Jiří Antonín Benda (1722-1795)
- Gott steigt herab (c.1770)
Performers: Stefanie Dаsch (sopran); Agnieszka Monаsterskа (alt); Julio Fernández (tenor); Simon Berg (bass);
Kantorei Santa Barbara; L'Estate Armonico; WiesIаw DeIimаt (conductor)
Painting: Jacques Dumont (1704-1781) - Allégorie en l’honneur de la publication de la paix d’Aix-la-Chapelle,
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Bohemian composer and violinist. Son of Jan Jiří Benda (1686-1757) and
brother of Franz Benda (1709-1786), Johann Georg Benda (1713-1752) and
of the soprano Anna Franziska Benda (1728-1781), he trained initially by
his father. He later was sent to a local school in Kosmonosy in 1735,
and in 1739 he attended the Jesuit Gymnasium in Jičín in music. In 1742
he joined family members in Berlin, where he functioned for a few years
as a violinist. In 1750 he was offered the position of Kapellmeister at
the court of Saxe-Gotha by Duke Friedrich III, where he composed mainly
church music. A journey to Italy in 1765 brought him into contact with
leading opera composers of the day, who influenced his compositional
style. In 1770 he was named kapelldirector, a largely symbolic post, but
his regular duties for Friedrich’s successor, Duke Ernst II, included
writing a new style of work that fused spoken drama with music, called
the duodrama. The first work, Ariadne auf Naxos, was performed in 1774
and soon began to be imitated throughout Germany. At the same time,
Benda gained a reputation as a composer of Singspiel, becoming the most
popular composer of the genre of the time. A dispute with rival Anton
Schweitzer led him to resign his post and leave Gotha for a year of
travel to Hamburg and Vienna. Increasing fame brought about by his
duodramas subsequently allowed him to tour various musical centers, such
as Paris in 1781 and Mannheim in 1787, although he was formally
retired. His last work, ironically, is a cantata titled Bendas Klagen
from 1792. As a composer, Benda was one of the most celebrated people of
the latter 18th century, known mainly for his sacred music and
innovations in theatre music. In his duodramas in particular, one can
note a carefully delineated harmonic and melodic sensitivity that
underscores the text. His Singspiels are noted for their more complex
musical settings and serious tone that is often far more progressive
than in similar works by Johann Adam Hiller. His instrumental music,
however, still maintains elements of the galant style, with sequenced
themes and short rhythmic motives. His works include 13 operas
(including incidental music and duodramas), 166 cantatas (mainly
Lutheran), two Masses, an oratorio, six secular cantatas, about 25
Lieder, 30 symphonies, 23 concertos (mostly violin and harpsichord), 54
keyboard sonatas, and several other sonatas for violin and flute, as
well as a large number of keyboard works. His son Friedrich Ludwig Benda
(1752-1792) was also a composer and violinist.
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