (1935–2013), whose entire creative life was focused on vocal and dramatic music, are written along a story line or related thematically. Bright examples of his work are “Landscapes and Silly Songs” and “Hymns for the Amusement of Children”; the last cycle is an fascinating staging of Christopher Smart’s poetry (the18 century). The composer’s music is based on a synthesis of tonal basis, baroque counterpoint, polyphony and many modern techniques and idioms drawn from popular music. The cycle “Songs of Innocence and of Experience”, created by a composer and a pianist William Bolcom (b. 1938) on the similar-titled poems by W. Blake, represents musical styles from romantic to modern, from country to rock. More than 200 vocalists take part in the performance of this work, in academic choruses (mixed, children’s choirs) and as soloists; as well as country, rock and folk singers, and the orchestral musicians. This composition successfully synthesizes an impressive range of musical styles: reggae, classical music, western, rock, opera and other styles. Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) was named “American Choral Master” by the National Endowment for the Arts (2006). The musical language of Lauridsen’s compositions is very diverse: in his Latin sacred works, such as “Lux Aeterna” and “Motets”, he often refers to Gregorian chant, polyphonic techniques of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and mixes them with modern sound. Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” is a striking example of the organic synthesis of the old and the new traditions, or more precisely, the presentation of the old in a new way. At the same time, his other compositions, such as “Madrigali” and “Cuatro Canciones”, are chromatic or atonal, addressing us to the technique of the Renaissance and the style of postmodernism. Conclusions. Analysis of the choral work of American composers proves the idea of moving the meaningful centers of professional choral music, the gradual disappearance of the contrast, which had previously existed between consumer audiences, the convergence of positions of “third direction” music and professional choral music. In the context of globalization of society and media culture, genre and stylistic content, spiritual meanings of choral works gradually tend to acquire new features such as interaction of ancient and modern musical systems, traditional and new, modified folklore and pop. There is a tendency to use pop instruments or some stylistic components of jazz, such as rhythm and intonation formula, in choral compositions. Innovative processes, metamorphosis and transformations in modern American choral music reveal its integration specificity, which is defined by meta-language, which is formed basing on interaction and dialogue of different types of thinking and musical systems, expansion of the musical sound environment, enrichment of acoustic possibilities of choral music, globalization intentions. Thus, the actualization of new cultural dominants and the synthesis of various stylistic origins determine the specificity of American choral music.

Formulation of the problem. In the globalized time-space of the 21st century, the musical heritage left by M.V. Lysenko motivates to comprehend at a new level the phenomenon of the creative universalism of the artist, the multiple manifestations of his musical-social, educational, ethnographic and composing activities. Given the importance of the choral singing for nurturing the national consciousness of young musicians, the role of M. Lysenko’s opera heritage for children and adolescents should be noted. The choice of the theme was actualized by the iconic premiere of M. Lysenko’s children’s opera called “Winter and Spring” (2017) at the Great Hall of Kharkiv National University of Arts named after I.P. Kotlyarevsky,performed by young performers, which coincided with honouring the memory of the great Kobzar (the 175th anniversary since his birthday). In particular, the orchestration was performed by Yelizar Pashchenko, the stage director – Sofia Melnikova; the conductor –the author of the article. Thus, M. Lysenko’s children’s opera is still relevant for young artists in terms of their professional and national self-growth. The purpose of the article is to systematize the manifestations of artistic universalism in the activities of M.V. Lysenko in the aspect of phenomenology of the creativity of the composer on the example of the genre of children’s opera. The object of the study is the Ukrainian music tradition; the subject – music-educational activity of M. Lysenko in the aspect of its actualization in the contemporary cultural and artistic space. The analysis of recent publications on the topic. The reflection of M.V. Lysenko’s creative heritage in its aspects was performed in the studies by the classics of Ukrainian studies (K. Kvitka (1986), M. Rylsky (1927), O. Pchilka (1913a, 1913b), L. Arhimovych, M. Gordiychuk (1992)), and by the modern scholars (L. Corniy (2011), S. Grytsa (2007)). One of the fundamental editions is the book-album called “Mykola Lysenko’s World. National identity, music and politics of Ukraine of the 19th– the beginning of the 20thcenturies»(compiled by T. Bulat and T. Filenko (2009)). However, there is no phenomenological approach to the master’s creative work in these sources. The presentation of the main material. M. Lysenko was a personality gifted with many talents, at that time he was presenting the figure of a universal personality – on the one hand, an intellectual, and on the other – an educator. He read in the original language the works by Russian, Polish, German, French writers (Dumas, Eugene Sue), independently studied the works by R. Schuman and R. Wagner, Y.S. Bach, performed virtuosic compositions by F. Liszt. The manifestations of the artistic universalism of M.V. Lysenko as a criterion of the composer’s activity in the light of the problem of self-identification of Ukrainian culture at the stage of its formation