Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic Projections

The article is devoted to the study of the genre specificity of M. Ravel's overture de féerie "Shéhérazade" (1898) and the identification of its important semantic aspects. The non-traditional genre definition of the composition as an overture de féerie reveals the composer's de...

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Main Authors: Valeriya ZHARKOVA, Oleksandr ZHARKOV, Ganna RIZAIEVA
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Babeș-Bolyai University 2024-12-01
Series:Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai. Musica
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Online Access:https://studia.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/index.php/subbmusica/article/view/8590
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author Valeriya ZHARKOVA
Oleksandr ZHARKOV
Ganna RIZAIEVA
author_facet Valeriya ZHARKOVA
Oleksandr ZHARKOV
Ganna RIZAIEVA
author_sort Valeriya ZHARKOVA
collection DOAJ
description The article is devoted to the study of the genre specificity of M. Ravel's overture de féerie "Shéhérazade" (1898) and the identification of its important semantic aspects. The non-traditional genre definition of the composition as an overture de féerie reveals the composer's desire to actualize the theatrical context known to the listener (the féerie genre). The composer seems to extend the “exotic” semantic layer, given in the title by the name of the heroine of the Arabian tales “One Thousand and One Nights”, to the “stereophonic” space of the féerie, and the orchestra completely takes over all the functions of creating the physical and metaphysical dimensions of the féerie. The multidimensionality of the national theatrical genre of the féerie is “folded” in the "Shéhérazade" overture into an orchestral space that contains multilevel projections of the unfolding of extra-musical meanings. This is how the connections between the first orchestral composition and the compositions of the following years - “Waltz” (“choreographic poem”) and “Bolero” (“ballet for orchestra”) – are revealed. The unity of plastic and sound gestures, sensual and deeply hidden from thoughts fantasies will remain a distinctive characteristic of Maurice Ravel's thinking until his last compositions.
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spelling doaj-art-94d2d510acde49e2b75f61b96062dcf72024-12-26T10:57:03ZengBabeș-Bolyai UniversityStudia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai. Musica1844-43692065-96282024-12-0169210.24193/subbmusica.2024.2.14Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic ProjectionsValeriya ZHARKOVA0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3706-3481Oleksandr ZHARKOV1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0196-2933Ganna RIZAIEVA2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2909-5253Department of History of Music, Tchaikovsky National Music Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine. Email: zharkova_valeriya@ukr.netDepartment of Theory of Music, Tchaikovsky National Music Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine. Email: oleksandr0902@vivaldi.netDepartment of History of Music, Tchaikovsky National Music Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine. Email: anriza777@gmail.com The article is devoted to the study of the genre specificity of M. Ravel's overture de féerie "Shéhérazade" (1898) and the identification of its important semantic aspects. The non-traditional genre definition of the composition as an overture de féerie reveals the composer's desire to actualize the theatrical context known to the listener (the féerie genre). The composer seems to extend the “exotic” semantic layer, given in the title by the name of the heroine of the Arabian tales “One Thousand and One Nights”, to the “stereophonic” space of the féerie, and the orchestra completely takes over all the functions of creating the physical and metaphysical dimensions of the féerie. The multidimensionality of the national theatrical genre of the féerie is “folded” in the "Shéhérazade" overture into an orchestral space that contains multilevel projections of the unfolding of extra-musical meanings. This is how the connections between the first orchestral composition and the compositions of the following years - “Waltz” (“choreographic poem”) and “Bolero” (“ballet for orchestra”) – are revealed. The unity of plastic and sound gestures, sensual and deeply hidden from thoughts fantasies will remain a distinctive characteristic of Maurice Ravel's thinking until his last compositions. https://studia.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/index.php/subbmusica/article/view/8590Maurice RavelShéhérazadeoverture de féeriegenre innovationsemantic projectionOrientalism
spellingShingle Valeriya ZHARKOVA
Oleksandr ZHARKOV
Ganna RIZAIEVA
Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic Projections
Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai. Musica
Maurice Ravel
Shéhérazade
overture de féerie
genre innovation
semantic projection
Orientalism
title Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic Projections
title_full Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic Projections
title_fullStr Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic Projections
title_full_unstemmed Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic Projections
title_short Overture "Shéhérazade" by Maurice Ravel: Genre and Semantic Projections
title_sort overture sheherazade by maurice ravel genre and semantic projections
topic Maurice Ravel
Shéhérazade
overture de féerie
genre innovation
semantic projection
Orientalism
url https://studia.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/index.php/subbmusica/article/view/8590
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