The writing technique as a component of the compositional process (on the examples of creative practice of the second half of the 20th – 21st centuries)
Authors: Malyi Dmytro 
Published: March 2021

Background, objectives and methodology of the research. The social and cultural paradigm of the 20th century has given rise to a type of composing thinking that did not exist before – a scientific one. Thus, the evolution of the composer’s writing can be defined as a path from thinking by perfect consonance, emancipated dissonance to thinking by deterministic sound and its parameters (height, duration, dynamics, timbre, and articulation). The term of the «composer’s writing technique» means a set of techniques and methods of working with the musical material as a result of the activity of thinking/awareness. Therefore, the aim of this article is an attempt to explore the relationship between the compositional process and writing techniques of the 20th – 21st centuries (pointillism, aleatorysonorous, algorithmic composition), as well as the specifics of polyphonic, homophonic writing in a new context. The methodology of the study includes references to the scientific works by P. Boulez (1971), K. Stockhausen (1963), V. Medushevsky (1984), M. Bonfeld (2006), I. Beckman (2010), I. Kuznetsov (2011), K. Maidenberg-Todorova (2013), M. Vysotska and G. Grigoryeva (2014). Presentation of research results. The phenomenon of writing techniques is very important in the study of the specifics of the compositional process, as it is the technique, for the most part, becomes the goal of creation for many composers of the 20th century. In addition to new techniques, polyphonic and homophonic writing have undergone some changes. The polyphonic one has specific features that are manifested in linearity, part-writing, etc. Examples can be found in the works by D. Ligeti (micro-polyphony), R. Shchedrin, V. Bibik, V. Ptushkin, V. Sylvestrov, and O. Shchetynsky. Regarding the homophonic writing, we shall note that, first of all, it is an indicator of style and conceptual thinking of a composer (works by A. Pyart, J. Tavener, and L. Sumera). In pointillism, the sound is thought of as a deterministic, isolated structure, which is expressed by its various parameters. Here are the examples from the creative work by A. Webern («The Variations for the Piano»; «The Variations for the Orchestra»), by E. Denysov «DSCH». The aleatory-sonorous technique is associated with the operation of timbre sonorities, according to their specific patterns, and developed in the 50–60s of the 20th century in the works by I. Xenakis, V. Lyutoslavsky, Ksh. Penderetsky, and D. Ligeti. The algorithmic composition is an indicator of scientific and mathematical thinking, and is divided into: fractal, stochastic, spectral, concrete and electroacoustic music. The first was formed within the framework of the works by C. Dodge, G. li Nelson, D. Ligeti, and others (I. Beckman, 2010). Stochastic music is associated with the name of I. Xenakis, and the ancestors of the spectral school are the French composers G. Grisey and T. Murray. Conclusions. The article considers the writing techniques of the 20th–21st centuries as components of the compositional process. It can be concluded that the studied techniques are fundamentally interconnected, revealing the nature of the composer’s thinking/consciousness from different positions. The presented techniques are: the objectification of sound forms, the method of creation; the fact of the composer’s consciousness; the consequence of the historical and cultural evolution of the musical language and communication.