Semantics of Trumpet Timbre in Orchestral Opus of Ye. Stankovych as a Reflection of National Tragedy

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyse the timbre dramaturgy in the scores of Ye. Stankovych, specifically focusing on the trumpet parts, to identify their semantic potential in reflecting the theme of the national tragedy. Methodology. The study employs a comprehensive set of musicological methods: source analysis – for systematising scientific publications on the topic; intonational and stylistic analysis – to identify the functional specifics of trumpet parts in programmatic orchestral works reflecting the national tragedy; interpretative and semantic approaches – to reveal the symbolic content of the trumpet timbre within the context of the philosophical comprehension of the national tragedy. The article analyses the works: “Black Elegy”, “Requiem for Those Who Died of Hunger”, and “Requiem” – in which the trumpet timbre acquires stable semantic meanings and functions as an element of sound symbolism. Scientific novelty. For the first time, a system of the author’s semantic archetypes (roles) of the trumpet in orchestral works by Ye. Stankovych, reflecting various facets of tragic experience, has been identified. It is demonstrated that “metaphysical pain” in his scores is materialised through “frozen” intonational structures, while the image of a “transcendent witness” emerges due to the detached sounding of the trumpet in the high register. Through timbre techniques, the composer clearly demarcates the spheres of being and non-being, on the border of which the image of dehumanised evil is vividly depicted through aggressive articulation and timbre contrast. It is substantiated that such polysemy transforms the trumpet part into an element of orchestral semantics, ensuring the integrity of the sonic image of national catastrophe and historical memory. Conclusions. The analysis of the works “Black Elegy”, “Requiem for Those Who Died of Hunger”, and “Requiem»” by Ye. Stankovych provides grounds to assert that the composer constructs a hidden system of intonational signs to record the traumatic experience of the nation. Through a synthesis of timbre and spatial techniques, the composer creates large-scale musical memorials. In them – the trumpet becomes one of the primary carriers of philosophical generalisation, combining emotional intensity with the semantic depth of artistic images.