Report: "Reflection of the theme of space in music." On the dusty paths of distant planets

We prepared this article based on a lecture given by Ksenia Podlipentseva, art critic, curator of art projects, as part of the Library Night 2018 festival.

Space is a theme that worried artists in different eras, but, perhaps, it was presented most uniquely in cosmism, futurism and suprematism.

Cosmism - a special phenomenon of the first half of the 20th century. Nikolai Fedorov is considered the founder of Russian cosmism, who created the plan for the so-called “ common cause" According to Fedorov’s ideas, humanity needs to unite all efforts in order to achieve immortality and explore space.

Of course, we can say that the idea of ​​immortality goes back to Orthodox tradition, but there is a significant difference. First of all, Fedorov spoke about the immortality of not only the soul, but also the body. Moreover, the “immortals” also had to take care to revive everyone who had ever lived before. Since this would sooner or later lead to overpopulation of the Earth, Fedorov assumed that by that time people would have already reached such a level of knowledge that they would be able to move to other planets, although at that time, naturally, there was no technical equipment for space flights yet did not have.

In addition to Fedorov, this direction was also developed by Sergius Bulgakov, Pavel Florensky, and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. And from the point of view of painting, the most famous cosmist was Nicholas Roerich, who turned to the genre of philosophical landscape.

First of all, this is a “generalized” landscape; there is no emphasis on the individual features of a particular area. No less important feature is light: light in a painting is not so much a phenomenon of the physical world as a marker of the artist’s spiritual state. Finally, the sky always stands out in Roerich’s canvases: even the mountains take the shape of clouds or resemble other celestial objects.

People in Roerich’s paintings, as a rule, are not located in the center, that is, they are not the main characters, although one cannot say that they are “crushed” by the endless sky: rather, all the elements of the picture are in harmony, because the main idea of ​​the artist’s work is harmony man and the universe.

Perhaps, the recognition of Gagarin, who described his flight into space as follows, can be considered a high assessment for Roerich:

"The rays shone through earth's atmosphere, the horizon became bright orange, gradually turning into all the colors of the rainbow: blue, indigo, violet, black. Indescribable range! Like in the paintings of the artist Nicholas Roerich.”

An equally significant direction at the beginning of the last century was futurism : having originated in Italy, it most loudly declared itself in Russia, becoming one of the most radical phenomena of the avant-garde. Futurism considered itself the herald new era, glorifying, however, not so much the future as the rapidly developing present of factories and machines.

The Budutlyans, the first group of futurist writers, more than once in their work turned to phantasmagoric images of the conquest of the Universe for that time. However, in futuristic painting the cosmic motif was still not the leading one. The most striking examples here include “Emptiness” by Natalia Goncharova, a work written during the period of her passion for non-objective painting, and a series of paintings “Space”.

Despite all the aggressiveness and self-confidence of futurism, by the beginning of the First World War it began to slowly fade, splitting into various movements and giving way to other areas of art.

Suprematism associated, first of all, with its creator - Kazimir Malevich. And of course, the most famous painting, associated with the name of this artist, is “Black Square”, an absolutely unique piece in terms of the number of existing interpretations. During this period, Malevich abandoned objectivity, declaring that painting should express not the object, but the artist’s feeling from the object. In other words, Malevich called for abandoning the “intermediary” of form and painting sensation.

The painting shows a clearly defined black square bordering a white background; It must be taken into account that the work is usually displayed on a white wall. Imagine in your mind how the white background of the canvas merges with the white background of the surroundings, and the square itself moves further and further away, gradually turning into black dot... There is no point in looking for a special plot or another picture in “Black Square”, supposedly hidden under a layer of paint. Essentially, “Black Square” is an attempt to graphically represent the infinity of the Universe.

Evgeniy Kovtun, art critic

from the article ““Victory over the Sun” - the beginning of Suprematism”

The Suprematist method consisted in the fact that Malevich looked at the earth as if from the outside, the inner “spiritual” universe suggested this look to him, and the unshakable canons of space construction immediately collapsed. In Suprematist easel works, the idea of ​​“up” and “down”, “left” and “right” disappears - all directions are equal, as in outer space. The space of the picture is no longer subject to gravity (up-down orientation); it has ceased to be geocentric, that is, a “special case” of the universe. Arises independent world, closed in itself, possessing its own field of cohesion-gravity and at the same time correlated as an equal with the universal world harmony.

