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Stevan Mokranjac

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Stevan Mokranjac
Стеван Мокрањац
Born(1856-01-09)9 January 1856
Negotin,Principality of Serbia
Died28 September 1914(1914-09-28)(aged 58)
Skoplje,Kingdom of Serbia
NationalitySerbian
CitizenshipKingdom of Serbia
EducationUniversity of Belgrade,University of Munich,University of Leipzig,University of Rome
Alma materUniversity of Belgrade
Occupation(s)Composer
Music educator
Conductor
Folk collector
Notable workfifteenRukoveti,Tebe pojem,Cherubic Hymn

Stevan Stojanović(Serbian Cyrillic:Стеван Стојановић,Serbian pronunciation:[stêʋaːnstojǎːnoʋitɕ];9 January 1856 – 28 September 1914), known asStevan Mokranjac(Serbian Cyrillic:Стеван Мокрањац,pronounced[stêʋaːnmokrǎːɲats]) was a Serbiancomposerandmusic educator.Born inNegotinin 1856, Mokranjac studied music inBelgrade,Munich,RomeandLeipzigwhile in his twenties. Later, he became the conductor of the Belgrade Choir Society and founder of the Serbian School of Music and the first Serbianstring quartet,in which he played thecello.He left Belgrade at the beginning ofWorld War Iand moved toSkopje,where he died on 28 September 1914.[1]

Often called the "father of Serbian music" and the "most important figure of Serbian musical romanticism", Mokranjac is well-regarded and much revered inSerbia.Following his death, the Serbian Music School was renamed theMokranjac Music Schoolin his honour. He has been featured on the country's paper currency and that of theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia.In 1964, the Mokranjac family home in Negotin was restored and turned into a museum and musical centre. Celebrations of Mokranjac's life, known as "Mokranjac days", have occurred annually in the town since 1965. In 1981, a large statue of Mokranjac was constructed in the yard of the Mokranjac family home to mark the 125th anniversary of his birth.

Biography[edit]

Mokranjac as undergraduate student, 1877.

Stevan Stojanović was born on 9 January 1856[1]in the town ofNegotin,Principality of Serbia.Close to the Serbian border with Romania and Bulgaria, Negotin was a small town of just over 3,000 inhabitants at the time of his birth.[2]Stojanović earned the nickname "Mokranjac" after the village ofMokranje,where his ancestors were from.[3]Mokranjac's father, a prosperous restaurant owner who in 1850 had built the house in which the Stojanović family lived, died two days before his son's birth.[2]Growing up with his mother and three siblings, Mokranjac received his firstviolinat the age of ten.[4]He spent most of his youth in Negotin,ZaječarandBelgrade.[5]

In his twenties,[5]he was subjected to conservative musical training and first studied in Belgrade. He went on to study inMunichwithJosef Rheinbergerfrom 1880 to 1883, and inRomewithAlessandro Parisottiin 1884–1885.[6]Afterwards, he studied for two years in the city ofLeipzig[5]underSalomon JadassohnandCarl Reinecke.[6]

In 1878, Mokranjac arranged a concert commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Belgrade Choir Society, titled "The History of Serbian Song" (Serbian:Istorija srpske pesme).[7]He and his family lived in their family home in Negotin until 1883. In 1887 Mokranjac made a permanent move to Belgrade, where he became the conductor of the Belgrade Choir Society,[2]a position he would hold until his death.[8]The choir was successful both inSerbiaand abroad[9]and under his leadership it became respected and well known throughout Central Europe andRussiabecause of its high performance standard and repertoire, which was made up of many Serbian folk songs, as well as pieces composed by Mokranjac himself.[10]It touredBulgaria,Croatia,Montenegro,Ottoman Turkey,and Russia.[11]In 1899, the choir toured Berlin,Dresden,and Leipzig.[9]During this time, Mokranjac married Marija, a member of the choir who was twenty years his junior.[12]The couple had one son, Momčilo.[4]

Grave of Stevan Mokranjac inBelgrade New Cemetery

Mokranjac founded the Serbian School of Music in 1899,[13]as well as the first Serbianstring quartet,in which he played thecello.[2]Although his most famous works date from the late 19th century, Mokranjac continued composing during the 1900s.[10]In mid-1914, he left Belgrade and moved toSkopjeto escapeWorld War I.[14]He is buried in theNew Cemetery of Belgrade.

