Neocathartic impact of music on human consciousness (evidence from the compositions of Galina Ustvolskaya)
Abstract
The article analyzes figurative and semantic content of the compositions by Galina Ustvolskaya (Composition No. 1, Sonata No. 6, Symphony No. 2 and No. 4) in the context of cathartic impact of art. The factors problematizing the effect of catharsis are identified. The interpretation of spiritual realism of Galina Ustvolskaya’s compositions from the binary and axiological viewpoint shows that their content appeals to reflexive perception and prompts to existential reflection. This creates conditions for the possibility of the neocathartic effect, that is, such catharsis which acts upon consciousness and encourages harmonization of relations with the world. This observation is confirmed by the verbally expressed reflection on the part of musicians and musicologists. It is observed that the prerequisites for the neocathartic impact can be traced at the level of the intratextual formation of meanings which is associated with the “logic of transformation” of the negative imagery. It is concluded that the music of Galina Ustvolskaya, if it is perceived in a reflective way and is listened to in the axiological sense of spiritual realism, is capable of providing the experience of ethical neocatharsis – the catharsis that invigorates the human consciousness.
Keywords: Galina Ustvolskaya, catharsis, neocathartic impact, binarity, negative and positive imagery, reflection, perception of meaning.
