The meaning of Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky in a brief biographical encyclopedia. Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky: Spiritual choral concert for four-voice choir Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky works

Composer of sacred music, director of the court chapel; genus. in 1751 in the city of Glukhov, Chernigov province, d. On September 28, 1825, at the age of seven, he was enrolled in the court choir and, thanks to his beautiful voice (he had a treble) and outstanding musical abilities, as well as his happy appearance, he soon began performing publicly on the court stage (court singers at that time took part and in the performance of operas given in the court theater under the direction of foreign composers who came to Russia at the invitation of the reigning persons and sometimes lived here for a long time). There is news that at the age of 11 Bortnyansky performed a responsible, and female, role in Raupach’s opera “Alceste”, and, before performing in this role, he had to listen to several lessons in performing arts in the cadet corps. At this time, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna drew attention to him, who since then has constantly taken a great part in it. Bortnyansky's exceptional musical abilities also brought him the attention of the Italian composer Galuppi, who took seriously his musical education and gave him lessons in composition theory until his departure from Russia (1768). A year later, Empress Catherine II, yielding to Galuppi’s wishes, sent Bortnyansky to him in Venice for final improvement in musical knowledge. Bortnyansky stayed in Italy until 1779 and during this time he not only completely mastered the technique of composition, but also even gained fame as a composer of cantatas and operas. These works have not reached us; we only know that they were written in the Italian style and with Italian text. At this time, he also traveled extensively in Italy and here acquired a passion for works of art, especially painting, which did not leave him until the end of his life, and generally expanded the range of his knowledge. In 1779, Bortnyansky returned to St. Petersburg and immediately received the title of conductor of the court choir, and subsequently, in 1796, the title of director of vocal music and manager of the court chapel, transformed from the court choir. This last title was associated not only with the management of the purely artistic side of the matter, but also with economic concerns. The director's duties also included composing sacred choral works for the court churches. Having received full control of the chapel, which under his predecessor Poltoratsky was in a state of extreme decline, Bortnyansky quickly brought it to a brilliant position. First of all, he took care of improving the composition of the choristers musically, expelling singers of little musicality from the choir and recruiting new, more capable ones, mainly in the southern provinces of Russia. The number of members of the choir was increased to 60 people, the musicality of the performance, the purity and sonority of the singing, and the clarity of diction were brought to the highest degree of perfection. At the same time, he drew attention to the improvement financial situation chapel employees, for whom he obtained significant salary increases. Finally, he managed to achieve an end to the participation of the chapel choirs in theatrical performances at court, for which a special choir was formed in 1800. At the same time as all this, he began to improve the repertoire of spiritual chants in the court and other churches. At this time in Russia, the Italians dominated as composers of sacred music: Galuppi, Sarti, Sapienza and others, whose compositions were written completely not in the spirit of old Russian church singing, which was distinguished by simplicity and restraint, and most importantly, strict correspondence between text and music. The works of the listed composers were alien to simplicity and sought mainly to produce an effect; For this purpose, various kinds of graces, passages, trills, grace notes, sharp transitions and leaps, fermata, shouts and similar decorations, more appropriate in theaters than in the choir of churches, were introduced into them. Needless to say, the melodic turns, harmony and rhythm were completely Italian, and sometimes the melody and harmonization were directly borrowed from Western European models. Thus, for one Cherubic, the harmonization was borrowed from Haydn’s “The Creation of the World,” and one “We sing to Thee” was written on the theme of the priest’s aria, from Spontini’s “Vestal Virgin.” Sometimes even the text of the sacred chant was distorted. The most characteristic work of this era is, perhaps, Sarti’s oratorio “We Praise God to You,” performed near Iasi in the presence of Potemkin under open air a huge choir of singers accompanied by cannons and bells. Russian composers were no better, imitating the Italians, carried away by the success of the latter’s works: Redrikov, Vinogradov, Nikolai Bovykin and others, who wrote Cherubic “cheerful chants with antics”, “touching with antics”, “involved in the whole earth”, called “ trumpet", tunes "proportional", "bemollar", "choral", "semi-partes", "with negotiations", "with cancellation", "with high end", etc. The names themselves testify to the nature and quality of these works. The attempts that existed along with these compositions to arrange old church tunes were also far from high quality: these were the so-called excellences (from excellentes canere), the peculiarity of which was an extremely playful bass, which did not leave the impression of the main bass serving as support for harmony. All these works were extremely popular with listeners and spread more and more throughout Russia, reaching the most remote corners of it, displacing old Russian chants and threatening to completely spoil the musical tastes of society.

As a person gifted with a highly artistic taste, Bortnyansky felt all the imperfections of this kind of music and its inconsistency with the spirit of Orthodox singing and began to fight against all these directions. But, realizing that it would be difficult to achieve the goal with drastic measures, Bortnyansky decided to act gradually, making some necessary concessions to the tastes of his time. Realizing the need to return to ancient chants sooner or later, Bortnyansky did not dare, however, to offer them for general use in a completely untouched form, fearing that these tunes, remaining in their primitive, harsh beauty, would not be sufficiently understood by contemporaries. In view of this, he continued to write in the Italian spirit, that is, adopting Western European melodies, harmonies and counterpoint, making extensive use of imitations, canon and fugato, avoiding the use of church modes in which Old Russian melodies were written. But at the same time, he paid attention to the correspondence between music and text, expelled all theatrical effects from his works and gave them the character of majestic simplicity, thereby bringing them closer to ancient chants. In his transcriptions of ancient tunes, which were very few in number, Bortnyansky was guided by the same principle of gradualism and did not leave them in their original form. He tried to subordinate them to a symmetrical rhythm (it is known that ancient church chants were not subject to a specific beat and rhythm, but being written on a prose text, they strictly followed the natural lengthening and stress contained in speech) and for this purpose he often changed them, leaving only the most necessary notes of the melody, also changing the relative length of the notes, and sometimes even the text. Thanks to the deep feeling that permeates all of Bortnyansky’s works, and the correspondence of the music with the text, these creations gradually gained the sympathy of society and, having become widespread in all parts of Russia, gradually replaced the works of his predecessors. The success of his works is evidenced, for example, by the fact that Prince Gruzinsky, who lived in the village of Lyskovo, Nizhny Novgorod province, paid a lot of money to have Bortnyansky’s new works sent to him immediately after they were written. Thanks to Bortnyansky’s fruitful activities, he managed to achieve great influence in the highest government spheres. The establishment of censorship over spiritual and musical works, proposed in 1804 in order to improve church singing in Russia, was implemented in 1816 by decree of the Synod. According to this decree, “everything that is sung in church from notes must be printed and consist of the own compositions of the director of the chapel, D.S. Sov. Bortnyansky and other famous writers, but these latest works must be published with the approval of Bortnyansky." However, for 9 years Bortnyansky did not affix his signature, and therefore did not publish any of his works. Bortnyansky was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching the clergy of St. Petersburg churches simple and uniform singing. For the same purpose, improving singing Bortnyansky translated the court melody of the liturgy into two voices, printed it and sent it to all churches in Russia. Finally, Bortnyansky is credited with the so-called “project on the printing of ancient Russian hook singing.” main idea which consists in uniting singing in all Orthodox churches based on ancient melodies, recorded and published in their characteristic hook notation. However, V.V. Stasov in his article “The Work Attributed to Bortnyansky” denies the possibility that this project belonged to Bortnyansky, citing a number of arguments against this, the most convincing of which is, firstly, the fact that Bortnyansky’s contemporaries and immediate successors in managing the chapel , its director A.F. Lvov and inspector Belikov, directly recognize this document as forged, not belonging to the pen of Bortnyansky, and, secondly, that if Bortnyansky really wanted to print the ancient hook notes, he could always do it, using the unlimited influence at court, and he would not need to offer a subscription as the only means of carrying out this project. According to Stasov, this project could have been compiled by the choir teacher Alakritsky, at the request of schismatics who dreamed of reviving ancient Russian singing and, in order to draw the attention of society and the government to the project, spread the rumor that it was written by Bortnyansky.