have been systematized. The composer’s outlook and aspects of his creative life have been characterized. Lysenko’s music-educational activities began the process of democratization of music education in Kyiv. So, in 1904 he opened the School of Drama and Music. He focused on the programs of Moscow and St. Petersburg Conservatories. Therefore, on the stage of the educational institution the authors of the modern version of the opera “Winter and Spring” take the ideas of the founder of the national musical culture. Their purpose was to preserve the holistic concept of the development of the musical form of the opera. The ancient folk intonations, the expressive and difficult in the technical performancesub-voices, the varied and original use of the fret, reflected in the melody of children’skolyadka (carols) and vesnyanka (spring songs), helped the young performers to achieve some level of the performing skills. It should be noted that the final choir (vesnyanka) “And it’s spring already, and it’s already good”, as well as the choral scenes of carolling and spring celebrations are in low demand in the modern choral performance and need to be popularized. For example, the choral scene that begins with the kolyadka called “Herod Is Damned” can be performed as a compulsory piece at children’s choral competitions in Ukraine. The opera is quite technically difficult to perform. Children’s mass scenes “cement” the opera’s musical material. The choir of the younger age children performed the first choral song “Go, Go, Let’s Meet”, built on the invocative intonation of the big tertiary, there are jumps on octave and the fifth; by means of harmonization, the composer gives a colourful sounding to the choir’s kolyadka and shchedrivka (New Year Ukrainian song). Conclusions. In the choral scene of the children’s opera called “Winter and Spring”, the composer applied such techniques as: the combination of shchedrivka and kolyadka in the choir “New Joy Began”; the techniques of folk polyphony: unison chants (vesnyanka “Cuckoo in the Meadow”), the tertiary doubles and octave thickenings (the ancient kolyadka “Herod Is Damned”); the original means of vocal-choral writing (the final choir “And it’s spring already, and it’s already good”). Thus, M. Lysenko’s creativity is filled, on the one hand, with the love to Ukrainian folklore, and on the other, with the perception of the European spiritual values of the music world, where Ukraine should take its rightful place. This is the phenomenon of self-identification of the professional activity of the great composer and figure of musical culture, which is inherited by the modern musicians of Kharkiv

The article dwells upon specific features and peculiar methods of teaching a foreign language to preschoolers which will contribute to their social communicative development. The authors emphasize a stage character of this process distinguishing the initial phonetic stage, the second lexical stage and the final evaluative and reflective stage. The enhancement of phonetic, lexical and speech skills stipulates such forms of classwork arrangements as individual, paired and choral, each with its advantages and functions. For this age group, an analytico-imitative method has been recognized as the most effective one: cognitive imitation and reproduction are the basic forms of learning. In this respect, the content of the material intended for cognitive imitation has to be valuable, informative and thought-provoking. Special genres have to be found and applied to motivate children to learn and take part in activities: songs, counting rhymes, poems, fairy-tales and games. Children should be constantly involved into the emotionally appealing canvas of the lesson. The results of the research show that emotional impact, exciting forms of presentation and the informative content of the material increase preschoolers’ self-consciousness about their progress, create positive motivation and push forward their cognitive, communicative and social development.

The article analyzes the ensemble work of the diaspora bandura players. It is noted that ensemble music has its origins in the so called “kobzarism” in Ukraine. The development of bandura art in the diaspora of the twentieth century occurred differently. This is due to the chronological, spatial, geographical and cultural factors of the countries of the world where the bandura cells were located. The history of the appearance of Ukrainian bandura players on the territories of other continents is covered, and the emigration waves that became the impetus for the development of bandura art abroad are mentioned. The leading bandura ensembles of the diaspora were analyzed – the Taras Shevchenko Bandura Band (Detroit), the Canadian Bandura Band, the Gnat Khotkevych Bandura Ensemble (Toronto), and the Maiden Bandura Band. P. Orlyk (Detroit), ensemble “Haidamaki”, children’s choir “Golden Strings” and their cooperation with various groups both in the diaspora and in Ukraine. The article also describes the repertoire, tools and their modifications in connection with certain historical events. It is noted that the Ukrainian theme became the basis for the repertoire of the diaspora bandura players – Ukrainian folk songs, patriotic, Cossack, Duma, spiritual works, carols, works of Ukrainian composers, instrumental melodies and others. The names of famous bandura masters abroad are mentioned. Ensemble performance of non-mainland Ukraine is associated with the names of many artists, including Vasyl Yemets, Mykhailo Teliga, Hryhoriy Kytasty, Hryhoriy Nazarenko, Stepan Hanushevsky, Volodymyr Lutsyv, Viktor Mishalov, Olga Gerasimenko-Oliynyk and Yuriy Oliynyk. The article mentions the close cooperation of bandura ensembles and representatives of choral and vocal art. The concert life of famous bandura groups of the diaspora and their artistic achievements are described. It is also noted that the ensemble art of the diaspora is currently actively studied by scholars of the diaspora and Ukraine.

