Opus is a musical term. Why does this concept exist in music?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

What does the word "opus" mean in relation to musical culture? The history of the emergence of the word, its theoretical justification as a musical term, its modern meaning - all this is discussed later in the article.

In our linguistic culture, the word "opus" is fixed mainly in two semantic meanings:

• Derisively-scornful definition of any literary work that does not deserve high praise.
• "Opus" is a musical term.

Since everything is clear with the first option, let's try to deal with the second.

The emergence of the word "opus"

The word "music" is based on the concept of "musical work", but the second is not identical to the first and has historical boundaries.

There is music as a work, and it is connected with the written tradition; and there is music as an activity associated with the improvisational reproduction of its samples.

This distinction was first recorded in N. Listenius' treatise "Musica" in 1537. It was in this treatise that it was first said that an opus is “a written, completely finished work.” Thus, for the first time, the new concept of “opus” was recorded.

In the firstIn the millennium of Christianity, the oral form of music dominated so much that even the term "improvisation" did not exist, since there was no alternative. The development of two variants of creativity in music began only in the 9th-10th centuries, when the first copies appeared, fixed on paper.

During this period of the Middle Ages, "opus" music and "practice" still existed in parallel, all the events of human life were accompanied by the playing of musicians, and often the performer alternated his own compositions with those of others, not feeling a sharp line between these concepts.

The skill of combining already established formulas was important, the same motives freely migrated from one work to another, and this was not considered plagiarism. The talent manifested itself in the way the material was processed.

Written musical culture is a European innovation

Gradually, elements of novelty in creativity began to be valued more and more, such creation of new, previously non-existent melodies, became known as "composing". In this sense, the history of the formation of European musical professional art is no different from the processes that took place on other continents.

The fundamental difference lies only in the fact that it is in Europe that written creativity originates, the only written musical culture in the world was born here. And this changed everything: a new concept of musical art appeared, aesthetic criteria, the psychology of creativity, auditory settings changed, methods of teaching music began to be created.professional.

Together with the uniqueization of a musical composition, the concept of "composer" appeared - the creator of a new work. The next natural step was the creation of autonomous music, which was no longer associated with any domestic needs, but was of value in itself.

Theoretical justification of the concept of "opus"

German philosopher and music theorist of the twentieth century, Karl Dahlhaus, identifies the following attributes that define the concept of "opus":

• compositional completeness;
• fully written text;
• autonomy, lack of applied music binding;
• "aesthetic contemplation as awe", the intrinsic value of "absolute music", without text and program.

Another German music theorist, Hans Eggebrecht, gave a more precise definition of the concept of "composition", writing that "opus" is:

• theoretical (subordination to the rules of theory);
• presence of philosophical content;
• fixed in notes;
• polyphony;
• belonging to the author;
• form completion;
• uniqueness.

What does the word "opus" mean today?

Today, an opus is no longer just a composition, recorded with notes on paper. The word "opus" means that the work was published and in the process of publication it was assigned a certain number. Depending on the time when the music was published, the opus may have a larger or smaller number.expression.

If during the life of the composer some of his works was never published and, accordingly, does not have its own opus, then it is given the name "posthumous opus", that is, one that was published after the death of the author.

The number of the opus does not always reflect the time of writing the work. If it was written in the early period of creativity, and published for the first time many years later, then the opus number will be assigned to it later. For example, Beethoven's rondo "Rage over the Lost Penny" written in his youth has a late opus number 129.

Sometimes a composer publishes several works at once. All of them are assigned the same opus number, but different serial numbers. For example, Chopin's 24 preludes are published as opus 28, but have different serial numbers from 1 to 24. Thus, the expressions: "Chopin - the fifth prelude" and "Chopin - opus 28, No. 5" mean the same thing.