Bortnyansky agreed to the publication of his works only shortly before his death, entrusting their publication to Archpriest Turchaninov. They say that, feeling the approach of death, he called for a choir of singers and forced them to sing his concert, his favorite, “Thou art sorrowful, my soul,” and to these sad sounds he died. Bortnyansky wrote 35 concerts with four voices and 10 with two choirs, mostly on the psalms of David, a three-voice liturgy, eight trios, of which 4 “Let him be corrected”, 7 four-voice cherubs and one two-choir, 4 “We praise God to you” four-voice and 10 two-chorus, 4 hymns, of which the most famous is “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion”, 12 arrangements of ancient tunes and many other four-voice and two-choir chants, in total up to 118 numbers. The complete collection of Bortnyansky’s works was published by the Court Singing Chapel, as well as by P. Jurgenson in Moscow, edited by P. I. Tchaikovsky. The impression Bortnyansky’s works made on his contemporaries is best evidenced by the review of them by F. P. Lvov, Bortnyansky’s immediate successor in managing the chapel: “All Bortnyansky’s musical works very closely depict the words and spirit of prayer; when depicting prayer words in the language of harmony , Bortnyansky avoids such combinations of chords that, apart from varied sonority, do not represent anything, but are used only to demonstrate the vain erudition of the writer: he does not allow a single strict fugue in his transcriptions of sacred chants, and, therefore, nowhere does he entertain the worshiper with silent sounds, and does not prefer the soulless pleasure of sounds to the pleasure of the heart, listening to the singing of the speaker. Bortnyansky merges the choir into one dominant feeling, into one dominant thought, and although he conveys it in one voice, then in another, he usually concludes his song with general unanimity in prayer.” Bortnyansky's works, distinguished by their pan-European character, found favorable evaluation in the West. Thus, Berlioz, who performed one of Bortnyansky’s works with great success in Paris, wrote the following about our composer: “All Bortnyansky’s works are imbued with a true religious feeling, often even some mysticism, which makes the listener fall into a deeply enthusiastic state; in addition, Bortnyansky has rare experience in the grouping of vocal masses, a tremendous understanding of shades, sonority of harmony, and, surprisingly, incredible freedom of arrangement of parts, contempt for the rules established by both his predecessors and contemporaries, especially the Italians, of whom he is considered a student." However, Bortnyansky’s successors were no longer completely satisfied with his music, especially his transcriptions of ancient tunes. Thus, A.F. Lvov, in his essay “On Free or Asymmetrical Rhythm” (St. Petersburg, 1858), reproaches Bortnyansky for violating the laws of prosody inherent in ancient Russian church singing, and for distorting, for the sake of the requirements of modern symmetrical rhythm and modern harmony, the natural stress of words and even melodies. M. I. Glinka found Bortnyansky’s works too sweet and gave him the playful nickname “Sugar Medovich Patokin.” But with all the undoubted shortcomings of Bortnyansky, one should not forget about his enormous merits in streamlining and improving our church singing. He took the first decisive steps towards liberating it from foreign secular influence, introducing into it a true religious feeling and simplicity, and was the first to raise the question of restoring singing in a truly churchly and truly folk spirit. Of his works, concerts are of greatest importance to us at the present time, precisely because they, not being included in the circle of obligatory church chants, allow for greater freedom of style, and their pan-European character is more appropriate here than in other chants intended directly for worship. . The best of them are considered: “With my voice to the Lord,” “Tell me, Lord, my death” (according to P. I. Tchaikovsky, the best of all), “My soul is so sorrowful,” “May God rise again,” “If the beloved village Yours, Lord!" etc.

As a person, Bortnyansky was distinguished by a gentle and sympathetic character, thanks to which the singers subordinate to him adored him. For his time, he was a very educated person and was distinguished by a developed artistic taste not only in music, but also in other arts, especially in painting, of which he was a passionate lover until the end of his life. He had a wonderful art gallery and was on friendly terms with the sculptor Martos, whom he met while in Italy.

D. Razumovsky, "Church singing in Russia." - Ant. Preobrazhensky, “D.S. Bortnyansky” (article in the Russian Musical Newspaper, 1900, No. 40). - S. Smolensky, “In Memory of Bortnyansky” (ibid., 1901, Nos. 39 and 40). - V.V. Stasov, “Work attributed to Bortnyansky” (ibid., 1900, No. 47). - O. Kompaneisky, Response to a note about the melody of the hymn “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion” (ibid., 1902). - N.F. (Findeisen), “Two manuscripts of Bortnyansky” (ibid., 1900, No. 40). - Article by N. Solovyov in the “Encyclopedic Dictionary” of Brockhaus and Efron.

