There is an approach to the compositional structure of ballet in which the choreographic form is dictated by the musical form.
Let us consider the features of this approach using the example of the production of "In Memoriam" by the Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The ballet was created in 2004 under the impression of the death of close relatives of the choreographer. The premiere took place on December 26, 2004, in Monte Carlo. Sidi Larbi's origin influenced the themes and style of his productions. His mother is Belgian, his father is Moroccan. He studied at a madrasa (Muslim school and theological seminary), where religious orientation was formed, which was then reflected in the choice of themes for his productions (which feature themes from Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and especially Sufism). The combination of Eastern and Western cultural traditions is a feature of Sidi Larbi's style.
In his productions, he combines all kinds of dance techniques from ballet, modern, hip-hop, modern, jazz, African dances, Indian classical dance and many others. The ballet "In Memoriam" is part of a trilogy, along with the ballets "Mea culpa" (2006) and the final trilogy "Memento mori", in which the choreographer quoted the main fragments of the first productions (in particular, a light stomp in the fifth position on pointe shoes, arranged in a Chinese way with intricate hand binding, and dervish circling on the spot and in a circle). The structure of the ballet is a series of numbers that smoothly flow into each other and are connected by one common idea - the theme of death and memories. The musical accompaniment of the ballet is non-standard even for modern productions. This is Corsican polyphony in a live performance "a cappella" by the group "A Filetta". Corsican folk songs were not studied academically until the 1960s, when Félix Quilicci, a Corsican musicologist, began his ethnographic study of polyphony. His research showed that Corsica had a folk tradition of complex improvisation and that it was men who created the melodies and lyrics. Corsican vocal polyphony has its roots in the past. This singing is very similar to Georgian polyphony, and is widely known in France and throughout Europe and is called "polyphonie Corse" in French, and in Corsica itself, it is called "E Voce" ("the voice"). Its main feature is that to this day this tradition has remained mainly oral - musical texts are not fixed, and also improvisational - the music is born in the process of performance, and is never exactly repeated.
Traditionally, 4-6-voice improvisations are performed by men, except lullabies, which are often sung by women. Brotherhoods of polyphonic performers have survived, the history of some of which dates back to the 12th century. The tradition of improvisational polyphonic singing itself is younger and arose in the 15th century. Its ancestors are considered to be the musical tradition of the Renaissance falso bordone and the Genoese singing trallalero. It is believed that Corsican folk songs, like other polyphonic traditions of the Mediterranean, date back to pre-Christian times. For example, Herodotus describes the custom that existed among the islanders of "calling and answering". They say that these were simply voice signals of different tones, with which shepherds in the mountains signalled fellow villagers or each other. But there is another version, connected with the fact that Christianity in these lands was established later than in other countries. After the Crusades, the Pope tried to enlighten the Corsicans by building churches and sending missionaries. However, the people were not very interested in preaching, so the clergy decided to attract people to the church, using their singing customs. In this regard, the most likely hypothesis of the origin of polyphony is a combination of church singing and the vocal traditions of shepherds. Drawing parallels between Corsican polyphony and significant chant and Gregorian chant, we can note many common features that indicate the inextricable connection of the Corsican song tradition with these two church singing styles. This is a purely male tradition of performance, the subordination of the main strict and restrained melody of the text, with a large number of melismatics and patterns, a connection with psalmody, hymn tradition, lower, bass voice - isson. The prerequisites for such influences should be sought primarily in the history of Corsica, which was in the 6th century under the rule of Byzantium, then, in the 9th century - under a long occupation by the Saracens, and finally, at the beginning of the 11th century, the island was taken over by the Pisans, which marked the beginning of the stage of the arrival of the Catholic faith in Corsica. Although the tradition of polyphonic singing in Corsica had practically died out by the 1950s, in the 1970s, on the wave of national upsurge, it began to revive, and today it is an integral part of Corsican identity. The flagship of Corsican polyphonic singing for almost four decades is the group "A Filetta", which has over two dozen studio and live albums, soundtracks for choreographic productions, feature films and documentaries. The choir, consisting of six male voices (all of whom are natives of the island of Corsica), was founded in 1978 in the Corsican region of Balagne, thanks to the initiative of two lovers of vocal polyphony, Michael Frazatti and Jean-Claude Acquaviva, who still directs the group. A significant part of the group's repertoire, along with traditional Corsican folk songs, is occupied by sacred chants. In addition, all six members of A Filetta write their own compositions based on ancient Mediterranean traditions.The repertoire of “A Filetta” is based on prayers, sacred hymns and primordial songs of the highlanders. At the same time, the group likes to experiment, looking for new ways of self-expression and adapting ancient Corsican traditions to modern reality.One of the main features of the production of “In Memoriam” is that for the first time in a ballet production, the musicians are on the stage, on the same level as the dancers. Thus, a lively interaction is built between the performers from both sides.
The approach to costumes is interesting. Both women and men are dressed the same - in costumes that refer to the dances of the dervishes, with characteristic long, wedge-shaped skirts. In the final number, the women have their lower part exposed - they are wearing only a shirt over a leotard. Men wear skirts (like dervishes), most have bare torsos, and shirts are worn only by those who dance duets and solo numbers (women wear the same skirts for duets and solo numbers as men).Sidi Larbi is distinguished by his characteristic style in dance productions. In the ballet "In Memoriam" on the canvas of classical choreography, he strings together movements that repeat movements from ritual and sacred dances and practices (the dance of dervishes, the Indian dance of Shiva), elements of oriental dances (the ornamentation of hand movements).
