Role of Polyphony in Creative Work of Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev)

The research objectives are as follows: to reveal the role of polyphony in the creative work of Bishop Hilarion (Alfeyev), to identify the specificity of polyphonic forms functioning in his musical compositions. The article analyzes the types of polyphony, examines the functioning of polyphonic forms in Alfeyev’s musical works. Scientific originality of the study involves a comprehensive analysis of individual style of the modern Russian spiritual composer whose music is frequently performed but is not yet subjected to musicological analysis. The research findings are as follows: the author identifies the peculiarities of Alfeyev’s polyphonic thinking, describes polyphonic forms and techniques peculiar to his works and shows how they are determined by the specificity of spiritual music genre.