Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The article focuses on the study of button accordion (bayan) arrangements of Kazakh dombra kuis as an artistic phenomenon formed at the intersection of national tradition and European instrumental culture. The research problem lies in the lack of a comprehensive analysis of this genre from a cross-cultural perspective. The aim of this paper is to identify the historical, stylistic, and performance features of adapting kui to the button accordion as well as to interpret it as a form of cultural dialogue.The methodology is based on historical-cultural and comparative analysis, music-theoretical examination of form, rhythm, modal-intonation and texture, as well as on Clyde Kluckhohn’s cross-cultural theory of cultural diffusion, evolution, and irreversibility. The source base consists of sheet music editions of kuis and button accordion arrangements, audio and video recordings, anthologies and method books by Kazakhstani button accordionists, and works on ethnomusicology and music pedagogy.The study establishes that accordion arrangements reflect various levels of cross-cultural interaction: from simple transcriptions capturing the original melos, to virtuoso adaptations and authorial arrangements with elements of pop and jazz stylistics. It is shown that button accordion practice not only preserves the modal-intonational nature of the kui but also transforms it through polyphonic textures, expansion of harmonic language, and the use of the instrument’s specific timbral capabilities.The innovative aspect of the article lies in applying a cross-cultural lens to the systematization of the genre and proposing a typology of accordion arrangements based on the degree of material transformation. The practical significance of the work is associated with the possibility of using its results in educational programs, performance practice, and in creating new arrangements based on folk models. Prospects for further research open up in the direction of comparing Kazakh arrangements with similar processes in the cultures of Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Authors: Зауре Смакова, Гульнара Кузбакова
Language: English
Subfield: Music
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4414577971
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