Dmitrij Bortnjanskij (1751-1825)
- Sinfonia (C-Dur, Overture) 'Il Quinto Fabio' (1778)
Performers: Pratum Integrum Orchestra
---
Russian composer. He was born into an Ukrainian Cossack's family in the
city of Glukhov which at that time used to be the capital of Malorussia
famous by its choir schools. Having studied in one of them for a year or
two the seven-year-old boy endowed with the fine treble together with
nine other best pupils had been sent to St-Petersburg and admitted to
the Court Choirs as a chorister yet during the time of Elizabeth, Peter
the Great's daughter. The brilliant talents of the choir-boy haven't
been left unnoticed. Eleven-year-old Dmitry was entrusted with the part
of Alzesta in the opera of the same name written by the court composer
Hermann Raupach. Two years later when the production was renewed he
performed the main men's tenor part of Admet. The boy was appointed to
the Shlyahetsky Corps to be taught dramatic arts and foreign languages.
But what is the most important his successes were noticed by Baldassare
Galuppi himself. The eminent maestro highly appreciated Bortnyansky's
talents and was teaching him vocal, clavicembalo playing and composition
for over three years. Leaving Russia in summer, 1768, Galuppi urgently
recommended to send the gifted young man to Italy to continue his
education. In 1776 Bortnyansky makes his debut as an opera composer. The
first performance of his 'Creont' took place in the Venetian theater
'San Benedetto'. The next opera 'Alkid' (1778) was also staged in
Venice, in 'San Samuel' theater presumably under Galuppi's protection.
The new composition testified to the indisputable maturity of the
twenty-seven-year-old composer and his outstanding artistic talent. In
April, 1779, he received from Russia the order signed by the Director of
the Court Theaters I. P. Yelagin 'without a moment's delay... to come
back to the Motherland...'. Settled in Sant Petersburg for the rest of
his life, he wrote music for the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as
operas for the court of Catherine II. By 1796, her successor, Paul III,
made him director of the Imperial Choir and recognized him as a national
musical figure. As a composer, he wrote over 100 sacred works,
including 45 sacred concertos, seven Orthodox liturgical settings, an
Ave Maria and a Salve Regina, and numerous other pieces in Russian. In
addition, he wrote seven operas, a large ode, several part songs, a
quintet and a symphony (titled Symphonie concertante), two harp sonatas,
and a march for wind band. Bortnjanskij’s style follows the harmony and
lyricism of his Italian teacher, but the Russian works include
paraphrases of Old Slavonic chant, as well as occasional folk elements,
particularly in the instrumental compositions.
Cap comentari:
Publica un comentari a l'entrada