Background. Today in the minds of Ukrainians there is a process of reappraisal of values, which requires new approaches to the cultural education of citizens. At the current stage of the formation of the Ukrainian state, in front of its culture, in particular, children education, important and responsible educational tasks arise for the younger generation to develop a worldview focused on national ideals and traditions, preserved in folk songs, tales, in outstanding literary, musical works and other significant achievements of spiritual culture. That is why there is a need to study the children musical and dramatic heritage of the past – an inexhaustible treasury of cultural and educational ideas that in modern conditions can get their new life. The pearl in this treasury are the children plays by Olena Pchilka. The lack of research that fully and comprehensively covers the scientific and practical significance of children musical plays by the writer for the development of children theater in Ukraine determines the relevance of the chosen topic. Appeal to it seems very timely, given the growing popularity of the children musical genre today both in the world and in Ukrainian musical culture. The process of creative development of this genre is now one of the important problems of a modern professional theater for children. Olena Pchilka’s work has been studied by such scientists as D. Dontsov (1958), I. Denysiuk (1970), N. Kuprata (1998), H. Avrakhov (1999), L. Miroshnichenko (1999, 2014), L. Novakivska (2002), L. Drofan (1992, 2004), O. Mikula (2007, 2011), V. Shkola (2010), A. Zaitseva (2014), I. Shchukina (2015), O. Yablonska (2019) and others. In critical and scientific studies, innovative genre features of the writer’s work are identified, attention is focused on the specifics of his problematic and thematic range, the features of literary and aesthetic, sociopolitical, pedagogical views of the writer. However, there is still no work that would comprehensively reveal our chosen topic. The purpose of the article is to show Olena Pchilka’s contribution to the development of children musical theater in Ukraine on the basis of a study of the children’s musical and dramatic work of the writer. The research methodology is comprehensive. The work uses knowledge from various fields of art and related sciences: the history and theory of theater, the theory of music, music and theater psychology, vocal and theater pedagogy. Analytical method is applied for Olena Pchilka’s musical plays for children’s theater, which are the material of this study. Results of the study. Results of the study. An outstanding Ukrainian writer, translator, editor, teacher Olga Petrovna Dragomanova-Kosach (1849–1930) is known better under the nickname Olena Pchilka. Half of all her works are works for children and youth: poems, translations, tales, stories, plays. Olena Pchilka’s legacy in the field of children theater, in terms of his qualities – an active educational orientation, a benevolent understanding of the child’s inner world and its highly artistic reflection in word and music – is a unique cultural phenomenon. During her lifetime, only three of her twelve plays for children were published. However, every play was put on the school stage. The author herself usually directed performances. The writer’s awareness of musical folklore formed the foundation for the creation of children plays. The author interweaves melodies in the texts of plays (“Melodies for singing”, as Pchilka called it) as an organic component of the child’s very existence, they sound in a dance, game or some imaginary action of children, thereby “feeding” and directing the Grand vector of the stage action. There is the information that Olga Petrovna became the author of some songs. The writer outlined the creative directions of her future children theater: 1) dramatizations of a “suitable” literary work; 2) a children musical play; 3) an original dramatic work with a wide use of poems, fables, folk songs, ritual dances with singing, children games with toys, and the like. “Honor your native...”, “...it is good to know your own folk language, song...” – expressions from Olena Pchilka’s article “Work of upbringing” formulate the dominant of her creativity, pedagogy, social and scientific activities and, to a high degree, her children drama. Olena Pchilka considered the life and work of Taras Shevchenko one of the most influential sources of education of conscious Ukrainians. Therefore, in her children theater, the theme of his life and creativity is a leitmotif (the play “Spring morning of Taras” etc.). Olena Pchilka was convinced that the Ukrainian language, song and native nature are a necessary and irreplaceable environment for a child. Folk art and folk mythology reign in a number of her children plays. In one of them (“Dreamdreamy, or a Fairy tale of a Green Grove” – “Son-Mriya, Kazka Zelenogo Gayu”) we meet a Forest Mouse, a Cuckoo-a girl, a Nightingale-a boy, a Crow-a girl, a Sparrow-a boy, children-Quail, Forest Mermaid, Goblin (Lisovik), Field Mermaid. For this play the author introduced the row of various songs, from the song of field workers