Madonis Luigi (Luigi Madonis)

Main article: Music in Russia in the XVIII century

Biography

In Russian documents, the scribes wrote Madonis - "young" Luigi (Louis, Ludovico) and Madonis - "old" - Antonio (he was probably the brother of Luigi's father or another close relative). Both were excellent violinists, and Luigi was one of the virtuoso performers of that time, besides the composer. They both forever connected their lives with Russia: Antonio died in St. Petersburg on March 31, 1746, Luigi on January 22, 1777. There are many dark places and erroneous facts in their biographies.

1735: Coming to Russia as part of the "Italian Company" led by Araya

The personality of Luigi Madonis as an outstanding musician of that era was paid special attention to one of the first historians of music and theater in Russia in the 18th century. J. Shtelin. In his notes, he also introduced a number of inaccuracies in his biography, which were then repeated by everyone who wrote about him. Stelin said that the Madonises (like the Dalolio brothers) were brought to Russia by I. Gibner (Gübner, Hübner, J. Hübner), but he did not indicate the exact year of their arrival. Before that, Stelin in his article mentioned the coronation of Anna Ioannovna (1730) and the sending of ІІ "Italian virtuosos" by King Augustus for the Anninian court. He went on: "Soon after, the Hamburg opera composer and bandmaster Kaiser arrived with his daughter, a skilled aria performer, who later became Verocai's wife.<...> Kaiser was going to leave for Italy, having the intention of obtaining for greater perfection the court orchestra of virtuosos.<...> But all his promises remained unfulfilled. <...>Then, to fulfill the decision, Guebner, who was then the bandmaster of the imperial court chapel, was sent to Italy. He brought some violinists with him from Venice, who very soon surpassed himself. The most outstanding of these was Giovanni Madonis. "

In this excerpt, notes about the 1730s, written by J. Shtelin in 1769 (i.e. almost forty years later, while Shtelin was not an eyewitness to everything described, because he arrived in Russia in 1735), there were three factual errors that wandered later (and remain to this day) in the works of music historians in Russia XVIII century.

The first mistake concerns the moment I. Gibner traveled to Europe for musicians. In fact, documents published in the Documentary Chronicle report: a decree on this trip took place on September 7, 1730. foreign passport was issued Johann Gibner with his student Michel Case on September 19, 1730. Gibner returned to Moscow with a group of Hamburg Musicians and Singers in August 1731; their composition is fully named, and there are no Madonis or Dalolio musicians among them; true, the singer, the wife of the "director" I. Avolio - Mrs. d'Avolio is referred to in one of the documents as "Davolio." Gibner, on the other hand, did not go to Europe for musicians. ^[1]

Unfortunately, in the new edition of the translation of J. Shtelin's work "News of Music in Russia," made from his author's manuscript by K.V. Malinovsky,<<...> Hübner was sent to Italy near the text<...> of Shtelin<...>. This one brought * several violinists from Venice <...>"- his own comment was placed:" * In the spring of 1733, "which is not documented in any way and, taking into account all the above, is speculation (again introduced into scientific use).

Shtelin's second mistake was the message that in the early 1730s. The famous composer Reyngold Kaiser came to Russia raised doubts for a long time. Confirmation that this is an error is in the 1st book of the Documentary Chronicle. In September 1731, in a group of musicians and vocalists brought by I. Gibner, there was a violinist from Hamburg Johann Kaiser (Keiser) with his son a violinist (they were not engaged in the orchestra) and a daughter singer (Sofia Amalia). After the performances of the first Italian troupe at the Russian court ended on December 9, 1731, a foreign passport was issued to Yagan Kaiser, who pledged to find new artists, and was "sent from the EIV court for some affairs to European states." A year later, in September 1732, he reported:<...> "I performed the commission I took on with all my diligence and ordered such people to the service to entertain Your Imperial Majesty > <...>(this Kaiser was a violinist, not a famous composer, and he did not disappear anywhere with money, and spent the amount given to him on biased artists).

The third error concerned the date of the Madonis' arrival in Russia, including Luigi (named "Giovanni" by Shtelin, probably after his father, also a former Italian musician). The Madonises and the Dalolio brothers arrived in Russia in early 1735 (in April) along with a large group of musicians and singers led by the composer Araya. This is confirmed by Luigi Madonis himself in his 1747 petition, which says that he "has been serving the EIV for twelve years."

The names of musicians Antonio and Luigi Madonisov and three brothers Giuseppe, Domenico and Jacob (Jacopo) Dalolio first appear on the list of ministers of the Italian Company in 1736, which includes paying them a salary and "for the past 1735."