The main element in Malevich’s paintings is the suprems (from the Latin supremus - highest), geometric figures, drawn in isolation from the ground, reflected the artist’s idea of ​​a cosmic city, a complex freely floating in the air, the creation of which would be possible thanks to future scientific and technological achievements.

The space theme was developed more specifically by one of Malevich’s favorite students, Ilya Chashnik, who considered Suprematism “a worldview of non-objective, natural and cosmic structures.” In his very famous work“Red circle on a black surface” you can guess a planet in endless outer space and a space station located next to it, although we are still talking about a Suprematist composition. Interestingly, this picture can often be found on the covers of science fiction books.

Of course, the space theme is not limited to the listed areas: look at the bizarre “social futurism” that painted a bright future for the exploration of other planets and contacts with extraterrestrial beings. And although the 21st century has brought new, unprecedented opportunities for studying the Universe, it is worth recognizing that in the last century the topic of space caused much more excitement - at least in art.

The electronic library of our portal website includes great amount books about the secrets and mysteries of space, most of which will certainly interest you. They will awaken memories from childhood and take you away to fairy world unforgettable fantastic adventures.

Many works have been reprinted for a long time, and it is very difficult to find them in paper form. Fortunately, tablet computers and e-books are no longer a curiosity. Anyone can use our website and get any book in electronic form for free using a convenient search. We constantly monitor the development and replenishment of our resource, attracting more and more regular visitors to our portal.

Space and literature from the site

The cosmic myth is a complex phenomenon of world and Russian culture. There has never been a dispute between writers and scientists about which picture of the cosmos will be more correct - scientific or artistic, because today these two systems successfully exist, as it were, separately. It is generally accepted that the language of science cannot be well translated into the language of artistic speech, while the language of art is not adequately reflected in complex scientific terminology. But be that as it may, there are two models of the world that are in invisible interaction.

Newton's cosmos and Goethe's cosmos never formally came into contact with each other, despite the obvious fact that Faust was written by a man who accepted Newton's image of the world. As is known, Newton preceded Goethe, but now a rare cosmological model can do without indirect and direct appeals to Faust. Of course, scientific reliability in this case plays a secondary role.

The Homeric cosmos embossed on the shield of Achilles has little in common with Einstein's and Newton's concepts, but the Iliad never becomes outdated. WITH scientific point view, the cosmic myth can be improved, or it can correspond to new scientific achievements– in art, its value is not measured by this.

Tyutchev's described horror of the abyss of space was motivated by Newton's empty Universe, where there is an infinite amount of space and time. In Einstein's theory of relativity we're talking about about zero time, but despite this Tyutchev does not become obsolete. The reader is interested in the writer not only in the present tense, he is immersed in art with his future and past, with all the confirmed and refuted myths.

Space and literature: myths are refuted in science, but not in art

In Russian literature, myths about space have not previously been the subject of separate research, although “Tyutchev’s space”, “Dostoevsky’s” space, “Lermontov’s space” have become quite familiar phrases in modern conditions. literary criticism. Indirectly or directly, these topics are touched upon in the works of V. Toporov, G. Gachev. A striking example of this kind of research is the work of Ya. Gurevich, S. Averintsev, A. Losev on Byzantine, ancient and medieval literature and aesthetics. In this case, a certain methodology has been developed, which consists in the fact that various works of art act as material for the cosmological model of the ethnographer, philologist, literary critic, and historian.

The portal site presents a review of books about astronauts and space for all those who are interested in the topic of space exploration and who are not indifferent to the role of our country in world astronautics. We have collected both scientific, fantasy and children's books about space.

Mozgova Daria

Purpose of the work: to show the reflection of this topic in music, and also to talk about how it influenced the work of Russian composers silver age and musical groups of the 70-90s of the 20th century.

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REPORT

“Reflection of the theme of space in music”

year 2014

Goal of the work................................................ ........................................................ ...............3

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………...4
Musical cosmism in Russia.................................................... .................................5

Musical groups addressing the theme of space...................................................8

Conclusions................................................. ........................................................ ....................eleven

List of resources used............................................................. ............................12

Goal of the work

Nowadays, discussions on space topics are given close attention. Scientific research works, popular science works, as well as artwork(works of literature, cinematography, visual arts and music). Plato said: “Astronomy makes the soul look up and leads us from this world to the next.” Well, what, if not music, makes a person think, plunge into something other than just memories?