to lullaby. The play “Bezyazykiy” (“Without tongue”) touches on the theme of refugees, the psychology of the child, his behavior in the school team, and at the same time the ethical problems of teaching. The play also includes the songs. The operetta “Two Sorceresses” (1919) is the pinnacle of Olena Pchilka’s children drama. The writer repelled from folk melodies and poems; games, ceremonies, festivals; from children’s naturalness, clarity, rainbow imagination, playfulness, organically weaving into the fabric of their works their own verses and melodies to them. The play contains a variety of numbers: solo (“Singing of the Earth”, “Singing of Santa Claus” and others), choral (“Choir of boys and girls”, “Spring-Beauty is coming”, etc.), conversational and vocal scenes (“I’m Winter, Winter”, “Girl, Fish”, “We are the clear rays of the sun”, “Lala, bobo”, etc.). Another title of the work is “Winter and Spring”, so the names of the main characters who oppose each other are placed in the title. The presence of conversational and vocal scenes, folk games and dances, comedy episodes allows us to consider the play as the predecessor of the modern genre of “musical” for children. The festive theme continues in the one-act play “A Christmas tale”. The play traces the process of becoming a person as a person. A large amount of ethnographic musical material has been introduced into the artistic structure of the work. The writer meant the “Christmas fable” as a dramatic action. To “AChristmas Fable” the author has included Ukrainian folk songs: the Christmas Carol “New joy”, a Christmas caroling girls “Oh red, plentiful viburnum”, the dance song “Dance of the groom” (“Kozachok”), the refrain “At the house of Pan Semen” etc. In 1920, in Mogilev-Podolsk, Olga Petrovna Kosach, a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature, organized a children’s drama Studio at the Ivan Franko school, where almost all the plays of her “Ukrainian children theater” were staged: “Peace-Peace!” (Mir-Mirom), “Kiselik” and “Treasure” (“Skarb”). The play “MirMirom!” is based on the games of preschool children: the song “Go, go, rain”, the game for friendship “Peace-Peace!”, the song “My mother gave me a cow” and other. Among Olena Pchilka’s children plays, there are “tales” of Patriotic content. “Treasure” performance in one action, which also include the songs, is teaching for responsibility and patriotism. In her play “Out of captivity”, where the Ukrainian childhood during the October revolution shows, the children sing the choral “liberated singing” – the singing of the Ukrainian anthem. Conclusions. It is concluded that Olena Pchilka contributed to the creation of the foundations for the formation of children musical theater in Ukraine with her creative heritage and practical activities, developing a new literary genre of musical children play, which we can call the genre of musical in modern times. After all, Olena Pchilka’s plays, written in a form accessible to children, are examples of Patriotic and cultural education, full of music, singing, folk and household melodies, folk songs, carols, poems, games, dances, rituals, celebrations. This problem is poorly understood and requires further research.

AbstractWritten between 1990 and 2009, my seven works for string quartet: Poems for string Quartet and 6 numbered Quartets approach different modal languages, from prepentatonic or pentatonic structures to heptachordic or dodecaphonic configurations, sometimes overlapping musical languages, generating those polymorphous languages, with moments of overlapping or juxtaposing of syntaxes, with a motivic cycling determinant of a conceptual unit of works linked to synthetic, elaborate thinking. Pluripartite, seen as suites of miniatures (String Quartet No. 3, Poems for string quartet), tripartite (Quartets No. 2, 4, 5, 6) or monopartite (Quartet No. 1), the 7 String Quartets are written in the sphere of formal patterns caused by construction based on dramaturgy inspired by literary works (see Quartet No. 5 inspired by Winter at Lisbon by Antonio Munoz Molina, see Poems for string quartet and Quartet no. 3 inspired by my own poems from the volumes Hiding places of Masks and Egyptian Mystery), from the contemplation of the chordal sonorities of some tonal-functional relations or of some jazz sonorities (Quartet No. 4), of a Byzantine song or children’s songs (Quartet No. 3), of philosophical meditations (see Quartet No. 1), of sonorities belonging to the Romanian song and dance (Quartet No. 6) or of some concision and refinement as reflections of Webern’s music, overlaying on small temporal spaces different musical languages belonging to different tuning systems (Poems for string quartet). The first audition of String quartets was at the International Festivals of the Musical Autumn of Cluj and Cluj Modern Festival (1990, 1993, 1999, 2001, 2003, performers: Concordia Quartet: Albert Markos, Grigore Botar, Olimpiu Moldovan, Adalbert Torok), as well as at the International Meridian Festival, Bucharest (2018, Quartet No. 6 played by the Ad Hoc Quartet: Vlad Răceu, Diana Man, Ovidiu Costea, Vlad Rațiu, musical management: Matei Pop).

