Artemy Vedel | |
|---|---|
| Артем Ведель | |
 Vedel depicted on a Ukrainian commemorative stamp | |
| Born | 13 April [O.S. 1 April] 1767 Kyiv, Little Russia Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 26 July [O.S. 14 July] 1808 (aged 41) Kyiv, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Education | Kyiv-Mohyla Academy |
| Works | List of compositions |
Artemy Lukyanovich Vedel[note 1] (13 April [O.S. 1 April] 1767 – 26 July [O.S. 14 July] 1808), born Artemy Lukyanovich Vedelsky, was a Ukrainian-born Russian[1][2][3][4][5] Imperial composer of liturgical music and military music. He produced works based on Ukrainian folk melodies, and made an important contribution in the music history of Ukraine. Together with Maxim Berezovsky and Dmitry Bortniansky, Vedel is recognised by musicologists as one of the "Golden Three" composers of 18th century Ukrainian classical music, and one of Russia's greatest choral composers.
Vedel was born in Kyiv, the son of a wealthy wood carver. He studied at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy until 1787, after which he was appointed to conduct the academy's choir and orchestra. In 1788, he was sent to Moscow to work for the regional governor, but he returned home in 1791 and resumed his career at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. General Andrei Levanidov recruited him to lead Kyiv's regimental chapel and choir—under Levanidov's patronage, Vedel reached the peak of his creativity as a composer. He moved with Levanidov to the Kharkov Governorate, where he organised a new choir and orchestra, and taught at the Kharkiv Collegium.
His fortunes declined when the cultural life of Kharkiv was affected by decrees issued by Tsar Paul I of Russia. Lacking a patron, and with his music unable to be performed, he returned home to Kyiv in 1798, and became a novice monk of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The monastery's authorities discovered handwritten threats towards the Russian royal family, and accused Vedel of writing them. He was subsequently incarcerated as a mental patient, and forbidden to compose. After almost a decade, the authorities allowed him to return to his father's house to die.
Vedel's music was censored during the period that Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. More than 80 of his works are known, including 31 choral concertos, but many of his compositions are lost. Most of his choral music uses texts taken from the Psalms. The style of Vedel's compositions reflects the changes taking place in classical music during his lifetime; he was influenced by Ukrainian Baroque traditions, but also by new Western European operatic and instrumental styles.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Bertil van Boer: Historical Dictionary of Music. Scarecrow, 2012. P. 577.
- ^ Dowley, Tim: Christian Music: A global history. Fortress Press 2018
- ^ Goncharuk A. Y. Socio-pedagogical foundations of the theory and history of musical art. Moscow 2015. P. 196.
- ^ Razumovsky D. V. Church singing in Russia. Moscow 2013. P. 13.
- ^ Askochensky V. I. Russian composer Artemy Vedelev. Kiev 1854, № 10.