N. Grushke.

(Polovtsov)

Bortnyansky, Dmitry Stepanovich

A famous Russian composer of church music, with whose activities the fate of Orthodox spiritual singing in the first quarter of this century and the court chapel are closely connected. B. was born in 1751 in the city of Glukhov, Chernigov province. During the reign of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, he entered the court choir as a young singer. Empress Catherine II drew attention to the talent of the young B., who studied with the famous Italian composer Galuppi, and sent him abroad in 1768 to improve his study of the theory of composition. B. continued his studies with Galuppi in Venice, then, on the advice of his professor, he traveled to Bologna, Rome, and Naples for scientific purposes. His harpsichord sonatas, individual choral works, two operas and several oratorios date back to B.'s stay in Italy. In 1779, B. returned to Russia at the age of 28. His works, presented to Empress Catherine II, created a sensation. Soon B. was awarded the title of composer of the court choir and a monetary award. During the reign of Emperor Pavel Petrovich, in 1796, B. was made director of the court singing chapel, transformed in the same year from the court singing choir, in place of Poltoratsky, who died a year earlier. While heading the chapel, B., in addition to his talents as a composer, also showed organizational talent. He paid attention to staffing the choir with the best voices in Russia, brought the choir to the highest perfection of performance, and most importantly, he energetically counteracted the licentiousness of singing that reigned in Orthodox churches, in which, by the way, works of ignorant composers were performed, bearing names, for example, cherubic, in fact, next to the melodies of touching chant, various cheerful melodies were displayed. Arias from Italian operas were introduced into church singing. In addition, and good essays They were written so inconveniently for voices that they were subject to changes and distortions in different church choirs. All this prompted St. The Synod, of course, with the assistance of B., make the following resolution: 1) sing partes singing in churches only from printed notes; 2) print the partes works of B., as well as other famous writers, but only with the approval of B. This established the desired order in church singing. B. drew attention to the church melody; At his request, chants written in hooks were published. B. made an attempt to develop the ancient melodies of our church chants, but it cannot be said that his works completely achieved the goal. Under the influence of the spirit of the times, B., wanting to give ancient melodies a very definite rhythmic harmony, often modified these melodies, moving away from their true spirit. By altering the melodies, B. often gave the words a not entirely correct recitation. In a word, from an old church melody, which served him as a kind of outline, B. often created an almost new melody. Lvov points out the shortcomings in B.’s transcriptions in his essay “Rhythm”. Despite the fact that B. was from Ukraine, he strongly succumbed to the influence of the Italian school, the attraction to which is very noticeable in B.’s sacred and concert music. Nevertheless, great talent is visible in his works; in them the author sought to express the idea of the text of the sacred chants, trying to convey the general prayerful mood and without going into particulars.

The harmony in B.'s compositions is relatively simple, and in general his music does not contain those spectacular and artificial techniques that could entertain the worshiper; In addition, B.'s writings show a deep knowledge of voices. Many biographers and historians call the time of B.'s activity an "epoch" in the field of Orthodox church music; They are partly right, since B. was the first to influence the establishment of order in church singing throughout Russia and the first to begin to develop ancient church melodies. Turchaninov began to adhere to a more faithful and accurate arrangement of church melodies (see this next). Bortnyansky † September 28, 1825 in St. Petersburg. The best concerts B. are considered: “I cried out to the Lord with my voice,” “Tell me, O Lord, my death,” “How sorrowful art thou, my soul,” “May God rise again and his enemies be scattered,” “If your village is beloved, O Lord.” Of B.'s numerous works, the court singing chapel published 35 concertos, 8 spiritual trios with a choir, a three-voice liturgy, 7 cherubic, 21 small spiritual chants, a collection of spiritual psalms and other chants in two volumes (26 numbers), a collection of four-voice and two-choir songs of praise in two volumes (14 numbers), a collection of hymns for one and four voices, etc. Wed. "Church singing in Russia" by Archpriest Fr. D. Razumovsky (Moscow, 1867), “Berezovsky and Bortnyansky as composers of church singing” by N. A. Lebedev (St. Petersburg, 1882).

N. Soloviev.

(Brockhaus)

Bortnyansky, Dmitry Stepanovich

(Polovtsov)

Bortnyansky, Dmitry Stepanovich

(1751-1825) - Russian composer. He studied with Galuppi, first in St. Petersburg, and then in Venice, where B. went to follow his teacher in 1768. During his stay in Italy, he gained fame there as an operatic and spiritual composer. Upon his return in 1779, he was appointed “director of vocal music and manager of the court chapel.” While in this post, B. had a great influence on the fate of cult Orthodox singing, both indirectly - through the administrative struggle against the dominance of the Italian concert style in this area, and with his own creativity. His name is also associated with the apocryphal, according to some (V. Stasov), “Project on the imprinting of ancient Russian hook singing.” Along with this, B. did not remain alien to secular music. Operas by B.: "Alcide", staged in Venice in 1778, "Quinto Fabio", staged in Modena in 1779, "Le Faucon" (1786) and "Le fils rival" (1787). B. also owns chamber works - sonatas (for harpsichord), quartets, quintet, symphony, etc. Complete works (spiritual), ed. edited by P. Tchaikovsky by P. Jurgenson. See the collection "In Memory of Bortnyansky", St. Petersburg, 1908.

A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

Bortnyansky, Dmitry Stepanovich

(born in 1751 in Glukhov, died on October 10, 1825 in St. Petersburg) - Russian. composer (Ukrainian by nationality), conductor, teacher. In 1758 he was brought to St. Petersburg and enrolled in the choir of the court singing chapel, studied with B. Galuppi. From 1769 to 1779 he studied in Italy (Venice, Bologna, Rome, Naples). Upon returning to Russia, he became a bandmaster at the court of the heir to the throne Paul in Gatchina and Pavlovsk. From 1796 until the end of his life, manager. Court Singing Chapel. B. is one of the Russian classics. choral music. He also influenced the development of instrumental, especially chamber, and partly opera music.

Works: 3 operas, including “The Falcon” (1786), “The Rival Son” (1787); Symphony Concertante (1790); chamber-instrument ans.; 6 sonatas for clavier; St. 100 hor. production, including 35 spiritual. chorus concerts and 10 for 2 choirs; military-patriotic songs from the Fatherland period. war, among them the cantata "Singer in the camp of Russian warriors".

Large biographical encyclopedia. 2009 .

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Dmitry Bortnyansky ... Wikipedia

Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (Ukrainian Dmitro Stepanovich Bortnyansky, 1751 1752, Glukhov October 10, 1825, Saint Petersburg) Russian composer Ukrainian origin. The founder of the Russian school of composition... Wikipedia -, Russian composer. Ukrainian by nationality. He studied singing and music theory at the Court Singing Chapel (St. Petersburg). He studied composition under the guidance of B. Galuppi. In 1769 79 he lived abroad. IN… … Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (1751 1825) Russian composer. Ukrainian by origin. Master of a cappella choral writing, created new type Russian choral concert. Chamberly instrumental works the first examples of large cyclic form in Russian music. Opera... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1751 1825), composer, singer, choral conductor. From 1758 he lived in St. Petersburg. He studied at the Court Singing Chapel and improved his skills in Italy (1769-79). Since 1784, harpsichordist and composer at the court of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich in Gatchina and... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia) - (1751, Glukhov 10 X 1825, St. Petersburg) ...You wrote wondrous hymns And, contemplating the blessed world, You outlined it for us in sounds... Agathangel. In memory of Bortnyansky D. Bortnyansky is one of the most talented representatives of Russian musical culture pre-Glinka... ... Musical dictionary

Books

Secular works. Hymns. Hymnology. Music of the War of 1812, Bortnyansky Dmitry Stepanovich. The collection is dedicated to the secular music of D. S. Bortnyansky (1751 1825), outstanding composer, the first classic of Russian musical culture. It contains articles and notes corresponding to the first..., Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky. ... e-book

Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (Ukrainian Dmitro Stepanovich Bortnyansky, October 26, 1751, Glukhov, Chernigov governorship - October 10, 1825, St. Petersburg) - Russian composer of Little Russian (Western Russian, Ukrainian) origin. One of the first founders of classical Russian musical tradition. Pupil and then manager of the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg. An outstanding master of choral sacred music. Author of the operas “The Falcon” (1786), “The Rival Son, or New Stratonica” (1787), piano sonatas, chamber ensembles.

