Orthodox Elements in “Prayer” by Maka Virsaladze: A Topical Analysis and Interpretation

Abstract

This article proposes the analysis of the representation of two elements of Orthodox Christianity which are referenced in the piece Prayer (for solo piano) by Maka Virsaladze, with the intention of assisting in the preparation of this work for performance. The methodology chosen for this analysis stems from topic theory (based on the concept of “topics”, introduced by Leonard Ratner in 1980) which has been used to recognise and examine external references (poetic, musical, literary, etc.) in a musical work. This article intends to contribute to this field by proposing a topical analysis of this particular piece, which has not been previously studied academically