Evstigney Fomin. Evstigney Ipatovich Fomin

At the end of the 18th century, in an era when musical life in Russia was most closely connected with Italian and French operas, and it was headed by invited foreigners, a new star shone brightly in the Russian horizon. The libretto for the operas of this composer was written by the great empire Catherine II herself. He was a friend of Derzhavin and was distinguished by a complete rejection of injustice and violence that reigned at that time. And the name of this man was Evstigney Ipatovich Fomin.

He was born on August 5, 1761 in St. Petersburg in the family of a gunner of the regimental artillery of the Tobolsk infantry regiment. Apparently, the child early showed his artistic inclinations, because at the age of six he was enrolled in the lists of pets of the recently opened Academy of Arts. Here, for nine years, the pupils of the Academy had to undergo general education training. Taught: the law of God, Russian, foreign languages, arithmetic, drawing, geography, history, physics, natural science, architecture. And only after passing such training, the pupil of the Academy began a special study of the chosen art form, which took another six years. Among other classes, there was also a special class of musical composition. In 1782, Fomin graduated with honors from the Academy of Arts and was sent to Italy to continue his musical education. Fomin studied at the Bologna Philharmonic Academy for three years. He was one of the best students of the famous counterpointist Padre Martini at that time, from whom he received a good knowledge of counterpoint and replenished his musical history education. On November 29, 1785, at the Meeting of the Council of the Bologna Philharmonic Academy, Evstigney Fomin was elected a member of this academy.

Upon his return from Italy, Fomin settled in St. Petersburg. In 1786, at the request of Empress Catherine II, he wrote music for her work Novgorod Bogatyr Boeslavovich. This comic opera by Fomin was staged for the first time at the Hermitage Theater in November 1786. The plot and images of the Russian epic is a story about a quarrel, a massacre and reconciliation with the Novgorodians, a hero, a carousel and a brawler Vasily Buslaev. In the opera, not only dances and dances were presented with ballet means, but fistfights and a folk dump. This opera was followed by another, on a libretto by Fomin himself, "Coachmen on a Base". In it, the composer made extensive use of Russian folk song melodies. From 1788 to 1800 Fomin wrote five more operas, among them "Orpheus and Eurydice", where the outstanding abilities of the composer were fully manifested. Here he solved one of the most important tasks facing the Russian musical art of that time: for the first time he managed to master the great tragic theme and show that Russian music is no longer limited to genre and everyday themes, but boldly invades the world of great ideas and deep feelings.

It should be recalled here that at that time foreigners remained at the head of the musical life of the capital in Russia. The performances of Italian and French operas dominated. And despite the Highest Decree of Catherine II to Count Olsufyev of July 12, 1783: "over time to achieve in all the skills (arts) in theaters the necessary replacement of foreigners with their natural", for a long time there was no such "replacement" and continued to lead the development of opera music in Russian invited foreigners. Against this background, Fomin's life was not easy. His talent had literally "out of place" in the Russian capital. His creativity was not accepted by the empress and her entourage. The honor was enjoyed by foreign maestros, authors of solemn hymns and oratorios, and Fomin had to earn a living by working as an accompanist and teacher. Only shortly before his death, Academician of the Bologna Academy Evstigney Fomin received a modest job as a tutor for operatic roles. At the end of April 1800, at the age of 39, the composer died.

Traditionally indifferent to its geniuses, Russian society remained indifferent to this loss even here. There was not even a single response in print. And so far, only a few lines in the musical encyclopedia remind us that the Russian composer Evstigney Fomin lived and wrote wonderful music in Russia.

Victor Kashirnikov

16 August 1761 in St. Petersburg a son was born to the gunner of the Tobolsk infantry regiment, they called him Evstigney.

Soon my father died in another battle. His mother died after him.

But the child was not left to fend for themselves.

Who was his benefactor? Who owes the soldier's son his amazing fate? And how did this benefactor come up with the idea of ​​giving the six-year-old orphan somewhere else, to an orphanage at the Academy of Arts? Perhaps you paid attention to the baby's musical abilities? To his perfect pitch? And who could be interested in the perfect pitch of a soldier's son?

But one way or another, the fate was for Evstigney Fomin in the happiest way!