The article analyses how the folk singing tradition of the Lithuania Minor developed in the late 20th and in the early 21st centuries. It examines the activities of the folklore groups in the Klaipėda Region during the period of 1971–2020, focusing on those that assert fostering of the lietuvininkai singing tradition as their mission or one of their goals. The study employs the previously unused materials, which allow revising the former research results regarding the revival of the Lithuanian ethnic music and show the folklore ensembles working in the Klaipėda Region as a significant part of the Lithuanian folklore movement and the revival of the ethnic music, emerging from the 1960s. Special emphasis is placed on the early phase in adoption of the lietuvininkai singing tradition related to the activities of the folklore ensemble “Vorusnėˮ established in 1971 at the Klaipėda faculties of the State Conservatory of the former LSSR, and the role it had in prompting the creation of other folklore groups in Klaipėda, as well as its impact on the broader cultural and educational processes taking place in the Klaipėda Region.In the 20th century, the prevailing narrative regarding the Lithuanian inhabitants of the Lithuania Minor maintained that books, hymns, schools, church, social and cultural organizations, and choral or theatre activities were the most significant factors influencing the cultural expression of lietuvininkai, while the Lithuanian folklore was hardly practiced anymore or even considered an inappropriate thing. Judging from the folklore recordings, the folk singing tradition supported by the lietuvininkai themselves disappeared along with the singers born in the late 19th century. However, after the WWII, it was adopted and continued by the folklore groups appearing the Klaipėda Region. These groups included people from the other regions of Lithuania who had settled there. This is essentially the process of reviving the ethnic music, which began in Europe during the Enlightenment period and continues in many parts of the world.“Vorusnėˮ was founded in 1971 as the first institutional student folklore ensemble in Klaipėda Region. For 27 years, its leader was a young and talented professor of the Baltic languages Audronė Jakulienė (later Kaukienė). She became the founder of the linguistic school at the Klaipėda University (KU). In the intense and multifaceted activities of the “Vorusnėˮ ensemble, two different stages may be discerned, embracing the periods of 1971–1988 and 1989–2000.In 1971–1988, the ensemble mobilized and educated students in the consciously chosen direction of fostering the Lithuanian ethnic culture, sought contacts with the native lietuvininkai, collected and studied ethnographic and dialectal data, prepared concert programs based on the scholarly, written, and ethnographic sources, gave concerts in Lithuania and abroad, and cooperated with folklore groups from other institutions of higher education.In 1989–2000, the “Vorusnėˮ ensemble engaged in numerous other areas of activity. The children‘s folklore ensemble “Vorusnėlėˮ was established in 1989; both “Vorusnėˮ and “Vorusnėlėˮ became involved in the activities of the community of the Lithuania Minor founded in 1989. The leader of the ensemble and its members contributed to the establishment of the Klaipėda University, which became an important research center of the Prussian history and culture. The leader of the ensemble and her supporters created a new study program of the Lithuanian philology and ethnology at the KU, which during its heyday (2011–2014) had developed three levels of higher education, including bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral studies. The Folklore Laboratory and Archive was established at the Department of the Baltic Linguistics and Ethnology, headed by Kaukienė, and young researchers in philology, ethnology, and ethnomusicology were encouraged to carry out their research there. In the course of over two decades, Kaukienė initiated organizing numerous research conferences dealing with lietuvininkai language and culture.Until 1980, “Vorusnėˮ was the only folklore ensemble in the Klaipėda Region, but in 1985, there were already ten folklore ensembles. These ensembles developed different creative styles that perhaps most notably depended on the personal structure of these ensembles and their leaders’ ideas and professional musical skills. Generally, at the beginning of their activity, all these ensembles sang, played and danced the folklore repertoire comprising all the regions of Lithuania. The activities of “Vorusnėˮ and other folklore ensembles in Klaipėda until 1990 showed that revival of folklore there essentially followed the lines established in other cities and regions of Lithuania.During the first decade after the restoration of independence of Lithuania in 1990, folklore was in high demand. In Klaipėda, the existing ensembles were actively working, and the new ones kept appearing based on the previous ones. The folklore ensembles of the Klaipėda Region clearly declared their priorities, embracing all the contemporary contexts. Some of them associated their repertoire with the folklore of lietuvininkai, others with Samogitian folklore.The lietuvininkai singing tradition was adopted and developed in two main directions.The first one focused on authentic reconstruction, attempting recreation with maximumaccuracy of the song‘s dialect, melody, and manner of singing, as well as its relationship tocustoms, historical events or living environment. The second direction engaged in creativedevelopment, including free interpretations of the songs, combining them with other stylesand genres of music and literature, and using them for individual compositions. These twoways could be combined as well. Lietuvininkai are not directly involved in these activities, butthey tolerate them and participate in these processes in their own historically and culturallydetermined ways.The contemporary artistic expression of the promoters of the lietuvininkai singing tradition is no longer constrained by the religious and ideological dogmas that were previously maintained in the Lithuania Minor and in a way regulated performance of these songs. It is determined nowadays by consciousness, creativity, resourcefulness, and knowledge of its promoters. The dogmas of the Soviet era and modernity have created a certain publicly displayed (show type) folklore. The ensembles took part of the institutionalized amateur art, subsequently becoming subject to justified and unjustified criticism, which is usually levelled on them by the outsiders studying documents and analyzing processes. However, favorable appreciation and external evaluation by the participants of the activities and the local communities highlight the meaning of this activity.

