Singing professionalization peculiarities at secondary general education institutions of Kharkiv till the middle of XIX century
Authors: Liu Peng 
Published: October 2022

The purpose of the article is to determine the specifics of the professionalization of singing until the middle of the XIX century in Kharkiv general secondary education institutions.

The methodology. Since the phenomenon of Kharkiv vocal art was not considered in the scientific discourse, the methodological basis of the article is the method of comparative analysis, the application of which made it possible to determine the specific features of professional singing in the educational environment of the city. Determining the characteristics of professional singing (methodology of voice processing, repertoire, etc.) was carried out within the framework of applying the principle of systematicity.

The results. The specificity of the understanding of singing as a sphere of professional creativity within the limits of church choral practice is traced. The principles of processing of the singing voice in Kharkiv institutions of general secondary education from the middle of the XVIII century are considered. In the context of preparing a singer for collective music making, the music teacher — bandmaster used methods of working with the singing voice, which were formed within the church choir practice and were aimed at mastering vocal technique. For Ukrainian educational institutions of the last quarter of the XVIII century we can highlight common specifics of the activity of music classes, which consisted, in addition to the music teacher, of minor students and adult already trained musicians.

It is noted that since the 1840s, the aspiration to professional mastery of solo singing has become popular among Kharkiv youth, which is due to the invitation of European vocalists to become a music teachers at Kharkiv educational institutions.

The scientific novelty. It was determined that by the middle of the XIX century. vocal art was cultivated in general educational institutions of Kharkiv by bandmasters, whose multi-functional specifics of activity is determined by the mutual influence of high-quality performance of organizational, pedagogical and other functions within the framework of leadership of musical collectives. In the process of preparing the singer for collective music making, the bandmaster, firstly, used the methods of setting the voice as a means of reproducing the musical text, developed and elaborated in European musical practice; secondly, ensured learning the basic standards for vocals as a level of mastery of the vocal apparatus: voice setting, cantilena singing, purity of intonation, sense of metrorhythm, etc.

The performing and teaching activities of European singers since the 1840s stimulated the professionalization of vocal training in general educational institutions of Kharkiv in the context of reorientation from collective to solo singing. Thanks to the pedagogical activity of the Frenchman G. Briss, the Italians Conti, L. Gervasi, and others, the vocal repertoire begins to be dominated by opera music, the reproduction of which requires professional training of the voice.

The practical significance. Determining the logic of the formation and functioning of certain signs of professional voice reproduction of a musical text within certain chronological and cultural boundaries will contribute to the improvement of the process of understanding the phenomena of, on the one hand, the musical culture of Kharkiv, and on the other hand, the vocal art of Ukraine.