Temples and aristocratic salons were filled with the sounds of his works; his compositions were also played on the occasion of public holidays. Until now, Dmitry Bortnyansky is rightly considered one of the most famous Ukrainian composers, the pride and glory of Ukrainian culture, who is known not only in his homeland, but throughout the world. Dmitry Bortnyansky was born on October 26 (28), 1751 in Glukhov, Chernigov governorate. His father, Stefan Shkurat, came from the Polish Low Beskids, from the village of Bortne and was a Lemko, but sought to get to the hetman’s capital, where he adopted the more “noble” surname “Bortnyansky” (derived from the name of his native village). Dmitry Bortnyansky, like his senior colleague Maxim Berezovsky, studied as a child at the famous Glukhov school and already at the age of seven, thanks to his wonderful voice, was accepted into the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg. Like most choristers of the Court Chapel, along with church singing, he also performed solo parts in the so-called. “Hermitages” - Italian concert performances, and first, at the age of 11-12, for women (it was then a tradition that boys sang female roles in operas), and only later - for men.

Thanks to the recommendation of Baltasar Galuppi, seventeen-year-old Dmitry Bortnyansky, as a particularly gifted musician, is awarded an artistic scholarship - a “boarding house” to study in Italy. However, he no longer chooses Bologna as his place of permanent residence, but another important cultural center - Venice, which has XVII century famous for its opera house. It was here that the first public opera house in the world was opened, in which everyone, not just nobles, could attend performances. His former St. Petersburg teacher, the Italian composer Baltasar Galuppi, whom Dmitry Bortnyansky revered since his studies in St. Petersburg, also lived in Venice. Galuppi helps the young musician become a professional; in addition, to deepen his knowledge, Dmitry Bortnyansky goes to study and to other large cultural centers - to Bologna (to Padre Martini), to Rome and to Naples.

The Italian period was long (about ten years) and surprisingly fruitful in the work of Dmitry Bortnyansky. He wrote here three operas on mythological subjects - “Creon”, “Alcides”, “Quintus Fabius”, as well as sonatas, cantatas, and church works. These compositions demonstrate the author’s brilliant mastery of the compositional technique of the Italian school, which at that time was leading in Europe, and express closeness to the song origins of his people. More than once, in the brilliant melodies of arias or in the instrumental parts, the sensual melodious Ukrainian lyrics of songs and romances are heard.

After returning to Russia, Dmitry Bortnyansky was appointed teacher and director of the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg.

At the end of his life, Bortnyansky continued to write romances, songs, and cantatas. He wrote the anthem “Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors” based on the words of Zhukovsky, dedicated to the events of the War of 1812.

IN recent years life Bortnyansky worked on preparation for publication full meeting of his writings, in which he invested almost all his money, but never saw it. The composer only managed to publish the best of his choral concerts, written in his youth, as “Sacred Concertos for Four Voices, Composed and Revised by Dmitry Bortnyansky.”

Dmitry Bortnyansky died on September 28, 1825 in St. Petersburg to the sounds of his concert “Thou art sorrowful to my soul,” performed at his request by a chapel in his apartment, and the complete collection of his works in 10 volumes was published only in 1882, edited by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He was buried at the Smolensk cemetery. In 1953, the ashes were transferred to the Tikhvin cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra to the Pantheon of Russian cultural figures.

But if choral works Bortnyansky's works were performed and republished many times after his death, remaining an adornment of Russian sacred music, but his secular works - operatic and instrumental - were forgotten soon after his death.

They were remembered only in 1901 during the celebrations on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of D. S. Bortnyansky. Then manuscripts of the composer’s early works were discovered in the Chapel and an exhibition of them was organized. Among the manuscripts were the operas Alcides and Quintus Fabius, The Falcon and The Rival Son, and a collection of clavier works dedicated to Maria Feodorovna. These findings were the subject of an article by the famous music historian N.F. Findeizen, “Bortnyansky’s Youth Works,” which ended with the following lines:

Bortnyansky's talent easily mastered both the style of church singing and the style of contemporary opera and chamber music. Bortnyansky's secular works ... remain unknown not only to the public, but even to musical researchers. Most of the composer's works are in autograph manuscripts in the library of the Court Chapel, with the exception of the quintet and symphony (kept in the Public Library).

Bortnyansky’s secular works were discussed again after another half a century. Much had been lost by this time. The Chapel archive was disbanded after 1917, and its materials were transferred in parts to different repositories. Some of Bortnyansky’s works, fortunately, were found, but most of them disappeared without a trace, including a collection dedicated to the Grand Duchess. The search for them continues to this day.

You wrote wonderful hymns
And, contemplating the blessed world,
He outlined it for us in sounds...

Agafangel. In memory of Bortnyansky.

Somehow jokingly, Glinka asked, “What is Bortnyansky?” And he answered to himself: “Sugar Medovich Patokin - that’s enough!!” And, meanwhile, it was Bortnyansky, despite the formal beauty of his works, who was one of those composers who prepared the ground for the birth of the genius of Glinka himself. Bortnyansky was received with a bang by his contemporaries, foreign composers spoke enthusiastically about his work, he was criticized in the 19th century, he was called the harbinger of the era of Pushkin and Glinka, his name was forgotten and remembered again. A.S. Pushkin once said that they became famous words- “... I assumed that many spiritual works are either the works of Bortnyansky, or “ancient melodies”, and not at all the works of other authors.” According to the recollections of contemporaries, Bortnyansky was extremely nice man, strict in service, ardently devoted to art, kind and lenient towards people. His compositions, imbued with religious feeling, became a noticeable step forward compared to previous Russian musical art.

Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky
- one of the most talented representatives of Russian musical culture of the pre-Glinka era, who earned the sincere love of his compatriots both as a composer, whose works, especially choral ones, enjoyed exceptional popularity, and as an extraordinary, multi-talented personality with rare human charm. An anonymous contemporary poet called the composer “Orpheus of the Neva River.” His creative heritage extensive and varied. It contains about 200 titles - 6 operas, more than 100 choral works, numerous chamber instrumental works, romances. Bortnyansky's music is distinguished by impeccable artistic taste, restraint, nobility, classical clarity, and high professionalism developed by studying modern European music.
Dmitry Bortnyansky was born on October 28, 1751 in Glukhov, Chernigov regiment. According to the Polish parish priest Miroslav Tsydyvo, Bortnyansky’s father bore the name “Stefan Shkurat”, came from the village of Bortne and was a Lemko, but he sought to get to the hetman’s capital, where he adopted the more “noble” surname “Bortnyansky” (derived from the name of his native village) .

