Interpretation of the Russian chamber-vocal repertoire by Chinese students: pedagogical strategies and difficulties

Abstract

The Russian chamber-vocal repertoire, which represents a unique synthesis of poetic word, melodic richness, and profound emotional expressiveness in the works of Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Sviridov, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, creates significant interpretative challenges for Chinese students. These challenges stem from fundamental differences in phonetic systems, intonational models, aesthetic ideals of sound production, and cultural contexts between the two traditions. Analysis of interpretative practice reveals a stable hierarchy of difficulties in which stylistic adequacy and phonetic correctness consistently lag behind the quality of sound production, command of dynamics, and agogics. There is a natural though nonlinear improvement in indicators during the transition from beginner to advanced stages of training. The most common errors include the substitution of soft consonants with hard ones, distortion of the vowel [ы], the absence of reduction in unstressed vowels, incorrect articulation of [р], and disruption of the intonational contour of the phrase under the influence of the tonal nature of the Chinese language. These issues substantially diminish the artistic integrity and emotional persuasiveness of the performance, particularly in the intimate chamber intonation characteristic of the Russian romance. The identified phenomenon of phonetic inhibition illustrates the cognitive dynamics of acquisition, whereby intense concentration on pronunciation temporarily weakens the naturalness of emotional utterance, followed by subsequent reintegration of parameters at a higher level of integrative performance thinking. This is confirmed by the convergence of ratings for phonetic correctness and emotional persuasiveness as experience accumulates. Among pedagogical strategies, the combined approach demonstrates the greatest effectiveness. It integrates preliminary speech work on the text, parallel mastery of verbal and musical material, aural analysis of model recordings, cultural immersion in Russian poetry and historical context, and collaboration with a Russian-speaking accompanist-mentor. This produces a synergistic effect, with expert ratings increasing by up to 1.94 points per academic year – substantially exceeding the contribution of individual methods and promoting the balanced development of all components of interpretation. Differentiated assessment of repertoire difficulty identifies an optimal sequence of study: romances of early Romanticism, with their cantilena style and transparent texture, serve as a natural entry point, whereas Mussorgsky’s vocal miniatures and the lyrics of Prokofiev and Shostakovich – with their maximum phonetic, interpretative, and semantic complexity – require well-developed linguocultural competence. The findings emphasize that the principal barriers lie in the linguocultural domain rather than in vocal technique. Overcoming intercultural distance is achievable through systematic multi-channel pedagogical intervention that ensures mutual enrichment of Russian and Chinese musical traditions and attainment of an interpretative level comparable to that of native speakers. This underscores the high relevance of the material for developing adapted methodologies in international music education.