Phenomenology of the Vocal Nature of the Venetian Barcarolle in the Academic Discourse of the 20th Century

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenology of the vocal nature of the Venetian barcarolle as a representative of the theme of human-nature interaction, and to identify the mechanisms of its artistic transformation within the vocal traditions of the 20th century through the lens of the formation of its ‘lexical dictionary’ and genre invariant. The methodology is based on the application of a phenomenological approach, which allows the genre to be considered as a medium of fundamental ontological oppositions, and the implementation of a descriptive model grounded in the reconstruction of the ‘primary performance situation’ – the spatial-acoustic and corporeal-vocal context of the song’s emergence on the water. The study employs methods of systemic musicological analysis, deconstruction of stable genre forms, and semiotic analysis, enabling a comprehensive examination of the evolution of the vocal barcarolle from a domestic prototype to a complex acoustic code. The scientific novelty lies in the first systematic reconsideration of the vocal component of the barcarolle as its ontological core, overcoming the fragmentariness of previous descriptions and creating a holistic concept of the genre. The principles of transforming the physics of sound over the water surface (echo effects, distancing, mirror symmetry) into specific compositional strategies of the 20th century are identified. The authors propose an interpretation of semantic shifts within the modernist discourse, where the traditional metrorhythmic invariant becomes a means of embodying metaphysical reflection, eschatological anticipation, and existential alienation. Conclusions. It is demonstrated that the deliberate use of the vocal-anthropological foundation of the barcarolle in the works of 20th-century composers (A. Schoenberg, B. Britten, O. Messiaen, G. Ligeti) contributed to the dematerialisation of the genre and its transformation into a universal ontological metaphor for the transition between being and non-being. Music emerges as a complex acoustic space, where transformations in harmonic language and vocal lexicon allow the modelling of threshold states of human consciousness, turning the voice from a mere melodic carrier into an instrument for experiencing time and silence.