1738: Presentation to the Empress of engraved "Twelve different symphonies for violin and bass," published in St. Petersburg

Judging by the documents at our disposal (published and unpublished), Luigi Madonis was, like most artistically gifted people, extremely impractical. His first annual salary in Russia in 1735 was one of the highest 1,050 rubles. (among the orchestra members, only F. Araya received more than 1220 rubles; the highest salaries were: choreographer A. Rinaldi 1400 rubles. and his wife dancer Julia Portezi 1260 rubles). In February 1737, the Luigi were "granted" by Empress Anna Ioannovna 1200 rubles. "for the payment of debts"; in December 1738, he received another 100 rubles in excess of his salary, probably for presenting the empress with engraved "Twelve Different Symphonies for Violin and Bass," published in St. Petersburg.

1739: Short trip to Italy

In 1739, Luigi Madonis asked "to let him go to the fatherland, to Italy, for a while for his own needs," promising to return to the anniversary of the coronation of the EIV (i.e. by April 1740). In addition, he wrote that "in lutch (evo return to Russia) probability, leaves his wife and children here." This was followed by the empress's resolution: "<...>at the request of the Evo to give a proper Abshid; and if he will return the paks, as he promises for the coronation of ours, then during the excommunication he will not be deducted from his salary. " On September 4, 1739, L. Madonis received an "abshid" from the Court Office and a passport abroad.

L. Madonis returned in 1740, probably precisely by the time, since he received a full year's salary "and shortly after the death of Anna Ioannovna (October 17, 1740) signed the oath to her heir. On December 30, 1740, the new ruler of Russia, Anna Leopoldovna, granted him "to his previous salary from the general of the month of 1741, in addition to 500 rubles."

With this salary, L. Madonis passed into a new reign and, together with Domenico Dalolio, "composed music" for some arias and performed it in the coronation opera "Titovo's Mercy," presented in Moscow in May 1742. Shortly after the coronation, L. Madonis addressed Empress Elizabeth Petrovna with a letter, which, it seems to us, can answer an important question: was Elizabeth personally owed something to Luigi Madonis?

In a letter to the Empress, Madonis writes that his engagement ended in February last (i.e. 1741), and he "intended to ask for resignation," continuing: "nevertheless, I could not help but come to Moscow to continue to serve you at all the festivals dedicated to the happy coronation of Your Imperial Majesty." Further, Madonis reported that he owed different persons 3,400 rubles. (the amount at that time is colossal) and asked to give him an engagement for six years (probably for the same period that lasted the same since 1735) so that he could pay off. Madonis concluded his letter almost with a plea: "I promise to serve with all sorts of diligence and diligence. And I will work hard to be worthy to enter the society of your faithful servants. "

In the first lines of the letter, Madonis was clearly cunning, since he received a salary from the former ruler for 1741 with a significant increase and, having such a huge debt, could not leave Russia. But, most importantly, the letter does not contain a word about his wife Natalya Petrovna, which may indicate that he had not yet been married to her and had nothing to do with participating in the coup, and, therefore, the empress did not owe him anything.

Judging by the fact that in Vedomosti on September 18, 1742 the name of L. Madonis is present with the same salary, his request for an engagement was granted.

1742: Marriage to a Persian singer, baptized Natalia Petrovna

Foreign musicians came to Russia often with their families. Antonio Madonis ("old") was married to singer Gerolama Valsecchi. The list of performers of the opera "The Mercy of Titovo" (1742) in the role of Servillia includes "Ms. Madonis," and until now it was believed that this applied to the wife of Luigi Madonis ("young") - Natalia Petrovna. But in the Decree of the Court Office of September 18, 1742 on giving salaries to Italians, in which all participants in the coronation opera are named, we read: "<...>the wife of old Madonis - it is necessary to make a six-month salary from the 1st of this year Genvar to the 1st of the coming year 743, as it is written in the statement." In the "Vedomosti that the Italians Genvari on the 1st of the coming year 1743 should be issued a cash salary,<...> and in the name: the wife of<...> old Madonis - 250 rubles." In addition, there is another postscript in this document: "He<...> and the old Madonis wife are dismissed from the drop to secretary Spitz<...>." This postscript needs to be said especially. She is quoted in an article about L. Madonis in the Encyclopedic Dictionary "Musical Petersburg. XVIII century, "but with the date" September 18, 1772, "(apparently, the publisher did not understand the illegible written number" 4 "among" 1742 "). Based on the above, it must be admitted that the court singer was an Italian, the wife of Antonio Madonis - "old."

In this article from the ES, its author L.M. Butir repeats (after the French musicologist Mooser) the statement that "Natalia Madonis, being close to the regent Anna Leopoldovna, spied on her in favor of the conspirators, which later earned a gracious attitude towards her family Elizabeth Petrovna." Mooser confirmed this statement by reference to a note from the archive of Prince M. Vorontsov, as well as to a document of 1757. In this decree, L. Madonis was given "his wife's salary of 600 rubles" by his annual salary since July 28, 1755. At the same time, Mozer suggested that Luigi Madonis himself participated in the palace coup: "Did he take a personal part in this not too brilliant story, did he play any role in it? Unknown, but this seems likely when one considers the special disposition that Elizaveta Petrovna showed to the Italian violinist and his wife throughout her reign. " This assumption was denied by researcher Lyudmila ^[2]."