In the final number of the ballet, all attention and semantic load are focused on the hands. The legs are practically in a static position, the dancers stand on pointe shoes, even some of the men.Live music, with elements of improvisation, is combined with repetitive, "looped" choreographic movements.The choreographic phrasing coincides with the musical one. A long musical phrase, with ornamental chants, is combined with ornamentation in the movements of the hands. When the musical thought is completed, the dancers lower their hands with a characteristic movement down, as if folding them. At the same time, the dancers on the stage and the voices sounding in the sextet are added simultaneously.
One singer begins to sing (as provided for in the tradition of Corsican polyphony), one dancer on the stage. With the addition of each voice, the number of dancers on the stage increases. During the final performance of the musical phrase, which varies, the dancers also begin to move around the stage, changing the lines built up to this. Thus, the internal polyphony and movement of voices in music find their reflection and visual embodiment in dance movement. At the same time, the cyclicality present in music finds its embodiment in dance (which is not characterised by cyclicality), and we can speak of intrachoreographic cyclicality in this example. This is what proves that in this production, the choreographic series is organised according to the principles of music. The choreographic tree grows from the musical fabric. This is where the choreographic gesture is enlarged. Due to this, what was previously an insignificant detail (such as, for example, small movements and hand gestures, which are not of primary importance in classical ballet) becomes self-evident and acquires new meanings. The music is distinguished by brightly expressed ornamental chants that are superimposed on the main melody. There is a combination and even fusion of two cultural and even religious musical traditions: Christian (since the theme of the text goes back to the Passions), and Muslim (echoes of Islamic influence in Corsica), as well as folk tradition (the vocal tradition of shepherds from mountainous areas).For the musical component of the ballet, compositions by the band "A Filetta" from the album "Passione" (Passion) were chosen. The title itself determines the content of the music. In terms of structure, the album is perceived as a coherent work, but not in the genre of "passions", but rather closer to a requiem, given the presence of names that characterise this form (Kyrie, Dies Irae), and with a reference to the mass (a part called Alleluia).
Below is the order of the numbers in the album:01. 00:00 – U Sipolcru (In the cemetery)02. 03:43 – L’Orme Sanguigne (The Bloody Elm)03. 07:50 – U Lamentu Di Maria (The Lament of Mary)04. 12:43 – Dies Irae (The Day of Wrath)05. 18:35 – U Lamentu Di Gjesu (The Lament of Jesus)06. 24:11 – Ghmerto (Holy Lord, a version of the Orthodox hymn “Trisagion”)07. 27:36 – A Sintenza (The Judgment)08. 30:28 – U Dubbitu (The Doubt)09. 33:58 – A L'Alivetu (In Alivetu – a town located in Southern Corsica)10. 36:57 – Lamentazione Di Jeremiae (Lamentation of Jeremiah)11. 40:30 – Tecco12. 43:59 – Alleluia (Alleluia)
If we carefully consider the structure of the ballet and the corresponding musical numbers (the serial number from the album is indicated in brackets), we will see that in the ballet, the form is also close to the requiem. This is quite natural and logical, given the theme of the ballet. At the same time, an internal plot line of meaning appears: an introduction, then "Dies Irae" as an image of inevitable fate, "Lamentation of Mary" as a lyrical center, a logical denouement through two numbers (in the music - "Judgment" and "In the cemetery", and at the end - "Lamentation of Jesus"). (See Appendix D, p.154). Thus, in this case, it is the music that dictates the form and structure for the choreography.
1. General number of the corps de ballet – U Dubbitu (8)2. Duet – Dies Irae (4)3. Duet – U Lamentu Di Maria (3)4. Solo – A Sintenza (7)5. Duet – U Sipolcru (1)6. Kordeballet – U Lamentu Di Giezu (5)
The Corsican vocal tradition is incredibly improvisational in its essence - the music is not tied to words, and the ornament dictates the composition. One brightly expressed soloist improvises almost in a jazz, and rather even in a Sufi spirit. Particularly rousing, affected singing, reminiscent of entering a trance, finds its origins in the Arab influence and one of the main directions of classical Muslim philosophy - Sufism. The idea of ​​moral and moral growth and natural spiritual development of a person by introducing oneself into an ecstatic state of altered consciousness and experiencing emotional catharsis is embodied in the very manner of performing Corsican polyphony. The stirring body movements, closed eyes, tense facial expressions of the soloists, and affected emotions - all this resembles dhikr, a meditative practice of Sufism. This is singing in a certain rhythm, accompanied by a sequence of movements (dance) and special breathing. All those present stand or sit in a circle. A meditative setting is given, then those present begin to perform a series of rhythmic movements that replace each other, are performed at an increasingly accelerated pace and are accompanied by the pronunciation of prayer formulas. Sufis believe that the vibration of sounds - dhikr helps to purify the body, mind and spirit of a person.Sufis attach special importance to music as one of the very powerful means that contribute to spiritual progress and entry into deep meditative states. It is believed that music is food for the soul (giza-i-rukh).
In the ballet of Sidi Larbi, in some numbers, there is an exact repetition of the whirling of the dervishes, that is, there is a direct reference to the Sufi ritual, which combines singing, playing musical instruments, dance, recitation of poems and prayers, all of which take on symbolic meanings.
Each ballet number tells one short story and, thus, is a small parable, in which the story is told in the language of dance. Choreography expresses the ideas hidden by music, using its own means available to it. And this becomes the reason for the choreographer to search for new expressive possibilities of dance.
It can be argued that in this ballet production, which is on the border between ballet art and non-ballet types of dance, a new genre is formed - a choreographic parable, following the example of the poetic parables of the Sufis. Through this form, the plot of the ballet and the content of the music are conveyed.
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