Musical Terminology in 19th Century Russian Tutorial Translated Editions

Abstract

The object of research in the article is the formation of musical terminology in the Russian teaching of harmony of the second half of the 19th century. As the musical educational system was transitioning to the level of professionalism, during this period the role of music theory as an independent teaching discipline rose, moreover, harmony became the sphere most in demand. The tutorial theoretical literature of that time is presented both by original works and those translated from other languages. In the article, the musical terminology of popular European textbooks, such as those written by Ernst Friedrich Richter, Johann Lobe and Adolf Bernhard Marx in translation by Russian translators is examined, the problem range of their works is discussed, and the role of translators and editors in the formation of the Russian scholarly language is accentuated. Examination is made of the appearance and gradual rootedness of certain basic terms of the Russian teaching on harmony: stroi [structure], lad [mode] and garmoniya [harmony]. They acquire an academic status and, reflecting the specificity of the national nature of harmony, do not possess any Western analogues. In conclusion, the supposition is formulated of the possibility of including the analysis of Russian musical terminology into the context of the specificity of Russian music.

Keywords: 19th century Russian musical scholarship, harmony, musical-terminological apparatus, scholarly translation, Alexander S. Famintsyn, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as a translator, the specificity of Russian musical terminology