Bortnyansky’s youth coincided with a time when there was a powerful social upsurge at the turn of the 60s and 70s. XVIII century awakened national creative forces. It was at this time that a professional composing school began to take shape in Russia.
Due to his exceptional musical abilities, Bortnyansky was sent to the Singing School at the age of six, and 2 years later he was sent to St. Petersburg to the Court Singing Chapel. From childhood, luck favored the handsome, intelligent boy. He became the empress's favorite, together with other singers he participated in entertainment concerts, court performances, church services, and studied foreign languages and acting. The director of the chapel, M. Poltoratsky, studied singing with him, and the Italian composer B. Galuppi studied composition. On his recommendation, in 1768 Bortnyansky was sent to Italy, where he stayed for 10 years. Here he studied the music of A. Scarlatti, G. F. Handel, N. Iomelli, the works of polyphonists Venetian school, and also made a successful debut as a composer. In Italy, the “German Mass” was created, interesting because Bortnyansky introduced ancient Orthodox chants into some of the chants, developing them in a European manner; as well as 3 opera seria: “Creon”, “Alcides”, “Quintus Fabius”.

Quintet in C major 1/3 Allegro moderato.

In 1779, the musical director at the imperial court, Ivan Elagin, sent Bortnyansky an invitation to return to Russia. Upon his return, Bortnyansky received the position of conductor of the Court Chapel and began turning point in the composer's creative biography, he devotes himself to Russian music. Bortnyansky achieved his greatest success in the genre of choral spiritual concerts, combining European techniques in them. musical compositions With Orthodox traditions. In 1785, Bortnyansky received an invitation to the post of bandmaster of the “small court” of Paul I. Without leaving his main duties, Bortnyansky agreed. The main work at the court of Paul I was for Bortnyansky in the summer. In honor of Paul I, Bortnyansky created the opera “The Feast of the Senor” in 1786. Such a varied occupation stimulated the composition of music in many genres. Bortnyansky creates a large number of choral concerts, writes instrumental music - keyboard sonatas, chamber works, composes romances based on French texts, and since the mid-80s, when Pavlovsk's court became interested in theater, he creates three comic operas: “The Feast of the Seigneur”, “The Falcon” ", "Rival son." “The beauty of these operas by Bortnyansky, written in French text, is in the unusually beautiful fusion of noble Italian lyrics with the languor of the French romance and the sharp frivolity of the couplet” (B. Asafiev).
"Quint Phabeus" Opera Suite

Versatile educated person, Bortnyansky willingly took part in literary evenings held in Pavlovsk; later, in 1811-16. - attended meetings of “Conversations of Lovers of the Russian Word”, headed by G. Derzhavin and A. Shishkov, collaborated with P. Vyazemsky and V. Zhukovsky. Based on the latter’s poems, he wrote the popular choral song “Singer in the Camp of Russian Warriors.”

"A singer in the camp of Russian warriors."

In 1796 Bortnyansky was appointed manager and then director of the Court Singing Chapel and remained in this post until the end of his days. In his new position, he energetically set about implementing his own artistic and educational intentions. He significantly improved the situation of the singers, introduced Saturday public concerts in the chapel, and prepared the chapel choir for participation in concerts. For his services in 1815 Bortnyansky was elected an honorary member of the Philharmonic Society. His high position is evidenced by the law adopted in 1816, according to which either the works of Bortnyansky himself or music that received his approval were allowed to be performed in the church.
Concerto in D major for cymbalo (arranged for bandura) and strings.

In his work, starting from the 90s, Bortnyansky focuses his attention on sacred music, among the various genres of which choral concerts are especially significant. Some of them are of a solemn, festive nature, but are more typical for Bortnyansky concerts, distinguished by soulful lyricism, special spiritual purity, and sublimity. According to Academician Asafiev, in Bortnyansky’s choral works “there was a reaction of the same order as in Russian architecture of that time: from the decorative forms of the Baroque to greater severity and restraint - to classicism.”

Concert No. 34, "May God rise again"

In choral concerts, Bortnyansky often goes beyond the boundaries prescribed by church rules. In them you can hear marching and dance rhythms, the influence of opera music, and in the slow parts sometimes there is a similarity with the genre of lyrical “Russian song”. Bortnyansky’s sacred music enjoyed enormous popularity both during the composer’s lifetime and after his death. It was arranged for piano, gusli, translated into a digital music notation system for the blind, and was constantly published. However, among professional musicians of the 19th century. there was no unanimity in its assessment. An opinion was formed about its sweetness, and Bortnyansky’s instrumental and operatic works were completely forgotten. Only in our time, especially in recent decades, has the music of this composer returned to the listener again, sounded in opera houses, concert halls, showing us the true scale of the talent of the wonderful Russian composer, a true classic of the 18th century.

Hymn to the moon.

Cherubic song.

In the last years of his life, Bortnyansky continued his composing activities. He wrote romances, cantatas, and worked on preparing for the publication of a complete collection of his works. However, this work was not completed by the composer. He managed to publish only his works for choral concerts, which were written by him in his youth - “Spiritual concerts for four voices, composed and again corrected by Dmitry Bortnyansky.” Subsequently, the complete collection of his works in 10 volumes was published in 1882 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Bortnyansky died in 1825 in St. Petersburg. On his last day, he asked the chapel choir to perform one of their sacred concerts.

Sonata for cymbal No. 2.

Musical heritage.

After the composer's death, his widow Anna Ivanovna transferred the remaining heritage - engraved music boards of sacred concerts and manuscripts of secular works - to the Chapel for storage. According to the register, there were a lot of them: “Italian operas - 5, Russian, French and Italian arias and duets - 30, Russian and Italian choirs - 16, overtures, concertos, sonatas, marches and various works for wind music, piano, harp and other instruments - 61". All the works were accepted and “placed in the place prepared for them.” The exact titles of his works were not indicated. But if Bortnyansky’s choral works were performed and republished many times after his death, remaining an adornment of Russian sacred music, his secular works - operatic and instrumental - were forgotten soon after his death. They were remembered only in 1901 during the celebrations on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of D. S. Bortnyansky. Then manuscripts of the composer’s early works were discovered in the Chapel and an exhibition of them was organized. Among the manuscripts were the operas Alcides and Quintus Fabius, The Falcon and The Rival Son, and a collection of clavier works dedicated to Maria Feodorovna. These findings were the subject of an article by the famous music historian N.F. Findeizen, “Bortnyansky’s Youth Works.” The author called on the court choir to publish the materials at its disposal, but to no avail. Bortnyansky’s secular works were discussed again after another half a century. Much had been lost by this time. The Chapel archive was disbanded after 1917, and its materials were transferred in parts to different repositories. Some of Bortnyansky’s works, fortunately, were found, but most of them disappeared without a trace, including a collection dedicated to the Grand Duchess. The search for them continues to this day.

