Early years Dmitry Bortniansky was born on 28 October 1751 in the city of
Glukhov,
Cossack Hetmanate, Russian Empire (present-day Hlukhiv,
Sumy Oblast, Ukraine). His father was Stefan Skurat (or Shkurat), a
Lemko-Rusyn Orthodox religious refugee from the village of
Bartne in the
Małopolska region of Poland. Skurat served as a
Cossack under
Kirill Razumovski; he was entered in the
Cossack register in 1755. Dmitry's mother was of Cossack origin; her name after her first marriage was Marina Dmitrievna Tolstaya, as a widow of a Russian landlord
Tolstoy, who lived in Glukhov. At age seven, Dmitry's prodigious talent at the local church choir opened him the opportunity to move to
Saint Petersburg, the capital of the empire, and join the
Imperial Chapel Choir. Dmitry's half-brother Ivan Tolstoy also sang with the Imperial Chapel Choir. Dmitry studied music and composition under the guidance of the Imperial Chapel Choir director
Baldassare Galuppi. In 1769 Galuppi left for Italy and took the boy with him.
Rise to fame In Italy Bortniansky gained considerable success composing operas:
Creonte (1776) and
Alcide (1778) in
Venice, and
Quinto Fabio (1779) at
Modena. He also composed sacred works in Latin and German, both
a cappella and with orchestral accompaniment, including an
Ave Maria for two voices and orchestra. Bortniansky returned to the
Saint Petersburg Court Capella in 1779. He composed at least four more operas in French, with
libretti by Franz-Hermann Lafermière:
Le Faucon (1786),
La fête du seigneur (1786),
Don Carlos (1786) , and
Le fils-rival ou La moderne Stratonice (1787). Bortniansky wrote a number of instrumental works at this time, including piano sonatas, a piano quintet with a harp, and a cycle of French songs. He also composed liturgical music for the
Eastern Orthodox Church, combining the Eastern and Western European styles of sacred music, incorporating the
polyphony he learned in Italy; some works were
polychoral, using a style descended from the Venetian polychoral technique of
Gabrieli. In 1796 Bortniansky was appointed as a director of the Imperial Chapel Choir, the first director from the Russian Empire. With such a great instrument at his disposal, he produced scores upon scores of compositions, including over 100 religious works, sacred concertos (35 for a four-part mixed choir, 10 for double choruses),
cantatas, and hymns.
Death Bortniansky died in St. Petersburg on 10 October 1825, and was interred at the
Smolensky Cemetery in St. Petersburg; during the Soviet rule, his remains were reinterred into the
Tikhvin Cemetery. ==Legacy==