Raised within the walls of the Academy of Arts, he was enrolled in music classes and studied harpsichord, music theory and composition.

In 1772, a graduate of the Academy Evstigney Fomin was sent to Italy to study with the famous musician and composer Padre Giovanni Martini. The result of this training was overwhelming for Europe. Three years later, a native of wild Russia was elected to the Bologna Philharmonic Academy. Before that, only Mozart was the only young musician who had such an honor.

In 1786, Evstigney Fomin returned to St. Petersburg in the rays of his glory, and Empress Catherine II graciously commands him to write an opera on her own libretto. The mistress of Russia also really wanted the laurels of writers.

The work was done by Fomin in a fantastically short time, in a month. And bigopera in five acts"Novgorod hero Vasily Boeslavich"was staged at the Hermitage Theater of the Winter Palace.

As a result, the brilliant composer Evstigney Fomin suddenly finds himself in Tambov, in the office of the then Tambov mayor Gabriel Derzhavin.

Why? How did it happen? Mystery!

Perhaps the audience did not show due admiration for the opera, and Catherine attributed the failure to the composer?

Be that as it may, the brilliant Russian composer Evstigney Fomin lived in Tambov for the last 12 years of his short life. His best works were written here.

The opera "Coachmen on a Base", the libretto for which he wrote himself, immediately made him a famous composer in Russia. Apparently, he was not a bad poet either.

In 1788 the glorious young man Ivan Krylov gave him the libretto of an opera of his own, entitled The Americans. This is how the future great fabulist entered Russian literature. And the brilliant opera written by Evstigney Fomin never saw the light of day during his lifetime. The first delivery took place in the year of his death - 1800.

In 1791, another masterpiece of this composer was written - the opera Orpheus and Eurydice, the libretto of which was written by the famous playwright of the 18th century Yakov Knyazhnin.

Only after the death of Catherine did Evstigney Fomin have the opportunity to return to St. Petersburg. Here he received a modest job as a tutor in court theaters. But after three years he was gone.

FOMIN EVSTIGNEY

Fomin (Evstigney) is one of the outstanding Russian composers of the second half of the 18th century. Count Alexei Orlov, who loved Russian song, contributed to the appearance in music of nuggets, mostly from the masses. Among them was Fomin, conductor of the Medox theater in Moscow. Among the mass of operas (up to 30), written by Fomin on the texts of Empress Catherine II, Knyazhnin, Dmitrievsky, I.A. Krylov, Kapnist, Ablesimov and others, two of them had the greatest success: "Anyuta" (1772) and especially "The Miller, the Sorcerer, the Deceiver and the Matchmaker", staged in Moscow in 1779, and then in St. Petersburg at the court theater, so popular, which was published in the 19th century by Yurgenson in Moscow. Although Fomin's music cannot be called purely Russian, nevertheless, there is a Russian vein in it among the various techniques of the musical rococo of Western opera of that time. Biographical information about Fomin is extremely scarce; even his opera The Miller was attributed entirely to Ablesimov, although the latter was only the author of the libretto.