(1751-10-26 ) Place of birth Date of death

September 28 (October 10) ( 1825-10-10 ) (73 years old)

Place of death Country

Russian Empire

Professions Tools

Choir, piano, chamber

Genres

Sacred, chamber music

Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky(October 26, Glukhov, Chernigov governorship - October 10, St. Petersburg) - Russian composer and conductor of Ukrainian origin. One of the first founders of the classical Russian musical tradition. Creator of the partes choir concert. Pupil and then manager of the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg. An outstanding master of choral sacred music. Author of the operas “Falcon” (), “Rival Son, or New Stratonica” (), piano sonatas, chamber ensembles.

Biography

Dmitry Bortnyansky was born on October 26 (28), 1751 in Glukhov, Chernigov governorate. His father, Stefan Shkurat, came from the Polish Low Beskids, from the village of Bortne and was a Lemko, but sought to get to the hetman’s capital, where he adopted the more “noble” surname “Bortnyansky” (derived from the name of his native village). Dmitry Bortnyansky, like his senior colleague Maxim Berezovsky, studied as a child at the famous Glukhov school and already at the age of seven, thanks to his wonderful voice, was accepted into the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg. Like most choristers of the Court Chapel, along with church singing, he also performed solo parts in the so-called. “Hermitages” - Italian concert performances, and first, at the age of 11-12, for women (it was then a tradition that boys sang female roles in operas), and only later - for men.

D.S. Bortyansky

After returning to Russia, Dmitry Bortnyansky was appointed teacher and director of the Court Singing Chapel in St. Petersburg.

In the last years of his life, Bortnyansky worked on preparing for the publication of a complete collection of his works, into which he invested almost all his funds, but never saw it. The composer only managed to publish the best of his choral concerts, written in his youth, as “Sacred Concertos for Four Voices, Composed and Revised by Dmitry Bortnyansky.”

Musical heritage

Belsky M.I. “Portrait of the composer Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky”, 1788.

After the death of the composer, his widow Anna Ivanovna transferred the remaining heritage - engraved music boards of sacred concerts and manuscripts of secular works - to the Chapel for storage. According to the register, there were a lot of them: “Italian operas - 5, Russian, French and Italian arias and duets - 30, Russian and Italian choirs - 16, overtures, concertos, sonatas, marches and various works for wind music, piano, harp and other instruments - 61.” All the works were accepted and “placed in the place prepared for them.” The exact titles of his works were not indicated.

But if Bortnyansky’s choral works were performed and republished many times after his death, remaining an adornment of Russian sacred music, his secular works - operatic and instrumental - were forgotten soon after his death.

Bortnyansky's talent easily mastered both the style of church singing and the style of contemporary opera and chamber music. Bortnyansky's secular works ... remain unknown not only to the public, but even to musical researchers. Most of the composer's works are in autograph manuscripts in the library of the Court Chapel, with the exception of the quintet and symphony (kept in the Public Library).

Bibliography

Lebedev M. Berezovsky and Bortnyansky as a composer of church singing. - St. Petersburg, 1882.
Dobrokhotov B., D. S. Bortnyansky. - M. - L., 1950.
Matsenko P. Dmitro Stepanovich Bortnyansky and Maxim Sozontovich Berezovsky. - Winnipeg, 1951.
Rytsareva M. Composer Bortnyansky. Life and creativity. - L.: Music, 1979. - 256 p., ill., 4 l. ill.
Ivanov V. Dmytro Bortnyansky. - Kiev, 1980.
Vikhoreva T. Sacred music by D.S. Bortnyansky. - Saarbrücken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2012. – 252 p. ISBN 978-3-8484-2962-2

Notes

Links

“How glorious is our Lord in Zion...” - the first Russian anthem
A brief history of church singing. Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky
Bortnyansky, Dmitry Stepanovich: sheet music of works on the International Music Score Library Project
Everything about Bortnyansky, including the text of the book: Konstantin Kovalev. “Bortnyansky”, ZhZL series.

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Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (Ukrainian Dmitro Stepanovich Bortnyansky, 1751 1752, Glukhov October 10, 1825, St. Petersburg) Russian composer of Ukrainian origin. The founder of the Russian school of composition... Wikipedia

Bortnyansky, Dmitry Stepanovich- Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky. BORTNYANSKY Dmitry Stepanovich (1751 1825), Russian composer. A master of a cappella choral writing, he created a new type of spiritual choral concert. Chamber instrumental works are the first examples of large... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Bortnyansky, Dmitry Stepanovich, famous Russian composer and first director of the court singing chapel (1751 1825). Born in the city of Glukhov (Chernigov province) and as a seven-year-old boy he was taken into the court singing choir. At that time for... Biographical Dictionary

Russian composer. Ukrainian by nationality. He studied singing and music theory at the Court Singing Chapel (St. Petersburg). He studied composition under the guidance of B. Galuppi. In 1769 79 he lived abroad. IN… … Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Biography

Bortnyansky Dmitry Stepanovich- Russian composer. Born on October 28, 1751 in the city of Glukhov. He died on October 10, 1825 in St. Petersburg.

1758: Singer of the Court Chapel in St. Petersburg

Dmitry Bortnyansky was born into a Cossack family in the city of Glukhov, which at that time was the capital of Little Russia and was famous for its singing school. After studying at this school for a year or two, a seven-year-old boy, who had an excellent treble, was among the ten best students sent to St. Petersburg and assigned to the choir of the Court Chapel during the reign of Elizabeth, daughter of Peter I.

“The above-mentioned choir... - wrote J. von Staehlin, - now consists of one hundred excellent selected singers... and includes bright, gentle and strong voices...”

Singers took part in church services, in opera performances, in musical entertainments of the court - “Hermitage” concerts, and accompanied the Empress during her walks. Choral music was also played during dinner parties of the august family.

The training of young singers in the Chapel “was carried out more by hearing and imitation than by rules. The singing teacher and his assistants taught both large and young singers with a violin in their hands and thus directed everyone’s hearing and voice.”

One of Bortnyansky’s first biographers, his distant relative D. Dolgov, tells a story from the composer’s childhood related to Empress Elizaveta Petrovna:

The bright talent of the young singer did not go unnoticed. Eleven-year-old Dmitry was entrusted with the role of Alceste in the opera "Alceste", written by the court composer G. Raupach with a libretto by A. Sumarokov. Two years later, when the production was resumed, he already performed the main male tenor role of Admet.

Who knows whether Bortnyansky’s fate would have been so successful if his youth and development as a musician had not occurred during the “golden age” of Catherine II.

