M. K. Čiurlionio simfoninės poemos „Dies irae“ analitinės interpretacijos

Abstract

The article is dedicated to analyse and newly evaluate one of the last M. K. Čiurlionis’ music compositions – the symphonic poem “Dies irae”. First of all, the role of liturgical sequence of the middle ages “Dies irae” is described in the context of Christian culture of Europe. Then the adaptations of the sequence in music of European composers (especially of romantic epoch) are presented. It is noted that the usage of “Dies irae” sequence in music compositions of Hector Berlioz, Ferenc Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninov was directly related to the idea of fatality, pain and death. One of the most typical examples is the Symphonic poem “preludes” by Liszt which embodies a philosophical view of Alphonse de Lamartine. Some aspects of Čiurlionis’ creative process related to destiny, eternity and death are revealed in this context.The influence of painter Arnold Böcklin to the formation of Čiurlionis’ philosophical views and its expression not only in painting but also in music is emphasized. The painting “Isle of the Dead” by Böcklin influenced many artists at the end of the 19 th century. Čiurlionis also admired Böcklin. He saw the painting “Isle of the Dead” for the first time in Leipzig, May 1902. It was the 5 th version of the painting (1886) with brighter-coloured sky and sea, slightly lacking the mournful serenity of the earlier versions. In the same year Čiurlionis listened to the Symphony No. 2 by Hans Huber and was left disappointed. This means that Čiurlionis was already well acquainted with many Böcklin’s paintings and felt the sense of it deeper than Hubert. Influence of Böcklin to Čiurlionis is seen in postcards he has sent to his brother Povilas – Čiurlionis has used not only reproduction of Böcklin’s “Prometheus” but also his own picture “Serenity” which is very similar to Böcklin in its composition and expressed mood. Cycle of paintings “Funeral symphony”, first part of tryptic “Rex” and painting “Night” are also influenced by Böcklin as it is described by art critics A. Savickas and V. Landsbergis.Influence of Böcklin in Čiurlionis’ music is not so evident. Here it is possible to talk about such influence only on very general level and partly expressed ideas of death, fatality and eternity. Nevertheless Čiurlionis titled some of his late symphonic poems as “Creation of the World”, “Dies irae” which links our mind with basic ideas of human life. The genesis of the symphonic poem “Dies irae” is analysed for the first time. Reasons and circumstances of disappearance of the poem from the research discourse during the 20 th century are also explained. The first question concerns the date when the symphonic poem was composed. A signed date of 1 February 1910 at the end of the score means only the final date when the manuscript was finished. Another composition written in the same manuscript book before “Dies irae” is the symphonic poem “Creation of the World” dated 15 March 1907, Warsaw. So it is possible that the symphonic poem “Dies irae” was created between 1907 and 1910 and only rewritten into one manuscript book together with previous compositions on 1 February 1910.In the analysis of the symphonic poem thematic and structural features are presented together with the explanation of new principles of music composition – the specific way to organize musical elements according to the principles of visual art. There are a lot of themes used in the symphonic poem “Dies irae” and they are used like visual icons with minimum transformations. Only different ways of comparing these themes between themselves is used instead of thematic evaluation. This influenced the main structure of the poem. There are features of 3 part recapitulative structure as well as concentric form (symmetrical, 5 parts) and sonata allegro form as well. The conclusion is made that the symphonic poem “Dies irae” is the pinnacle of all Čiurlionis’ music, outstanding with new conception of thematic exposition, development and music drama-making principles.