Gurilev Lion Stepanovich

Main article: History of music in Russia

Gurilev Lev Stepanovich (1770-1844) - Russian composer, pianist, conductor. Father of composer A.L. Gurilyov, author of romances.

Biography

Born in 1770 in the family of a serf peasant who belonged to Count Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov (the youngest of the Orlov brothers who participated in the enthronement of Empress Catherine II). Gurilev spent almost his entire life in the Orlov Semenovskoye-Otrada estate near Moscow on the Lopasnya River, but may sometimes have lived in Moscow in a count's house, and visited the Usolye estate on the Volga.

He led the fortress chapel of the count. His duties included composing sacred and secular music, learning works with choristers and orchestras, teaching musicians to play instruments, leading rare performances of the manor fortress theater and arranging home concerts that "the count listened to from the next living room" (Orlov-Davydov. T. 2. P. 14). Most likely, Gurilev regained in the manor church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, but it cannot be ruled out that he held services in the churches of the surrounding villages of Ivanovo, Talezh and Shcheglyatievo.

There is no documentary evidence that Gurilev studied composition with the Italian composer Giuseppe Sarti.

Thanks to Gurilev, the choral chapel of Count Orlov was considered one of the best, it was compared with the famous Sheremetev choir. During Lent, for the performance of one of Sarti's oratorios (perhaps "We praise you, God") on the stage of the Moscow Petrovsky Theater on February 1, 1791, the organizers united several choral chapels, and the concert was attended by "singers, singers and musicians of their powers Count Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov, Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev, Prince Peter Mikhailovich Volkonsky, His Excellency Gavrila Ilich Bibikov... the number of musicians [was] more than two hundred "(Mosk. ved. 1791. № 10. Feb. 1 L. 8 vol.). The regents of the choirs were Gurilev, Stepan Degtyarev (serf Sheremetev), Daniil Kashin (serf Bibikov).

1831: Obtaining a freewheeling

In 1831, after the death of the count, the composer received free and was assigned to the bourgeois estate^[1].

He died in 1844.

Compositions

Gurilyov's musical heritage is well studied in the field of piano music. He created over 20 variations on the themes of folk songs, 24 preludes and fugues, sonata, polonaise (for example, Polsky with a choir in honor of Emperor Alexander I on the occasion of the conquest of Finland "All Europe fluttered, the horror of the kingdom spread everything" to the words of V. Kolosov).

In addition to 2 cantatas ("A Song to a Kind Father, Kind Petaya Children in Otrad" (1785), "Glorify This Coveted Day" (1794)) Gurilev also owns a 4-voice Dinner, spiritual concerts for 1 and 2 choirs:

• "Lord, who dwells,"
• "Until, Lord, forget me,"
• "In the same way he wishes,"
• "Rejoice, righteousness, about Jehovah,"
• "Hear, God, my voice, stink,"
• "My voice to the Lord calls,"

as well as one-part chants "Angel howls," "May my prayer be corrected," "Eat with dignity," "Our Father." Of this list, only the last 2 concerts, 2 Cherubic songs and "Mercy of the World" have been preserved, the rest of the compositions have been lost.

The best idea of ​ ​ the composer's talent and his choral style is given by the 2-choral concert "On the Divine Guard," dating back to the mid-90s of the XVIII century (SCMMK. F. 283. Op. 1. U. hr. 14). This composition is distinguished by a lyrical tone, combined with the scale of the epic narrative. The 1st part is a dialogue of 2 antiphon choirs, based on a restrained and archaic chant; after the intermediate middle part, the sound of the same chant resumes in the finale and leads to the climax - the 7-voice canon "Yako is omnipotent."

See also

• The best music of Russia. TAdviser list

Notes