Compositions[edit]

Notes ofCherubim Hymnby Stevan Mokranjac

Early in his career, Mokranjac recorded Serbian Orthodox church chants in staff notation. A gifted composer,[5]he first published a book of church melodies in 1908, titledOctoechoes[7]or "Eight Tones" (Serbian:Osmoglasnik). Published in Belgrade, it became the basic textbook for students inSerbian OrthodoxseminariesfollowingWorld War I.[15]Mokranjac's chants were unique because he removed their ornamental and microtonal elements and harmonized them, making them distinct from otherEastern Orthodoxchurch chants.[16]Consequently, chants written by Mokranjac were used more than those written by other composers. Older versions of church chants were suppressed or forgotten.[15]

Later melodies, drawn from oral tradition, were published posthumously. Mokranjac also composed many pieces of sacred music in apolyphonicstyle similar to that of ItalianRenaissancecomposerGiovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.Travelling often toLevačandKosovoto collect and record traditional melodies, Mokranjac played a significant role in promoting music from the rural areas of Serbia. A composer committed tochoral music,he achieved this partly by his composition of fifteen choral suites to which he gave the name "Garlands" (Serbian:Rukoveti), made up of a total of eighty-two songs[7]composed from 1883[17]to 1913.[18]

Mokranjac composedThe Divine Liturgy of St. John CrysostomandIvko's slavain 1901. In 1906, he created a mixed chorus version ofThe Glorification of Saint Sava,which was originally composed for a male chorus in 1893. In 1913, Mokranjac composed the eighty-second and final piece of "Garlands", titledWinter Days(Serbian:Zimski dani). He also composed numerous songs for children's choir.[18]

His last and unfinished composition for a choir, based on the poemZimnji danibyJovan Jovanović Zmaj,was finished by Aleksandra Vrebalov and performed in 2015.[19]

Legacy[edit]

Mokranjac on a Serbian 50dinarbanknote.

Considered the "father of Serbian music"[2]and the "most important figure of Serbian musical romanticism",[20]Mokranjac is well-regarded and much revered in Serbia.[2][21]His works are considered the corner stones of Serbian music theatre.[22]Serbian Orthodox chants recorded by Mokranjac and other composers form the basis of most modern Serbian church singing.[21]

The Serbian Music School, which Mokranjac founded, was renamed theMokranjac Music Schoolafter his death.[2]He has been featured on the paper currency of both theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia[23]andSerbia.[24]In 1964, the Mokranjac family home in Negotin was restored and turned into a museum and musical centre.[2]Celebrations of Mokranjac's life, known as "Mokranjac days", have occurred annually in the town since 1965.[12]In 1981, a large statue of Mokranjac was constructed in the yard of the Mokranjac family home to mark the 125th anniversary of his birth.[2]

Mokranjac was awarded SerbianOrder of Saint Sava,OttomanOrder of Osmanieh,MontenegrinOrder of Prince Danilo Iand BulgarianOrder of Saint Alexander.[25]

He is included inThe 100 most prominent Serbs.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abChase 2003,p. 633.
  2. ^abcdefghiSadie & Sadie 2005,p. 257.
  3. ^Janković & 29 December 2008.
  4. ^abVoice of Serbia.
  5. ^abcdSamson 2013,p. 333.
  6. ^abBlume 1961,p. 429.
  7. ^abcSamson 2013,p. 332.
  8. ^Strimple 2005,p. 181.
  9. ^abNorris 2009,p. 106.
  10. ^abStrimple 2005,pp. 181–182.
  11. ^"165 raspevanih godina Prvog beogradskog pevačkog društva | Upoznaj Beograd".011info – najbolji vodič kroz Beograd(in Serbian).Retrieved2019-11-24.
  12. ^abSadie & Sadie 2005,p. 258.
  13. ^Tomašević 2009,p. 45.
  14. ^Milojković-Đurić 1984,p. 38.
  15. ^abKuburić-Borović 2011,p. 206.
  16. ^Samson 2010,p. 184.
  17. ^Randel 2003,p. 771.
  18. ^abStrimple 2005,p. 182.
  19. ^"You are being redirected..."serbia.Retrieved2019-09-26.
  20. ^Tomašević 2009,p. 42.
  21. ^abMoody 2012,p. 538.
  22. ^Klemenčič & Žagar 2004,p. 72.
  23. ^Sieber 2009,p. 2000.
  24. ^Cuhaj 2010,p. 844.
  25. ^Acović, Dragomir (2012).Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima.Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 344.

Books[edit]

Websites[edit]

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