Jiří Antonín Benda (1722-1795) - Gott steigt herab ()

Všechno nejlepší k narozeninám Jiří Antonín Benda! 🎺🍷 Composer: Jiří Antonín Benda (1722-1795) Work: Gott steigt herab () Performers: Stefanie Dаsch (sopran); Agnieszka Monаstеrskа (alt); Julio Fernández (tenor); Simon Bеrg (bass); Kantorei Santa Barbara; L’Estate Armonico; WiesIаw DеIimаt (conductor) Gott steigt herab () 1. Coro 0:00 2. Aria 1:39 3. Recitativo 7:03 4. Chorale 8:17 5. Duetto & Choro 9:01 6. Recitativo 11:21 7. Coro 12:33 8. Chorale 14:13 Painting: James Durno () - Bozzetto raffigurante il massacro dei Giustiniani di Scio HD image: Further info: Listen free: No available --- Jiří (Johann Georg) Antonín Benda (Staré Benátky, bap. 30 June 1722 - Köstritz, 6 November 1795) Bohemian composer and violinist. Son of Jan Jiří Benda (1686-1757) and brother of Franz Benda (1709-1786), Johann Georg Benda (1713-1752) and of the soprano Anna Franziska Benda (1728-1781), he trained initially by his father. He later was sent to a local school in Kosmonosy in 1735, and in 1739 he attended the Jesuit Gymnasium in Jičín in music. In 1742 he joined family members in Berlin, where he functioned for a few years as a violinist. In 1750 he was offered the position of Kapellmeister at the court of Saxe-Gotha by Duke Friedrich III, where he composed mainly church music. A journey to Italy in 1765 brought him into contact with leading opera composers of the day, who influenced his compositional style. In 1770 he was named kapelldirector, a largely symbolic post, but his regular duties for Friedrich’s successor, Duke Ernst II, included writing a new style of work that fused spoken drama with music, called the duodrama. The first work, Ariadne auf Naxos, was performed in 1774 and soon began to be imitated throughout Germany. At the same time, Benda gained a reputation as a composer of Singspiel, becoming the most popular composer of the genre of the time. A dispute with rival Anton Schweitzer led him to resign his post and leave Gotha for a year of travel to Hamburg and Vienna. Increasing fame brought about by his duodramas subsequently allowed him to tour various musical centers, such as Paris in 1781 and Mannheim in 1787, although he was formally retired. His last work, ironically, is a cantata titled Bendas Klagen from 1792. As a composer, Benda was one of the most celebrated people of the latter 18th century, known mainly for his sacred music and innovations in theatre music. In his duodramas in particular, one can note a carefully delineated harmonic and melodic sensitivity that underscores the text. His Singspiels are noted for their more complex musical settings and serious tone that is often far more progressive than in similar works by Johann Adam Hiller. His instrumental music, however, still maintains elements of the galant style, with sequenced themes and short rhythmic motives. His works include 13 operas (including incidental music and duodramas), 166 cantatas (mainly Lutheran), two Masses, an oratorio, six secular cantatas, about 25 Lieder, 30 symphonies, 23 concertos (mostly violin and harpsichord), 54 keyboard sonatas, and several other sonatas for violin and flute, as well as a large number of keyboard works. His son Friedrich Ludwig Benda (1752-1792) was also a composer and violinist.