The theme of space is eternal theme in music. In the works of different eras it acquires its own images and has certain means. artistic expression, mine musical language, understandable and in demand in this historical period. My goal – show the reflection of this theme in music, and also talk about how it influenced the work of Russian composers of the Silver Age and musical groups of the 70-90s of the XX century, when shows began to appear - programs filled with special effects and stylized costumes on space themes . In my work I turn to the most striking examples, namely to the work of A.N. Scriabin, a composer of the Silver Age, and I will analyze the creative path of musical groups of the 70-90s.

Introduction

“Music is the most divine and spiritual of all arts.”

(Letters of the Mahatmas. Selected letters 1880-1885, Letter XXII)

Music. So earthly and unearthly. Music is like a reflection of another space, another time, other worlds. It sounds in the noise of a waterfall, the rustling of leaves, and the singing of birds. The grasses reaching towards the Sun are filled with music, for the Sun is music itself. At the hour of sunrise it sings to the Earth a song of meeting, and at sunset it sings a melody of separation.

In times distant from us, thousands of years ago, people knew how to listen to the music of the world, understanding its unity with everything that exists in nature. “Music, its first sound, was born simultaneously with the creation of the world,” said the ancient sages.

In the Universe, where there is a struggle between Cosmos and chaos, order and disorder, harmony and disharmony, music occupies a special position: “music is the science of good harmony. When we commit injustice, we do not preserve the music. In the same way, heaven, earth and everything that moves in them by the Almighty command does not exist without the science of music. Indeed, Pythagoras testifies that this world is founded through music and can be controlled by it.”

Plato, the great Teacher of antiquity and follower of the Teachings of Pythagoras, considered music the main means of educating a harmonious personality. The philosopher took the selection of melodies for listening to the population very seriously.

So, the Universe sounds, but the usual human ear does not catch the heavenly sounds. They are reproduced by music - a reflection of cosmic harmony. Man, as a part of the Universe, tuning into the harmonic sounds of the Cosmos through beautiful melodies, gains spiritual strength and physical health. This is what ancient treatises say.

Musical cosmism in Russia

The pinnacle of musical expression of Russian cosmism is late XIX– beginning of the twentieth century. Against the general background of the breakdown of the worldview, Russian composers - cosmists appeared, who, with their musical and scientific-journalistic works, affirmed the ideas of the musical cosmos. These ideas were expressed both by the composers themselves and by philosophers.

Problem field of outstanding Russian composers of the twentieth century. - Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and others - was set by philosophical thought, especially the philosophy of unity of V.S. Solovyov, which led them to the problems of cosmism. Ideas of positive unity, synthetic method knowledge turned out to be close to domestic composers. An example is the work of Ivan Vyshnegradsky “Day of Genesis”. The infinity of the world, the idea of ​​the unity of existence was for symbolic-cosmists both a romantic dream, and delight, and a philosophical doctrine, the spiritual father of which was V. Soloviev. Many creators at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (V. Solovyov, E. Trubetskoy, A. N. Scriabin) were united by a cosmic theme: the sun, stars, moon, celestial azure - for them there are symbols of divine light that can overcome time and vanity. But along with the Renaissance feeling in musical culture During the Silver Age, the acuteness of emotions clearly manifested itself. In many works of cosmist composers, a frantic impulse and the constraining power of silence and non-existence are realized. All cosmist artists were characterized by a sense of infinity, the mysterious incomprehensibility of existence.

Thus, the turn of the twentieth century was marked as a period of active artistic aesthetic activity: poets and musicians, philosophers and painters, united in their desire to search for a different reality. The range of embodiment of the trends of the era “extended” from the finest nuances in miniature forms (S. Rachmaninov’s romances opus 38) to cosmic scale in large works (S. Prokofiev’s cantata “The Seven of Them”). The cosmic beat embraces everything from the beating of the heart to the cosmic music of the spheres. Space human soul- is likened to the Cosmos of the Universe. The symbol permeates the era. Since it is music that most fully expresses the symbol, all cosmist composers were exponents of ideas that fit within the framework of cosmism: images of infinity (A. Scriabin’s ninth sonata), images of the Cosmos (A. Scriabin’s Fourth Sonata).

Russian cosmists, of whom A.N. Scriabin was also a representative, have a new view of man as a subject of cosmic evolution. Its heights are reached not by an individual person, but by a collective aggregate of conscious beings, all of humanity, in the unity of all generations. The cosmic process seems unique to the composer when the Universe completes only one cycle: it was born from Nothing and strives for its final goal - Absolute Being. The art of sounds in Scriabin’s understanding is not just a “new description” of the world, but a kind of global Reality, of which the physical universe occupies only a part. Wherein musical composition is a kind of “tunnel” into the outer space of stellar worlds. In many of Scriabin’s works, the combination of miniature form and rapid pace creates the impression of flight, self-affirmation of the spirit, and the pauses at the end of the work provide the opportunity to conjecture the image, to feel its endless perspective. Thus, there is a move beyond real, physical time; pauses are perceived as a “trail” from a passing comet. The composer's fourth sonata shows us through musical structures the Eternal Cosmos, the endless Universe, which are captured in immutability main topic- Star themes.

