Methods of concentration of attention in Adyghe historical and heroic songs

Abstract

The purpose of work is to establish the techniques used by the singer to attract and reliably retain attention during the performance of a heroic-epic work, as well as for the successful transmission of the spoken text. Attracting the listener’s attention and actively influencing it is one of the essential conditions of a fullblooded functioning of a folklore work, especially such a complex epic song, which unites vocal solo, choral, instrumental, and sometimes dramaturgical art. Another essential element of the Adyghe tradition is a prosaic narration, a compulsory part of the song, with one important function to comment on the text as necessary. In the scholarly folklore literature, there are no special works devoted to the expressive function of the performance of an oral-poetic work. Most often it is addressed not specifically, but in the context of studying the features of the performing skills of a narrator, singer, storyteller (Albert Lord, Innokenty Pukhov, Vasily Illarionov). The main method of our study is historical and comparative, which subordinates some of the techniques of comparativism, structural analysis and statistical research. Together, the general and individual methods of research do not go beyond the traditional systematic-analytical method. A special role in the concentration is played by the traditional form of performance – a solo singer accompanied by a choral part, which is composed by all present, thus involving them in the collective work. A further characteristic is the custom of passing on a kind of baton to any one of those present. This requires not only attentiveness from each participant, but also sufficient skill and knowledge of the text of the work in question so as not to slip into the mud, since one cannot ethically refuse the offered role lest one should be branded as an ignoramus. Other techniques of influencing the audience are also considered, including compositional, lexical-grammatical and phonetic ones. Among the euphonic ones, attention is paid to the way of poetic organization – anadiplosis, which, according to the researchers, is intended to ensure the ease of text absorption, which is important for the full-blooded functioning of the heroic-epic cycle as a whole.

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