Наративність вокальної балади на прикладі твору Ю. Мейтуса «Розстріляли трьох»: (на вірші В. Коротича)

The purpose of the research is to determine the specifics of narrative in a vocal work using the genre of the vocal ballad as an example. The research methodology is based on a combination of semantic and hermeneutic analysis and systemic, structural, functional, and comparative methods. The scientific novelty lies in the analysis of a vocal work that is narrative in nature in order to identify narrative manifestations. Conclusions. The article reviews the main narratological works and identifies the elements of the narrative text. The main characteristics of the ballad genre and its correspondence to the narrative are identified. The author analyses the literary and musical basis of the vocal ballad by Y. Meitus (words by V. Korotych), “Three were shot”, for the presence of narrative features on different levels. Attention is focused on the interplay of poetic and compositional interpretations of the main narrative elements of the ballad, as well as on the manifestations of narrativity in purely musical terms. The characteristics of narrativity at the level of the form and structure of the vocal ballad are revealed, in particular the destruction of the vertical organisation of the verse in favour of the linearity of the narrative plot and the asymmetry of the form. The presence of the narrator and the formation of his personality by the author-poet and author-composer are established. The opinion of the narrator and his influence on the presentation of events and their perception by the narrators are indicated. It is emphasised that the combination of literary and musical techniques creates the effect of the narrator’s distance and proximity to the events described. The role of tonalities that support literary characters and also come into conflict in purely musical terms, thus creating their own storyline, is determined. It is emphasised that each piece of music has its own unique way of revealing a narrative. In this respect, the need for further research on this topic in other vocal and instrumental genres is demonstrated.