Stelin, in one of his works, speaking of L. Madonis, reported that<<...> he married here a Persia woman, who was then the most beautiful servant at the Court of Princess Anne of Mecklenburg, later Grand Duchess. " Mooser wrote about this: "In St. Petersburg, he remained a widower and married Natalia Petrovna, a Georgian singer." The fact that Natalya Petrovna (a Persian woman, of course, baptized at court in Orthodoxy) was the second wife of Luigi Madonis, can be confirmed by a document of May 1751. In it, Luigi asked to give a foreign passport to his son of 14 years, Jean Baptist Madonis, to leave for Italy, with whom he left Russia in June. This could only be if Jean Baptist was not born in marriage with a Russian subject (Natalya Petrovna), since children born from such marriages became Russian subjects, necessarily accepted Orthodoxy and remained forever in Russia.

There is no exact information about the time of L. Madonis's marriage to Natalya Petrovna, but in foreign publications there is an opinion that this happened in 1742. This looks like the truth. This can be confirmed by the document on sending the "Italian Company" to Moscow dated October 11, 1748: it contains a count on the number of horses that each artist and musician received for a trip to Moscow at the end of February for the coronation in 1742, and L. Madonis's surname has a note: "without a wife." In addition, in favor of this date, a letter from Madonis to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, sent to her, probably shortly after the coronation festivities, testifies.

1747: Hiring from Italy in the service of Joseph Lande and another request to the empress for a salary increase

In March 1747, Luigi Madonis wrote out from his hometown of Venice "an Italian, office servant Joseph Lande for service"; maybe he wanted to put things in order in family financial matters (in March 1746, his relative Antonio Madonis died in St. Petersburg), perhaps it is not known exactly for the correspondence of notes of his musical compositions. But in December 1747, Madonis filed a petition with the empress: "I, the lowest, serve Your Imperial Majesty with all allegiance and jealousy for twelve years, and at all this time I was weakly in my health, and most of all now, about two years, my health has weakened, so I see myself forced to reclaim to my fatherland in Italy a returner. And although in all this time a salary determined from the generosity of Your Imperial Majesty received, the point of maintenance with my poor name was forced to spend the indicated salary, so now not only what I have the way to accept, but there is nothing to pay my debts. " In conclusion, Madonis asked:<...> "to reward the salary and rank; and to re-enter into a contract with me for eight years. " This petition, signed by L. Madonis "December of the day of 1747," was listed for presentation to the empress only in December 1748 for No. 183. What the resolution was is unknown. In 1748, the court went to Moscow, and Luigi Madonis was on the list of the "Italian Company" appointed for departure.

From the affairs of the College of Foreign Affairs, it turned out that Madonis applied for patronage to the Venetian ambassador, and in October 1748 the KID assembly discussed:<...> "because of the intercession of the Venetian ambassador about the vacation of the virtuoso Madonis." But he was not released to Italy (probably, even then, signs of his illness were visible, while he had debts, and, therefore, left them to his wife and children, and according to the law, foreigners with debts were not released from Russia). However, the petition of the Venetian ambassador about his fellow countryman could favorably affect the situation of Madonis: so in March 1750, the empress made an "increase" to his family budget, indicating: "musician Ludvich Madonis to his wife Natalia Petrova's daughter to give from the salt amount, in excess of her husband's salary, six hundred rubles for a year after her death."

In May 1751, L. Madonis received permission to send his son from his first marriage, Jean Baptist, who was 14 years old, to Italy.

1755: The death of Natalia Petrovna's wife

On June 29, 1755, Madonis' wife Natalia Petrovna died, and the salary that was due to her on the day of her death was issued to Madonis "for the maintenance of their common children." Since July 28, 1755, L. Madonis was given an increase to 1550 rubles "who left his wife's salary of 600 rubles."

In 1757, by decree of the Court Office, it was determined: "a concert to Meister Madonis for his lanky service to the salary he received by 1550 rubles. 450 rubles each, which is to be made at 2000 rubles, to be produced from the beginning of the year."

1759: Madness

In May 1759, Rambur, the chief administrator of the Italian Company, demanded that several more soldiers be added to its staff, including "to preserve the crazy Italian company of Chancellor Madonis." In June 1759, at the request of the Court Office, Madonis's salary was ordered to be issued to Maryana Dalolio (daughter of Antonio Madonis and wife of the cellist Giuseppe) "for the maintenance of that company of the chancellor Madonis (who is insane) with children and Evo people" (i.e. she took care of a sick relative and his children).

1761: Removal from the staff of the court orchestra

From the State of the Court Orchestra, Luigi Madonis was led by Peter III, who ascended the throne, by decree on December 27, 1761.

Шаблон:XVIII Century Music CD

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