A striking example of cosmism in music is the work of the great Russian composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. In his fourteenth opera, “The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh” (1904), he again creates a global picture of the world, the basis of which is mythological poetics. The composer's favorite instrument is the choir, as the best self-disclosure of the Cathedral Soul, when it carries out the highest form of creativity - spiritual activity. Thus, through the choral embodiment of the cathedral “we”.

Let's look at examples creative path musical groups, especially popular during this period, which addressed the theme of space.

Musical groups addressing the theme of space

1. Rockets group

Rockets are a French rock band. They are known for their image of “aliens from outer space”, one of the first large-scale shows in the history of music using a whole cascade of special effects (in particular, “alien” scenery, pyrotechnics, lasers). The albums Plasteroid and Galaxy went gold and platinum, respectively.

The history of ROCKETS began in 1972 in Paris, where they played mainly in clubs under the name CRYSTAL. They appeared on stage in ordinary human form - in normal clothes and with long hair. It is still unknown whether they recorded anything in this incarnation.

In 1974, CRYSTAL changed their name to ROCKET MEN (or ROCKETTERS) and now - five aliens with green eyes (contact lenses), silver skin and in “space” clothes - first appeared before the public in Europe, recording the single “Rocket Man”.

In 1975, the band's name changed to ROCKETS and a new single (France only) was released, "Future Woman" - an earlier version, different from the one that would later be included on their first album. Side B includes the instrumental "Sexy Planet", which was not included on either album.

In 1976, their first record, Rockets, was released in France, and the group performed a series of phantasmagoric live shows using vocoder, lasers, lighting effects and pyrotechnics, becoming an immediate success in France and then beyond.

According to critics and the Rockets themselves, the album “Galaxy” (1980) was the best in their history. With this album, which was certified platinum (more than 1 million copies), the group reached the pinnacle of its success. After the album's release, ROCKETS embarked on a massive 200-day tour.

Changes in the group (1984) entailed changes in appearance and music. Already ordinary people(not “aliens”), in futuristic costumes (designed by Victor Togliani, who previously worked with the group Visitors, and was also a painter, sculptor and expert in the field of abstract and sci-fi art). Also, the style of music changed towards most British pop groups of that period - less "electronic", more dance.

In 1992, the collection “Galactica” was released on CD, which included songs from records released between 1980-1984.

The creative journey of “Rockerts” has passed dramatic changes V different periods time. But ultimately, resuming true essence group, its members returned to their previous style - a reflection of space in music.

2. Group "Zodiac"

Zodiac (Latvian. Zodiaks) - Soviet musical group from Latvia, which existed in the 1980s and played instrumental music in the synth genre. Zodiac was one of the first Soviet groups performing electronic music. The main themes of the compositions are space and Science fiction(in the mid-1980s the group abandoned this topic).

The instrumental group "Zodiac" led by Jānis Lusens (born April 7, 1959) was organized in the late 1970s by students of the Latvian State Conservatory. J. Vitola on the basis of the Department of Electronic musical instruments. The listeners were shocked by the highest professionalism and musical taste teams, despite the fact that they were a little over twenty years old, their academic musical education. The ensemble began to perform an unusual Soviet stage electronic synthesizer music with “cosmic” sounds. Disco Alliance's debut album was released in 1980. At the same time, Latvian musicians wrote the soundtrack for documentary film about astronauts “Star Palette”, during the work visiting Star City and getting acquainted with the astronauts. The titles of the compositions on the next album “Music in the Universe” clearly refer to space theme. In 1982, the ensemble successfully performed in Moscow in variety program“Youth of the Baltic”, held as part of the final concert of the Moscow Stars festival, dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the formation of the USSR and the 19th Congress of the Komsomol.

3. Group "Space"

Space (“space”, read “space”) is a French group performing music in the genre of “space” electronics and disco.

The group was created in 1977 by Didier "Ecama" Marouani, Roland Romanelli and Yannick Tope. IN early period The musicians strongly emphasized the sci-fi orientation of their group, often performing in stage costumes like spacesuits.

