Melancholy and Nostalgia in British Progressive Rock

The article studies the role of such cultural phenomena as melancholy and nostalgia in artistic and “ontological” aspects of rock music. The relevance of this study is due to a high frequency of occurrence of these phenomena in numerous types of modern art (there have been several research dedicated to this issue), as well as the growing popularity of “melancholic rock” in a wide audience. Of particular significance for the author in scientific understanding of the proposed topic were the works by S. Boym, V. Medushevsky, J. Starobinski, V. Syrov, T. Tsaregradskaya, W. Everett, K. Johannison and other researchers. The study of melancholy in rock music was based on British psychedelic and progressive rock, with a detailed review of several vivid examples of compositions by Pink Floyd, Barclay James Harvest, King Crimson, Genesis, Marillion and Steven Wilson. The main purpose of this work is to reveal the characteristic musical and stylistic features, means of expression, and thematic patterns of “melancholic rock”. Among them the most important (in the author’s opinion) are the following: the prevalence of slow tempo (non-typical of rock in general), ostinato, “lack of aspiration” (according to V. Medushevsky), distinctive modal and intonational features (minority, polymodality, lamento intonation complex), folklore and early music influences, special appeal to the “nostalgic” timbres of bowed strings, organ, and wind instruments (both in live performance and electro-mechanical playback or electronic samples), and “flickering” acoustic guitar sounds. A wide range of emotions and moods are presented, from light sadness to deep sorrow, the themes of loss, loneliness, “lost childhood”, etc. The article stresses the role of melancholy, its “emotional modus” and specific sound that overcomes the intellectuality of progressive rock (sometimes excessive), its “calculated” character. At the same time, the “lack of aspiration” can be counter-balanced by the intense dramatic development, typical of progressive rock.