Mark Veniaminovich Karminskyi (1930–1995) is a composer who, already during his lifetime, was appreciated by his contemporaries as the brightest figure in musical art, in particular, musical theater. Well-known in the country and his native Kharkiv, he was also the constant reader of the Kharkiv ‘K. Stanislavskyi’ Music and Theater Library for many years, taking part in many events that took place within its walls. An excellent lecturer and interlocutor, benevolent and affable person, he found an attentive audience and ardent admirers of his musical talent among the library’s readers and stuff. Perhaps, this is why M. Karminskyi chose the Library as the main curator of his archive. What is better than studying the artist’s personal archive to give an idea of his personality, creative methods and worldview? Even a cursory glance at the collection of documents classified on the shelves of the archive, illustrating particular biographical episodes, helps the researcher to form a holistic impression of the artist’s creative personality, as well as to orient, if necessary, for further more depth studying of his heritage. The purpose of this article is a brief review of the general content of the archival fund of M. V. Karminskyi, with the materials of which the author had the honor to conduct research and bibliographic work, as of a documentary sources base for future research of the composer’s work and the history of the musical culture of Kharkiv in 1950–2000 years. Statement of the main positions of the publication. The composer began to transfer his archive to the library during his lifetime: he arranged folders with manuscripts, gave explanations about the time of writing and purpose of individual works. It was this archive that was the first to get into the library as a full-fledged array of documents about the life of a creative person. The condition for its transfer was the possibility of unimpeded viewing of the archive and its copying for the purpose of training and concert performance of the composer’s works. The full description of M. Karminskyi’s archive was completed in 1996, but the fund was supplemented several times thanks to new materials that came to the archival collection after its formation. It contains a variety of documents, including musical manuscripts, newspaper clippings, photographic documents, sound recordings on various media, posters, booklets, programs, manuscripts by other authors related to the activities of the composer. Thus, for the theater – opera, drama – the composer has been actively working since a young age. He wrote music for performances of Kharkiv theaters – Puppet Theater, Young Audience Theater, Ukrainian Drama Theater named after Taras Shevchenko, Jewish Theater, even for student amateur theaters. Four operas by M. Karminskyi, among them – “Ten days that shook the world”, “Irkutsk story” – were successfully staged in many theaters in Ukraine, Russia, the Czech Republic and Germany. Particular attention was drawn to the opera “Ten Days That Shook the World” based on John Reed’s book about the events in Petrograd in 1917, which was published as the separate piano reduction and received a large number of reviews in periodicals. The typewritten copies of reviews by famous Ukrainian musicologists K. Heivandova and I. Zolotovytska have been preserved in the archive. The collection of the archive also includes the published piano score of the opera “Irkutsk story”, the known “Waltz” from which served as a call sign of the Kharkiv Regional Radio for many years. One of the most interesting manuscripts of the archive is the music for the unfinished ballet “Rembrandt” on the libretto by V. Dubrovskyi. The musical “Robin Hood”, which was performed not only in Kharkiv, but also in Moscow, brought the composer national fame. The sound recording of the Moscow play was distributed thanks to the release of gramophone records created with the participation of stars of Soviet stage – the singers Joseph Kobzon, Lev Leshchenko, Valentina Tolkunova and the famous actor Eugene Leonov. The popularity of this musical was phenomenal; excerpts from it were performed even in children’s music schools, as evidenced by the archival documents. During the composer’s life and after his death, his vocal and choral works, works for various instruments were mostly published. The array of these musical editions and manuscripts of M. Karminskyi is arranged in the archive by musical genres. These are piano pieces and other instrumental works, among them is one of the most popular opuses of the composer – “Jewish Prayer” for solo violin (the first performer – Honored Artist of Ukraine Hryhoriy Kuperman). Number a large of publications about the life and career of M. Karminskyi published in books and periodicals are collected, among them are K. Heivandova’s book (1981) “Mark Karminskyi”, the brief collection of memoirs about the composer (compiler – H. Hansburg, 2000) and the congregation of booklets of various festivals and competitions, for example, the booklets of the International Music Festival “Kharkiv Assemblies”, in which the composer has participated since the day of their founding. The booklet of the M. Karminskyi Choral Music Festival testifies to a unique phenomenon in the musical life of the city: never before or since has such