The boy is assigned to the gentry corps to study dramatic acting, they begin to teach him foreign languages. But, most importantly, his successes were noted by Baldassare Galluppi himself, an outstanding European composer, “the father of the Italian comic opera", invited by Catherine II to court service. The eminent maestro appreciated Bortnyansky's abilities and studied singing, playing the harpsichord and composition with him for more than three years. Leaving Russia in the summer of 1768, Galuppi strongly recommended sending the gifted young man to Italy to continue his studies. Opinion of the maestro was heard, and Dmitry, as a “pensioner”, i.e. at state expense, followed his mentor.

1769: Departure for Italy with Galuppi

Many musicians trained in Italy. Venice was famous for its traditions of choral music and theaters, Naples was considered the birthplace of the best opera masters of Italy in the 18th century, Bologna was a stronghold of academic music education and science.

First, the young man went to Venice, the hometown of his teacher, and continued to take lessons from Galuppi for several more years. The subject of their studies were opera, various genres of religious music, vocal and instrumental compositions.

Galuppi continued to patronize Bortnyansky even when the young composer began to make his first independent steps in his work: his recommendations opened the doors of musical institutions for aspiring musicians and helped in obtaining orders. However, Dmitry was not only engaged in studies. The young man, who was fluent in Italian, French and German, was immediately recruited as a translator during hostilities during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768 - 1774. And he “was often... used by Count Orlov when he was in Venice for negotiations with the Greeks, Albanians and other peoples regarding military preparations...”

In 1776 Bortnyansky first tried himself as an opera composer. At the Venetian theater San Benedetto, probably under the patronage of Galuppi, the premiere of the opera “Creon” took place. The publication of the libretto indicated the time of production: “autumn 1776.” However, on the handwritten score, which was considered lost and was recently discovered by P. Serbin in one of the European collections, it says “1777.” and contains a mention of another production, confirming the information given in 1857 in a biographical sketch about D. Bortnyansky by his grandson D. Dolgov. This means that the opera was performed multiple times throughout the season.

Whose literary work was used as the basis for "Creon", it was not immediately possible to unravel, since the name of the author was not indicated in printed edition. However, Mooser established that this was an altered text of the libretto written in 1772 by the Italian poet M. Coltellini for his compatriot T. Traetta for his opera Antigone, while they were both in the service of Catherine II.

The “German Mass” he composed suggests that Bortnyansky visited both Austria and, probably, even France, which can be evidenced by the aria he wrote in 1778 based on a French text.

Information about the works created during the “Italian” period and their quantity is extremely scarce. Most likely, these were mainly numerous motets, choral polyphonic chants on biblical texts - evidence of the thoroughness of the school that Bortnyansky went through under the leadership of B. Galuppi.

Little is known about the works composed at the same time in the chamber genres. instrumental music. The list of manuscripts transferred to the Court Chapel after the death of the composer by his widow, Anna Bortnyanskaya, includes sixty-one works for various instrumental compositions. Only about twenty have survived to this day. The list of his secular vocal compositions is equally incomplete.

It is still unclear how many operas Bortnyansky actually created during his internship. According to archival documents, the widow transferred “five Italian operas” for storage. However, information is available only about the three mentioned earlier.

What happened to the composer’s “Italian” manuscripts? Are they stored somewhere in private archives and waiting in the wings, or are they hopelessly lost? Relatively recent discoveries - two motets, a French aria and a canzonetta - allow us to dream about happy ending. Bortnyansky’s creative style is the best evidence that the lessons of craftsmanship that Maestro Galuppi generously shared with him were gratefully and successfully received.

1779: Return to St. Petersburg. Bandmaster of the Court Choir

In April 1779, Dmitry Bortnyansky received from Russia, signed by the director of the court theaters I.P. Elagin’s notice instructs him, “taking all his works with him,” to “immediately” “return... to the fatherland.” The tone and content of the letter were very respectful, with assurances that the composer would be able to visit Italy again if he wished.

In 1806, Bortnyansky became a full state councilor, and in 1815, a member of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society. Since 1816, Bortnyansky served as censor of sacred music.

Russian choral culture before 1825 is rightfully called the “era of Bortnyansky.” Recognition and fame came to B. during his lifetime. His choral works quickly spread in church circles; they were performed not only in churches in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also in churches in small provincial towns. During the period of B.'s many years of activity as director of the Court Choir, the professional level of the group increased significantly; contemporaries compared it with the choir of the Sistine Chapel. During Lenten concerts, almost all oratorios and masses were performed with the participation of the Chapel’s singers and their repertoire was largely composed by B. He initiated weekly daytime open concerts in the Chapel, where oratorios by Handel (“Messiah”) and J. Haydn (“Creation”) were performed of the World”, “The Seasons”, “The Return of Tobias”), L. van Beethoven (“Christ on the Mount of Olives”, “Battle of Waterloo”), requiems by Mozart and L. Cherubini and many others. etc.

During his lifetime, B. became known as the creator of spiritual works: small church hymns and concerts, several. cycles of “Liturgy” (“Simple singing”, “Liturgy” for 3 voices, “German mass”, “Liturgy” for 4 voices, “Lenten mass”) and the cycle of irmos of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Kritsky (“Helper and Patron”), 12 deserving saints for great holidays, sacramental verses and prokeimns. The secular part of his work - operas, cantatas, chamber instrumental works, romances and songs - lost significance over time.

According to the canons of classicist aesthetics, B.'s works are devoted to eternal themes and ideals and almost do not actualize specific national specifics. Music B.'s language corresponds to the norms of the classicism style: clear functionality of harmonies with the primacy of tonic-dominant relationships, clarity of melodic turns based on progressive movement and chord sounds, squareness and symmetry of the structure of themes, harmony of the compositional plan.

Bortnyansky's spiritual works are conventionally divided into several groups. One consists of chants for daily worship; their melodic composition lacks virtuoso passages and complex rhythmic patterns; the genre features of the minuet and march are less pronounced (Liturgy for 3 voices, irmos, one-part choirs, for example, “Taste and see,” “Now the powers of heaven,” "Like the Cherubs") Dr. The group is represented by concerts. The early concerts mainly form a three-part cycle, written in major keys, their melodies use the rhythms and turns of the minuet, polonaise, and march; later concerts often form a four-part cycle, the minor mode dominates in them, polyphonic techniques and forms (imitations, fugato, fugues) are more developed, the lyrical-hymnic beginning and elegance predominate, which is associated with the influence of the emerging style of sentimentalism, which was characterized by the genre Elegies.

