Typology and functions of quotations in music

Abstract

Relevance of the study. The most frequent questions raised by music scholars writing about quotation concern the functions of quotation in an artistically coherent text, the origins of quotations in specific musical works, and the degree of variability of quoted material. There are also attempts to typify and classify quotations in music according to certain criteria (often subjectively and unmotivatedly chosen). However, understanding the technique of quotation, its functions and mechanisms of meaning formation, as well as the nature of the musical-speech mechanism of quotation, has largely been pushed to the margins of scholarly inquiry. Among the outlined range of issues, the typology and functions of musical quotation remain the least studied. These issues therefore constitute the main focus of the present study. Special attention is also paid to the crucial role of precedent phenomena in the formation of semantic fields and semantic blocks when interpreting artistic information involving quotations in music perception. The main objective of the study is to propose a typological model of quotation in musical texts in accordance with its functions and the mechanisms involved in the development of artistic texts. The methodology of the study includes culturological methods (to characterize the general circumstances and socio-cultural context of quotation functioning), comparative methods (to identify common and divergent features among different types and groups of quotations), structural-functional and genre analysis, as well as theoretical generalization.

Main results and conclusions. The article examines the problem of the functioning and typology of quotation in music and the current state of its theoretical understanding. The features of citation and the nature and specificity of musical quotation are analyzed. The main scholarly approaches to the study and classification of musical quotation are reviewed. The most widespread typological models are characterized, and their advantages and limitations are identified. The scientific definition of quotation proposed in previous studies is clarified, and criteria for the systematization and classification of musical quotations are formulated with regard to historicalstylistic and musical-speech specifics, as well as perceptual features. Quotation in music is analyzed from the perspectives of text theory and intertextuality, and the characteristics of stylistic, cultural, verbal, and media quotations are outlined. The criteria for typologizing musical quotations are defined as follows: format of reproduction or reactualization in the metatext, position within the text, prototext and readability, function, and features of musical language. Methods and means of introducing quotations into musical texts are examined. For the systematization of all types and varieties of musical quotations and the mechanisms of their functioning, the format of reproduction is considered the determining factor. On this basis, quotations are divided into exact, inexact, and semantic. The dependence of quotation types and functions on the stylistic features of musical works and on the possibilities of combining different semiotic systems in artistic musical texts is demonstrated. Attention is also drawn to the decisive role of precedent phenomena in the formation of semantic fields and semantic blocks in the perception of music.