В търсене на българското... Соловите песни на Любомир Пипков
In Search of Bulgarianness… Lubomir Pipkov’s Solo Songs

Summary/Abstract: The paper traces the characteristics of Lubomir Pipkov’s musical style in the context of the “solo song” genre, the object of study being the composer’s art songs and his songs based on folk thematic material for voice and piano. In seeking the personal in Pipkov’s interpretation of folk melody and the national in his original works, a model based on Guido Adler’s concept of musical style has been applied, consisting of three phases: 1) analysis of the individual treatment of musical elements; 2) analysis of the relation of vocal music to the word and its specific interpretation by the composer; and 3) comparative analysis of Pipkov’s works in which the same thematic material is presented but in terms of different genres. In the exposition, particular emphasis is placed on Lubomir Pipkov’s approach to the original folk song. Through an examination of both field records and Pipkov’s songs based on folk material, it becomes evident that the composer primarily quotes the melodies of dance songs verbatim. By contrast, he elaborates on other types of songs, developing them further in terms of melody and lyrics. As a summary of the study, it is concluded that certain characteristics of Lubomir Pipkov’s musical style persist unchanged throughout all stages of his creative development encompassing both his songs drawing from folk themes and composer’s art songs. These include: 1) the frequent use of ornamentation, which not only introduces national colourbut also contributes to the structural formation of the music, 2) the frequent alteration of time signatures, 3) the varying textures of the accompaniment, 4) the incorporation of “leit-rhythm” as a fundamental principle in his songwriting, 5) the stylization of irregular metres in the context of traditional metric structures (in his songs incorporating folk theme), 6) the “leveling” of irregular meters (in his original songs) plus 7) a distinctive prosody providing an impetus for the construction of the song’s compositional form. In his songs based on folk material for voice and piano, Pipkov thoroughly explores the expression of the folk song in its rhythmic, melodic, and mode-related aspects, introducing into his authorial songs elements of folklore that distinctly reflect the manifestation of the Bulgarian national musical style.

• Details
• Contents