Chopin's Music: Understanding and New Insight into Its Content (the 210th Anniversary of the Composer's Birth)

The purpose of the article is to consider the degree of music theory development on the interpreting issue of F. Chopin works in the context of understanding the melody semantics in his music; to provide theory base on methods for studying the emotional subtext of works by a comparison of melodies with musical rhetoric and sacred symbolism. Research methodology. The defining methodological principle was the method of analysing the construction of melodies through traditional musical symbols, as well as their texture for understanding the psychological states that music conveys. The method of systematisation and generalisation of theoretical and empirical data was used to justify the principle of reading musical rhetorical figures. The method of selecting and interpreting musical material was also used for an article’s topic presentation. The scientific novelty is the profound inquiry of the nature of melodic designs in the works of F. Chopin based on an analysis of the musical rhetoric of its foundation for deeper insight and analysis of the musical works of the outstanding composer. Conclusions. Analysis of thematic material semantics allows us to open a new layer of study of F. Chopin’s work. Understanding of musical rhetoric based on sacred symbolism contributes to highly professional performing interpretation of piano works. The methods proposed by the author of the article to compare and study the relationship of musical rhetorical symbols with the construction of melodies and rhythmic figures in the works of F. Chopin are the key to understanding the subtext of the emotional state of his music and hidden content. The characterisation and description of expressive means in terms of musical texture complement the range of techniques and methods that determine the composer’s style and artistic image of the works proposed for analysis.