POPOTNICA ZBORNIKU
A SEND-OFF TO THE VOLUME
Popotnica zborniku
Friderik Širca - Risto Savin, skladatelj
»... po poklicu častnik, po srcu pa glasbenik ...« je skladatelja Friderika Širca (pozneje se je preimenoval v Rista Savina) v študiji o slovenskih samospevih prikupno označil muzikolog dr. Matjaž Barbo.
Zakaj je ustvarjalec Risto Savin, ki v operah, samospevih, komornoglasbenih stvaritvah, zborih izkazuje prepoznavnost, spontanost in zgledno oblikovanost, med nami in na koncertnih odrih tako malo navzoč in poznan?
Kot kaže, je bila dvestoletna nacionalna zgodovina po francoski revoluciji za občutenje slovenske glasbe prekratko obdobje, da bi jo večinsko bili sposobni prepoznati in doživljati kot svojo, kot samostojno uresničevalko naše duhovne zgodovine. Slovenci se srečujejo predvsem po branju, literaturi in ne poslušanju, glasbi. Pa je bila ta v vseh časih, od Brižinskih spomenikov, preko Trubarjevega Katekizma, čitalnic v pomladi narodov, Glasbene matice, do visoke umetniške ravni med obema vojnama, enako pomemben dejavnik združevanja kot literatura.
Je vzrok v samopodcenjevanju? V nacionalnih glasbenih ustanovah, ki jim vse do danes ni uspelo podobno, kot je to uspelo sosednjim narodom, uveljaviti železnega repertoarja temeljnih in pomembnih glasbenih del - tudi opusa Rista Savina?
Življenjska pot Rista Savina je bila polna dramatičnih sprememb, popeljala ga je od čina avstroogrskega častnika vse do generala. Do konca prve svetovne vojne je bival malodane po vseh pomembnih središčih habsburške monarhije, od Przemysla na vzhodu, preko Prage in Dunaja do Zagreba in Sarajeva na jugu. Pravi Evropejec, ki pa je vselej nosil v sebi eksistencialne modrosti naroda, iz katerega je izšel. Komponiral je na nemška besedila, a hkrati posegal po slovenskih pesniških velikanih, Aškercu, Murnu, Župančiču in drugih.
Podobno burna kot življenjska je bila tudi umetniška pot Rista Savina. Od klasične izenačenosti zgodnjih del, do novih razmerij med elementi, ko se oblikuje tudi Savinov osebni slog s pogostimi modulacijami, z dvoumnimi razrešitvami akordov, neodvisnimi melodijami (R. Wagner), lebdenjem muzike med tonalitetami (R. Strauss), osamosvoje-nostjo harmonije (C. Debussy), vse do linearnega realizma Slavka Osterca, s katerim je do njegove smrti tudi prijateljeval.
Moč Savinove glasbe torej ni toliko v novatorskih potezah, vsekakor pa v bogastvu notranjih sprememb. Zagotovo je poznal drzne nazore Busonijevega projekta nove glasbene estetike (1906), pa tudi Schonbergovo harmonijo (1911) in poznejša razmišljanja velike dunajske trojice, vendar je v svojih delih sledil osebni izvirnosti, zdaj v bližini naturalistične ilustrativnosti, drugič močneje obrnjen vase, ali pa po slovenski naravi izpričujoč razmerje do prirode in mitov v operah Lepa Vida, Gosposvetski sen in Matija Gubec.
Zbornik o Ristu Savinu prihaja med nas, ko Slovenci narodnost končno lahko vežemo tudi na svojo državo in smo tako z drugimi v Evropi del aktivne zgodovine. Pa je v slovenski glasbi tudi tako?
7
MUZIKOLOŠKI ZBORNIK • MUSICOLOGICAL ANNUAL XLVIII/2
Strahote, zločini in posledično delitve, ki jih je med nami povzročila druga svetovna vojna, so žal izpridile in zabrisale izvorne plasti naših že doseženih evropskih glasbenih navad. Ljubljana, danes prestolnica države, je bila v Savinovih časih srednjeevropsko mesto, a z velikimi mojstri besede in glasbe: z G. Krekom, M. Kogojem, s S. Vurnikom, S. Ostercem, z E. Adamičem, A. Lajovicem, Ristom Savinom ... Ali z mislijo M. Kundera: »... majhni narodi morajo postati varuhi raznovrstnosti, pri tem pa preživijo le, če so duhovno širši od večjih ...«.
Pogled k sosedom nas uči, da je edina kaj vredna izkaznica nacionalne države njena umetnost, glasba in širša kultura. Velja tudi za nas. Ne postaneš svetovljan, če se sramuješ svoje dediščine, in pot k drugemu jeziku ali glasbi je najbolj naravna po materinščini in lastni vsakokratni glasbeni stvarnosti.
Dokler ni zaupanja v lastne ustvarjalne in poustvarjalne moči ter v bogastvo svojega glasbenega izročila, dokler se išče opora samo pri drugih, tako dolgo smo nepomemben narod.
