Theoretical Musicology in Bukovyna (on the Example of S. Vorobkevych’s Harmony Textbook)

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to characterise the state of theoretical musicology in Bukovyna in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on the basis of Sydir Vorobkevych’s work “Musical Harmony”. Research methodology. The article is based on the following research methods: historical, biographical, cultural, and theoretical generalisation. The systematic approach of scientific research helped to analyse the work, which became one of the attempts to adapt the theoretical foundations of musical harmony to the needs of the multinational environment of the Bukovyna region. Scientific novelty is that for the first time, the article thoroughly analyses the music-theoretical work that became the basis for theoretical training of music specialists in Bukovyna, and draws conclusions about the peculiarities of musicology in the region. Conclusions. One of the first theoretical works in Bukovyna to appear during the period of Austro-Hungarian rule in the region was a textbook on harmony by Sydir Vorobkevych. Despite the fact that the vast majority of imported books and works of local artists were written in German, S. Vorobkevych’s “Musical Harmony” was written in Romanian, as the majority of the region’s population was Romanian. The need for such a textbook was extremely relevant among the musicians of Bukovyna and Chernivtsi. S. Vorobkevych created one of the first works of theoretical musicology in Bukovyna, which became the basis of musical education in the region. Sydir Vorobkevych’s work is fully in line with the traditions of the second half of the nineteenth century and confirms the idea that the terminology and methodological explanation of the foundations of music theory, in particular musical harmony, were at the stage of development at that time and underwent changes already in the next century. S. Vorobkevych’s “Musical harmony” is a source of information about the basic postulates of theoretical musicology, related to the principles of harmonic thinking, which, according to the author of the textbook, is an indispensable basis for successful composing.

Key words: art of Bukovyna, musicology, musical education of Bukovyna, musical harmony, music theory.