a large-scale event dedicated to the work of a single person taken place attracting so many choirs from all Ukraine. A separate array of documents is the photo archive, which includes 136 portraits, photos from various events; 41 of them were donated by a famous Kharkiv photographer Yu. L. Shcherbinin. The audio-video archive of M. V. Karminskyi consists of records of his works, released by the company “Melody”: staging of performances “Robin Hood”, “There are musketeers!” (based on the play by M. Svetlov “20 years later”), various songs, video and tape cassettes with recordings of concerts. Other interesting documents have been preserved, for example, a typewritten script for the Kharkiv TV program about M. Karminskyi with his own participation or the library form, which can be used to trace his preferences as a reader. M. Karminskyi also compiled reviews of publications on the performance of his works and short bibliographic descriptions of their print editions. Conclusions. M. Karminskyi’s personal archive founded by him own in Kharkiv ‘K. S. Stanislavskyi’ Music and Theater Library has been functioning as an independent library fund since 1996 and today it is an unique comprehensive ordered collection, which is freely available and stores documents of various types: music publications and manuscripts, newspaper and magazine fragments, announces, photos, sound and video documents. M. Karminskyi’s archival fund is used as a documentary source for scientific researches (the Candidate’s dissertations of art critics Yu. Ivanova (2001) and E. Kushchova (2004) were defended using the materials of the archive) and as a basic congregation of works by the composer for their performance. The use of digital technologies is part of the necessary modern perspective of the fund’s development, the value of which as a primary source of historical and cultural information only grows over time.

<em>Children&#39;s songs of Uzbek composers have a tradition of improving and enriching this genre. Many generations of the youth of Uzbekistan were brought up on these wonderful examples of the composer&#39;s song creativity. Every period, every stage of the creative path of Uzbek composers is permeated with feelings of love and care for the younger generation. The skill and talent of these authors, their selfless and thankless work creates spiritual wealth - children&#39;s songs, which serve as invaluable musical material for musical pedagogy.</em>

Abstract Children’s songs include a diverse collection of traditional and contemporary songs. (Yinger and Springer [2016]. Analyzing recommended songs for older adult populations through linguistic and musical inquiry. Music Therapy Perspectives 34, 116–125. https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miu048) analyzed musical and textual features of songs used by music therapists with older adults; however, studies on children’s songs in music therapy have not included musical and textual features analysis. Our purpose with this study was to analyze the musical and textual features of a sample of 20 traditional and 20 contemporary predominantly U.S. children’s songs and consider applications for music therapy. Text information was collected, including total and unique words, the song topic, and potential applications. Musical information was collected, including form, melodic range, and harmonic/chordal structure. Findings included that the traditional songs were strophic, had fewer overall words, were harmonized with three chords or fewer, and had melodic ranges of five to seven notes. By contrast, contemporary children’s songs used complex song forms, had more words, were harmonized with more than three chords, and had melodic ranges of eight or more notes. Song topics and applications had similar codes across the song types. A music therapist may apply traditional songs in clinical work, where a simpler musical structure and fewer words support the client’s needs. Likewise, a music therapist may apply contemporary songs for greater musical complexity and more vocabulary. Future studies of children’s songs in music therapy could include an analysis of music therapists’ composed songs and songs used by music therapists who work with young children.

Kuo Chih-Yuan was a famous composer in China Taiwan. He was the pioneer of modern music in China Taiwan and was highly recognized in the music industry. His had written a number of art songs, Hokkien songs, children’s songs, and folk songs adapted with vocal works, as well as instrumental works, including piano music, embodying them with strong local characteristics of orchestral suites, operas, musicals, and choral. From the perspective of “Liangzhou Ci,” a creative ancient poetry and art song, this paper expounds Kuo Chih-Yuan’s creative rules and aesthetic principles by sorting out and collecting relevant materials, analyzing the tonality of his works, and making a comparative study of the changes in intervals, rhythm, and musical structure. This paper further refines the characteristics of ancient poetry and art songs in terms of singing, as well as the humanistic characteristics and historical implications that need to be highlighted when interpreting ancient poetry and art songs, in hope to provide useful reference for vocal music teaching and performance.