Tudi zato bodimo avtorjem tega zbornika hvaležni. Z njim vsaj skromno poravnavamo dolg do enega velikih glasbenih mož naše polpreteklosti. Knjiga je dokaz, da smo sredi današnjih vrtoglavih sprememb pripravljeni in zmožni pravilne presoje med svojim in občečloveškim.
V takem novem svetu glasbeno-zgodovinskih vrednot in spomina bosta tudi osebnost skladatelja Rista Savina in njegovo delo stopila iz ozadja na koncertne in operne odre. Odkrili ga bomo nanovo, dostojno, človeško spoštljivo ter strokovno.
akad. Lojze Lebič, skladatelj Ljubljana, september 2012
8
POPOTNICA ZBORNIKU
A SEND-OFF TO THE VOLUME
A Send-Off to the Volume
Friderik Sirca - Risto Savin, composer
»... officer by profession, composer by heart ...« is the winsome description of the composer Friderik Širca (later known under his pseudonym Risto Savin) in the study of Slovene art song ('samospev') by Dr Matjaž Barbo.
Why is it that the composer Risto Savin, who exhibits recognisability, spontaneity and exemplary form in his operas, chamber works and choruses, is so little present and unknown among us and on the concert and opera stage? It appears that the two hundred years of our national history since the French revolution have been too short a period for us to be able to recognize and experience Slovene art music as ours, as an autonomous executor of our spiritual history. Slovenes come together primarily through reading, not listening, through literature, not music. This is the case even though through all the ages, from the Freising monuments, Trubar's Catechism, the reading societies, the Spring of the Nations, The Glasbena Matica Music Society, to the high artistic level it reached in the period between the two World Wars, music was just as important a factor as literature when it came to our cohesion as a nation.
Is the reason for this lack of recognition of our music self deprecation? Is there self deprecation in the national musical establishments which to this day have not managed, in the same way as neighbouring nations have done, to establish a canon of fundamental and important works of music - including the opus by Risto Savin?
Risto Savin's path through life was full of dramatic turns, taking him from the rank of Austro-Hungarian officer all the way to Major General. By the end of the World War I, he had lived in almost all the important centres of the Habsburg monarchy, from Przemysl in the East, via Prague and Vienna, to Zagreb and Sarajevo in the South. A true European, who, however, always carried in himself the existential wisdom of the nation from which he originated. He set German texts, but at the same time he reached for the giants of Slovene poetry, Aškerc, Murn, Župančič and others.
His artistic path was turbulent in a similar way to his life. From the Classical evenness of his early works, to the new proportions among the elements, when Savin's personal style was developed, with frequent modulations, ambiguous chord resolutions, independent melodic lines (R. Wagner), hovering of the music beween tonalities ('schwebende Tonalitat') (R. Strauss), independence of harmony (C. Debussy), all the way to the linear realism of Slavko Osterc, by whom he was closely befriended until the latter's death during World War II.
The power of Savin's music is hence not so much in novelty, it is in the richness of internal changes. He certainly knew the daring views of Busoni's project of the new musical aesthetics (1906), and also Schonberg's harmony (1911) and the later thinking of the great Viennese Three. But in his works he followed his personal originality, sometimes in the proximity of naturalistic illustrative quality, at other times more introspective, yet other times expressing the Slovene nature by delineating its link with nature
9
MUZIKOLOŠKI ZBORNIK • MUSICOLOGICAL ANNUAL XLVIII/2
and mythology in the operas Lepa Vida ['Fair Vida'], Gosposvetski sen ['Gospa Sveta's Dream'] and Matija Gubec.
The Musicological Annual on Risto Savin is arriving among us at a time when Slovenes can finally link our nationality to our own country and thus, like other European nations, form an active part of history. Can the same, however, be said for Slovene music?
Crimes, atrocities and the divisions among us as a consequence of the World War II, have unfortunately tainted and obscured the original layers of our already established European musical habits. Ljubljana, the present-day capital of a country, was in Savin's time a central-European town with great masters of words and music: with G. Krek, M. Kogoj, S. Vurnik, S. Osterc, E. Adamic, A. Lajovic, Risto Savin ... Or, in words of M. Kundera: '... little nations have to become keepers of diversity, and as such they can only survive if they are spiritually broader than the bigger ones ...'.
A look to the neighbours teaches us, that the only identification card of a national state that is of any worth is its art, its music and broader culture. This applies to us too. You do not become cosmopolitan if you are ashamed of your heritage and just as the path to another language is most natural through one's mother tongue, the path to other music is most natural through one's own musical creativity.
Until there is no confidence in our own creative and recreative powers and in the richness of our own musical heritage, as long as we only look to others for support, that long we remain an unimportant nation.
This gives us one more reason to be grateful to the authors of this volume, which represents at least a modest repayment of our dues to one of the great musicians from our near past. The volume stands as proof that in the midst of the present day's whirlwind changes we are nevertheless prepared and willing to make a sound judgement of what is both ours, and universal.
In such a new world of musical-historical values and memory, both the figure of the composer Risto Savin and his works will step from the background back to the concert and opera stage. We will discover him anew, with propriety, respect and professionalism.
Lojze Lebic, Acad., composer Ljubljana, September 2012
10