In album titles and famous hits, undoubtedly, there are cosmic names, which once again proves the group members’ keen attention to the topic of space.

In 2011, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight, Didier Marouani and the Space group gave exclusive concerts at the House of Cosmonauts in Star City (April 11) and at the State Kremlin Palace(April 13). During the concerts, the public was presented with “Space versions” of well-known pop hits about space, and the composition “Hurray, Gagarin, Hurray!”, specially written by Marouani for the anniversary, was performed together with artists by cosmonauts from different countries.

conclusions

In the 70-90s of the 19th century, genuine interest in the topic of space arose, this was facilitated by great achievements in its exploration, the desire to understand outer space and its basic laws. During this period, a huge number of fiction fantastic genre, films are made, in musical popular culture A whole movement of groups emerged, the basis of whose creativity became a cosmic theme. During this period, it begins to develop Electonic music, this is fertile ground for writing compositions that describe an unknown unearthly image, cosmic landscapes.

By examining the work of composers of the Silver Age and musical groups of the 70-90s of the XX century, dedicated to the theme “Space in Music”, the reasons, main ideas and aesthetic tasks that composers set for the implementation of this theme were identified. Relying on this material, we can come to the following conclusions:

• The theme of space is one of eternal themes in music.
• Composers of different historical eras express the theme of space, based on certain historical events, and philosophical ideas, and also use means of expression, a musical language characteristic of a given time and in demand by the listener.

Someone will say: “If such music exists, it means that someone needs it.” Yes, our earthly world is woven from perfection and imperfection. Every person is free to choose what is closer to him. Harmonious music will be a special panacea for many ills, because its sounds, penetrating everywhere, can make the world more beautiful and a person more perfect.

The Thinker said: “To listen to the Beautiful, to see the Beautiful means to improve.”

List of resources used
Links

http://nowimir.ru/DATA/070704.htm

Bibliography

1. Gagarin Yu.A., Lebedev V.I.. Psychology and Space (1976). 3rd ed. M., Young Guard, 208 p.

2. Tsiolkovsky K. E. Space philosophy (1935). AAN USSR, f. 555, op. 1, no. 535.

Painting makes it possible to see the uncreated, to place the gaze at a point where there has not yet been a camera, so it is not surprising that the theme of space is quite well represented in it. This publication is by no means a review of all the artists who depicted space, but rather a run through the milestones through the prism of my taste.

Artist Anatoly Muschenko

It is unlikely that you will be able to find the first “space artist,” but the origins of this genre were clearly the science fiction illustrators of Jules Verne. “From the Earth to the Moon” and “Around the Moon” were read by future pioneers of astronautics, and, launching their rockets, they could remember the picture of the epic, albeit unrealistic, shot of the Columbiad.

In the 1920s in the USSR there was a group of cosmist artists “Amaravella”, but they were inspired mainly by the ideas of the Roerichs, Blavatsky, Ciurlionis and the cultures of the East, so they painted all sorts of vague mysticism. It is unlikely that Sergei Shigolev’s painting “Work in Space,” painted in 1927, depicts real people operating in real space.

Shigolev's fate was sad, but other representatives of his generation managed to do more. Chelsea Bonestell (7 years older than Shigolev) became a beacon in painting for Americans who dream of space. His illustrations appeared in magazines starting in the mid-1940s and were used in the 1949 book “Conquest of Space,” which was devoured by boys amazed by the Soviet satellite.

10 km above the pole of the Moon,

Little satellite

Yuri Shvets worked in the USSR. He worked more for cinema, as a production designer, and his work is visible in wonderful films Klushantsev, but you might well have come across the paintings as well.

Alas, in reality, 1996 was marked by completely different events

Orbital space station launch pad

Then came the turn of artists who, in addition to their fantasies, saw space flights directly. Paul Culley (official website), for example, was the only artist invited to document the process of putting on spacesuits for the Apollo 11 astronauts before launch. In addition, he painted pictures and actively drew for postage stamps.

Neil Armstrong

"Power"

The young artist Anastasia Prosochkina has already achieved noticeable success. Her work combines an artistic eye and attention to technical details (Anastasia consults with industry workers). The original style is popular; paintings have been commissioned by both Roscosmos and private space companies.

Anastasia’s project to produce a space calendar is ending on the Planet crowdfunding platform, and five times the required amount has already been collected. I'm glad that the idea of ​​hanging a calendar on your wall next year with space drawings is also interesting to the general public.

In addition to the above links to artists’ websites, a huge and unique collection of space art has been collected by the public