В настоящее время при обилии разного рода методической и нотно-музыкальной литературы повсеместно констатируется факт снижения уровня вокально-хоровой подготовки детских коллективов общеобразовательных школ. В семьях утрачена традиция пения родителями народных песен, на которые с давних времен опирались методики постановки и развития голоса отечественных музыкантов-педагогов. Альтернатива привлечения внимание детей к песням лирического протяжного характера видится авторами в аудиовизуальном восприятии вальсов отечественных и зарубежных композиторов через обращение к опыту знакомства детей в дошкольном возрасте со сказками и играми. В мировой музыкальной литературе накоплен большой багаж завораживающих своей красотой вальсовых мелодий. Вальс признан королем танцев, что доказывает его привилегированное положение. Введение медленного и венского вальсов в европейскую программу турниров по бальным спортивным танцам также подтверждает их изысканность и эстетические достоинства. По оценкам педагогов-психологов, в младшем школьном возрасте такой психический познавательный процесс, как восприятие, развит достаточно хорошо. Основываясь на ярком проявлении созерцательной любознательности в восприятии младших школьников, задействовав комплекс методов педагогического воздействия, была предпринята попытка сформировать активный познавательный интерес и спроецировать характерные особенности танцевальных движений в область вокализации мелодии. Проведенный анализ репертуарных нотно-музыкальных хрестоматий позволил отобрать песенно-вальсовый репертуар для разучивания. В статье изложены результаты проведения экспериментального исследования, подтверждающие эффективность высокотехнологичной методики обучения кантиленному пению в процессе разучивания и исполнения песен-вальсов. Опытно-экспериментальным путем доказано, что наличие сходных характеристик в движениях вальсирующей пары и в кантиленной вокализации позволяет младшим школьникам с наименьшими временными и трудозатратами овладеть указанным вокально-хоровым навыком. At present, with an abundance of various kinds of methodological and sheet music publications, the fact of a decrease in the level of vocal and choral training of children’s collectives of general education schools is universally stated. In families, the tradition of singing folk songs by parents has been lost, on which the methods of staging and developing the voice of domestic musicians-teachers have been based since ancient times. The alternative of attracting children’s attention to songs of a lyrical lingering nature is seen by the authors in the audiovisual perception of waltzes by domestic and foreign composers by referring to children’s experiences with fairy tales and games in pre-school age. The world musical literature has accumulated a large baggage of waltz melodies that enchant with their beauty. Waltz is recognized as the king of dances, which proves its privileged position. The introduction of slow waltz and Viennese waltz into the European ballroom dancing tournament program also confirms their sophistication and aesthetic merit. According to teachers-psychologists, in primary school age, such a mental cognitive process as perception is developed quite well. Based on the vivid manifestation of contemplative curiosity in the perception of younger schoolchildren, using a set of methods of pedagogical influence, an attempt was made to form an active cognitive interest and project the characteristic features of dance movements into the area of melody vocalization. The analysis of the repertoire of musical notation chrestomatics allowed us to select the song and waltz repertoire for learning. The article presents the results of an experimental study, confirming the effectiveness of a high-tech methodology for teaching cantilena singing in the process of learning and performing waltz songs. It has been experimentally proved that the presence of similar characteristics in the movements of a waltz couple and in cantilena vocalization allows younger students to master the indicated vocal-choral skill with the least time and labor costs.

In this article I explore the construction of singing child characters in Isaac Watts’ Divine and Moral Songs for Children (1715) and Christopher Smart’s Hymns for the Amusement of Children (1771). The first part focusses on the nature of the lyrical persona within the lexical fields »voice and vocal sound« and »religion« and also looks at the possible addressees. The second part examines stylistic, phonetic, and formal elements, and explores their role in constructing the ›singing I.‹ To show the potential of Watts’ »Against Quarrelling and Fighting« to function as an invitation to playfully adopt behaviour opposed to Christian norms, the article examines a performance of Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite, a chorale by Matthew J. Zimnoch, whose text is taken from Watts’ hymn. Combining approaches from research on children’s poetry with ones from the interface of children’s literature and hymnody, the article also integrates a digitally supported close reading. The hymn texts were inputted into f4analyse, a software used in text linguistics and the social sciences, which allows for the assignment of categories, such as positive self-connotation of the ›singing I‹ or rhyme patterns. In conclusion, the article evaluates the potential of such a digitally supported research methodology for future research at the intersection of children’s literature and digital humanities.