A cappella choir «How to cross the river?» Yu. A. Evgrafova: folklore and composer

The subject of this study is the problem of «folklore and composer» as one of the most relevant in modern Russian musical culture. The object of the study is the consideration of modern methods of composer's work with a folklore source. The purpose of this article is to study the implementation of the Russian folk tale «Bubble, Straw and Bast Shoe» in the a cappella choir «How to cross the river?» by Yu.A. Evgrafov. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as attribution of the literary-textual source; disclosure of the features of the composer's choral writing. A number of key positions are identified: the composition of the performers, form, choral texture. Particular attention is paid to the coverage of issues related to the method of quotation in neo-folklore works of Russian composers. The author states that at the present time, a wide palette of means of musical expression opens up virtually limitless possibilities in the synthesis of tradition and innovation, which brings constant updates to both the individual author's style and to the general development of neofollorism as the most striking trends in contemporary musical art. The methodology consists of a synthesis of historical and theoretical methods. On its basis, historical prerequisites for the emergence of a «new folklore wave» in Russian musical art in the second half of the 20th century are revealed. Special attention is paid to the role of I.F. Stravinsky. The research experience is aimed at establishing the relationship between Russian folklore and the development of modern Russian choral music. The main conclusion of the conducted research is the paradigm of a deep connection between folklore and professional academic music in modern Russian art. In particular, such a position became a determining factor for the work of the Moscow composer of the second half of the 20th – early 21st century Yuri Anatolyevich Evgrafov. The author's special contribution to the disclosure of the topic is the study of the a cappella choir «How to сross the river?», which has not previously been the subject of special research. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time materials are presented on the refraction of folklore tendencies in the choral creativity of a cappella Yu.A. Evgrafov. The emphasis is placed on the need to study the historical and theoretical aspects of the formation and development of neo-folklore stylistic tendencies in modern Russian choral music. In this regard, it is the achievements of the Moscow School of Composers, and in particular the a cappella choral work of Yu.A. Evgrafov, that are becoming a landmark phenomenon.