A separate group of chants is associated with adaptations of ancient chants (c. 16). Interest in this genre intensified in the last years of the composer's life. Unlike Rev. Petra Turchaninova B. significantly processed and shortened ancient melodies (Greek, Kiev, Znamenny, Bulgarian chants), so that sometimes they became very far from the original source. Prot. Dimitry Razumovsky believed that B. used tunes from the synodal publications of 1772: Irmologa, Obikhod, Oktoich and Holidays (Church singing. pp. 233-235). A. P. Preobrazhensky and others. Vasily Metallov believed that the composer relied on oral tradition. Compared to other works, B.'s adaptations are distinguished by greater modal-harmonic and rhythmic freedom: they are characterized by reliance on modal variability, characteristic of early harmonizations of Old Russian. chants, irregular rhythm. This group of chants includes “Simple singing”, written in 1814 by imp. order. In fact, the composer composed an exemplary cycle of “Liturgy”, which was intended for worship both in metropolitan churches that had large choral groups, and in provincial churches, where it could be sung by two voices.

Bortnyansky was credited with creating the “Project on the imprinting of ancient Russian hook singing” (an appendix to the “Minutes of the annual meeting of the Society of Lovers of Ancient Literature”, 1878). V.V. Stasov denied that the “Project” was written by the composer, S.V. Smolensky defended it. The text of the “Project” has many sins. errors in grammar, replete with exaggerated accusatory expressions addressed to modern times. B. sacred music. Judging by the style and language, the “Project” was hardly written by B., whose work personified “modern” sacred music, but the idea of preserving and publishing examples of ancient Russian. music art is close to the composer’s aspirations in those years. According to M. G. Rytsareva, the author of the “Project” could have been Turchaninov, who published it under the name B. for greater effectiveness and persuasiveness of the ideas expressed (Rytsareva. P. 211).

S. A. Degtyarev, A. L. Vedel, but especially S. I. Davydov and A. E. Varlamov were influenced by his work. Already during his lifetime, the composer became a classic of choral music. He was compared to Mozart, in one of the poems he was called “Orpheus of the Neva River” (“To D. S. Bortnyansky, to his beautiful house in Pavlovsk,” gr. D. I. Khvostov).

Bortnyansky's list of more than 200 titles includes works for choir, opera, and instrumental concertos, sonatas, and symphonies.

Hymns for the Church

Bortnyansky's work marked the onset of the classical stage in Russian church music.

Sacred choral concerts (55 concerts) for a four-voice choir.
Spiritual concerts for two four-voice choirs (12 concerts).
One-part choral concerts for a four-voice choir, for two four-voice choirs, for a trio with a four-voice choir (about 30 concerts).
Choral “praise” songs (about 10 choirs).
Arrangements of church hymns for a four-voice choir (about 20 arrangements).

Liturgies

for 2 voices - “Simple singing widespread throughout Russia” M., 1814 [square notation]; [Same]. St. Petersburg, 1814 [round notation];
“Mass for three voices” - St. Petersburg, ;

Works on Latin and German texts, motets, choruses, individual chants, written during the years of study in Italy. German mass // RIIII (St. Petersburg). F. 2. Op. 1. No. 862 (arch.); Irmos of the first week of the Great Pentecost (“Helper and Patron”). St. Petersburg, 1834;

Studio. Choral fugue to the text: Amen. The manuscript was discovered by M.P. Pryashnikova in the collection of the Court Singing Chapel, stored at the Russian Institute of Art History. On the sticker of the volume there is an inscription made by a child’s hand: “Dextra Domini fecit virtutem / German mass with additions / Amen (Studio) / Musical work by Bortnyansky. Fugue written for a four-voice choir with string accompaniment..

Quartet in C major.

Quintet in A minor.

Quintet for violin, viola, cello, harp and piano in C major (1787).

"Gatchina" march.

Concert symphony.

Vocal compositions

Romances and songs:

Dans le verger de Cythere (“In the Garden of Cythere”).

Motet "In convertendo dominus" (1775) for soprano, alto and bass, accompanied by strings and basso continuo. The manuscript is preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The title page has been lost; the title and surname of the author with the date are inscribed on the music text. The motet has four parts: the 1st movement (Allegro) and the last (Grave-Allegro) are performed by three voices, the second (Larghetto) is written for soprano, the third (Allegretto) for alto.

Motet "Ave Maria" (Naples, 1775) for two female voices (soprano and contralto) accompanied by strings and two horns. One of the earliest dated works of the Italian period.

Motet "Salve Regina" (1776) for soprano, accompanied by strings, two oboes and two horns. (In the same year, the composer worked on the opera "Creon"). The developed wind parts and recitative accompanied by accompaniment in the middle section are reminiscent of the opera seria style. In the scene of Antigone (“Creon”) there is an arioso episode, very similar to the first aria from “Salve Regina”. The autograph is stored in the RIIII.

Motet "Montes valles resonate". On title page manuscript written: Motetto/a quattro voci, concertate/con molti stromenti/ di Pietro[!] Bortniansky, 1778. The cast of performers is very large: in addition to a four-voice mixed choir and solo voices - strings, flutes, oboes, horns, trumpets, timpani and basso continuo performed by the part called "Organi".

Canzonetta "Ecco quel fiero istante" to poems by Pietro Metastasio for female voice accompanied by a string quintet with two violas. A handwritten copy of the canzonetta was discovered by M.P. Pryashnikova in the Vorontsov library, in the Alupka Palace Museum. Apparently, this copy is not among the manuscripts brought by the composer from Italy. It is possible that it was made at the request of Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov, former ambassador in Venice in 1783-85, a great lover of music, a connoisseur and admirer of Italian opera, or his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna, before her marriage - maid of honor of the Empress, lover of music and student of G. Paisiello, singer, harpsichordist and composer. The canzonetta is part of a cycle of 5 works, in which it stands last and has the title “La Partenza” (can be translated as “parting” or “departure”). The text used by Bortnyansky is the most famous in Metastasio; many authors turned to it, including V.-A. Mozart, L. Beethoven, A. Salieri and others.

Aria "Vas orner le sein de Themire" (1778) for voice and orchestra string instruments with the addition of oboes and horns, the parts of which, however, are not written out. A handwritten copy of this aria was discovered by M.P. Pryashnikova in the archive from the St. Petersburg Vorontsov House, stored in the IRLI.

“How glorious is our Lord” to the words of M. M. Kheraskov,
“Eternal and Necessary” to the words of Yu. A. Neledinsky-Meletsky,
“Hymn to the Savior” to the words of D. I. Khvostov,
“Illuminate, holy joy” to the words of A. Vostokov.

“Singer in the camp of Russian warriors” to the words of V. A. Zhukovsky (1812),
"Song of the Warriors"
"March of the general militia in Russia."

Cantatas and oratorios:

"For the art lover"
“Russian countries, take heart”
"Orpheus Meeting the Sun"
"On the return"
“On arrival from foreign lands” to the words of G. R. Derzhavin,
“Come, come, blessed one” to the words of Yu. A. Neledinsky-Meletsky and P. A. Vyazemsky,
"Chantology"
“Look up around, Russia”, etc.