Stručni rad
Rozina Palić Jelavić
Sažetak
Composer Krsto Odak's main contribution to music are primarily his
numerous chourses and, to a lesser extent, compositions for a single voice with accompaniment.
At ahe beginning Odak composed chourses of sacral character. His earliest works to be found are the printed choruses of 1911: Veni dulcis Jesua chorus for two female voices and the organ, and XJ slavu sv. Srca, a mixed a cappela chorus.
The years of their appearance indicate the composer's continuous and
long-lasting interest in chorus, making it a prominent part of his complete works and proving an immanent affinity for polyphony, already fully mani fested in some of Odak's chamber works. He worte 98 choruses of secular character and 42 sacral ones in the period 1911—1962.
Odak's sacral compositions are representative both of the time of their appearance and of the composer's personality which relied heavily on tra dition, although he was in touch with European trends.
Odak's chourses bear either Neobaroque and Neoclassioist traits (most sacral choruses), or more modern characteristics (some sacral choruses).
Thus some works composed before 1945 {Staroslavenska misa br. 1 of 1928, Svrši stopi moje of 1939, Gospodi va pomoć moju, Jerusalem, surge and Plange quasi virgo of 1945) do not emphasise the elements characteristic of folk music, yet Odak's subconscious reliance upon personal tradition can still be traced in colorful old modes, characteristic shifts of intervals or terzas for the voice. Since Odak was well-informed of contemporary trends in music during his study in Munich and Prague, they did come through along with some characteristics of Slavic Romanticism, particulary the Czech one (e.g. Staroslavenska misa br. 1).
In other words, the author made use of overall tradition with occasio
nal attempts at more modern writing. This shows quite clearly in new
polyphonic compositions, all within old church tonalities and firmly bound to the main origins, yet with a looser understanding of tonality.
The sacral texts and character of the choruses could not adopt atonality or polytonality due to their performing function as well as to the demands and taste of Odak's milieu (Prague school), which did not incline towards stylistic or technical breakthroughs.
Some choruses aim at simplicity and clarity (Ave Maria, Hvali duše moja.
Kraljevska pjesma, U slavu sv. Srca etc.), while others have looser solutions and lean towards a more modern expression (Christus factus est of 1926, Gospodi va pomoć moju, Jerusalem, surge, Plange quasi virgo, Svrši stopi moje). By means of dissonance, chromaticism, sudden modulations, moda lity, and a loose relation between tonalities, these works achieve a richer harmony, while the interpermeation of melodic and harmonic components
creates polyphonic passages. Polyphony is characteristic of almost all the compositions, yet not as a close imitation, but rather in the arrangement of free imitative parts.The content being the mai vehicle, it also signals the form, the solution of harmonic expression, rhythmics and melodies, compositional and technical steps, as the density of pasages in the work's polyphonous or homopho-
nous structure. Although each chorus has its diüferented music which follows the text, some characteristics are shared by almost all the works. Odak mostly uses threefold, twofold or loose forms made up of a series of segments. He pays equal attention to melodies and harmonics. Melodies ranges from simple forms with occasional recitative elements to the complex ones. Some of the presented works deserve more attention in the country. In terms of content and artistic worth, the most outstanding compositions are: Svrši stopi moje. Se jerej veliki, Jegda slavniji učenici, Ispovem se
and Staroslavenska misa br. 1. We should here add the hitherto unknown sacral choruses {Gospodi va pomoć moju, Jerusalem, surge and Flange quasi virgo), whose ideas reflect a more modern musical idiom enabling different interpretations and revealing another, new significance of Odak's sacral works.
»A perfect work of its time is forever sublime«, is what Krsto Odak
once wrote. Among sacral choruses, this is indubitably true of the three psalms, the motet Svrši stopi moje, and Staroslavenska misa br. 1. They all share an outstanding spontaneity, warmth, and interesting structure. No matter when or where, their rendition would always represent the creative achievement of composer Krsto Odak.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
134084
URI
Datum izdavanja:
5.12.1989.
Posjeta: 1.887 *