Brief biographical encyclopedia. 2012

See also the interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what FOMIN EVSTIGNEY is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• FOMIN EVSTIGNEY in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
  one of the outstanding Russian composers of the second half of the 18th century. Count Alexei Orlov, who loved Russian song, contributed to the appearance in music of nuggets, ...
• FOMIN, EVSTIGNEY in the Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron:
  ? one of the outstanding Russian composers of the second half of the 18th century. Count Alexey Orlov, who loved Russian song, contributed to the appearance in music ...
• FOMIN in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
  Alexander Alexandrovich (1907-41), Russian aeronaut. On the instructions of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1938-40 he flew on substratostats at an altitude of 9-11 km for ...
• FOMIN in the Directory of Localities and Postal Codes of Russia:
  347441, Rostov, ...
• FOMIN in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  1. Alexander Grigorievich - literary critic, bibliographer. In his works about Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Shelgunov, Nikitin, etc. F. tends to ...
• FOMIN
  FOMIN Peter Tim. (1919-96), painter, nar. thin USSR (1991). Lyric. landscapes recreate the low-key beauty of the Middle-Russian. nature ("April ...
• FOMIN in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  FOMIN Ig. Yves. (1904-89), architect, nar. arch. USSR (1971), part - to. Academy of Arts of the USSR (1979). The son of I.A. Fomin. Nevsky District Council and Residential ...
• FOMIN in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  FOMIN Yves. Al-dr. (1872-1936), architect. He put forward a program of "reconstruction of the classics" (a combination of the tradition of Russian classical architecture with modern methods of construction); house of the about-va ...
• FOMIN in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  FOMIN Evst. Ipatovich (1761-1800), composer. The largest representative. Russian music of the 18th century, contributed to the formation of nat. operas ("Coachmen on a Base", 1787). One ...
• FOMIN in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  FOMIN Vl. Vl. (1909-79), chemist, Ph.D. RAS (1964). Tr. on the chemistry and technology of radioactive elements, the problems of their complexation and ...
• FOMIN in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  FOMIN Al-dr Grieg. (1887-1939), Rus. bibliologist, bibliographer. Main tr .: "Book Science as a Science" (1931), "Methods for Compiling Bibliographic Indexes" ...
• EVSTIGNEY in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
• EVSTIGNEY in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
  Evstigney, (Evstigneevich, ...
• FOMIN EVSTIGNEY IPATOVICH
  Evstigney Ipatovich, Russian composer. He studied at the Educational School at the Academy ...
• EUSTIGNUS (GREEK) in Name meanings:
  kind …
• SERGY (FOMIN)
  Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Sergius (Fomin) (b. 1949), Metropolitan of Voronezh and Borisoglebsk, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity ...
• FOMIN NIKOLAY PETROVICH
  Fomin (Nikolai Petrovich) - a relative of the previous one, a composer, was born in 1864. He received his musical education at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, in the theory class. ...
• FOMIN ALEXANDER IVANOVICH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Fomin (Alexander Ivanovich, 1735 - 1802) - collector of ancient acts and manuscripts in Arkhangelsk. Being 25 years old (1759), ...
• FOMIN ALEXANDER ALEXANDROVICH in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  Fomin (Alexander Alexandrovich) - teacher and literary historian. Was born in 1868 in the city of Vitebsk. Educated at the language department ...
• RUSSIA, SECTION LITTLE MUSIC (XVIII CENTURY) in the Brief Biographical Encyclopedia:
  The seventeenth century is a transitional period in the history of our music. In pre-Petrine Russia, fettered by ignorance, prejudice, difficult and inert social ...
• FOMIN EVSTIGNEY IPATOVICH in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (1761-1800) Russian composer. One of the founders of the Russian national opera - "Coachmen on a Set" (1787), "Americans" (1788), the melodrama "Orpheus and Eurydice" ...
• FOMIN IVAN ALEXANDROVICH in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  Ivan Alexandrovich, Soviet architect. Studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1894v97 and 1905v09) under L. N. Benois ...
• FOMIN ALEXANDER GRIGORIEVICH in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  Alexander Grigorievich, Soviet bibliographer, bibliologist, literary critic. Professor (1938). ...
• MIROVICH EVSTIGNEY AFINOGENOVICH in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
  (real name - Dunaev) Evstigney Afinogenovich, Belarusian Soviet actor, director, playwright, People's Artist of the BSSR ...
• EVSTIGNEEV in the Encyclopedia of Russian Surnames, Secrets of Origin and Meanings:
  
• STEGNEEV in the Dictionary of Russian Surnames:
  Initially - a patronymic from the short form Stegney from the canonical male name Evstignius (ancient Greek eustignos - “good sign” meaning “good ...
• EVSTAFIEV in the Dictionary of Russian Surnames:
  Patronymic of the canonical male personal name Eustathius (ancient Greek eustathios - “stable”). Patronymic of derivative forms of various degrees from the same ...
• EVSTIGNEEV in the Encyclopedia of Surnames:
  The surname became widely known thanks to the wonderful Russian artist Evgeny Alexandrovich Evstigneev. But the surname is old, like the name put in it ...
• NAME in the Dictionary of Rites and Sacraments:
  Popular wisdom says: With a name - Ivan, and without a name - a fool. Or: A sheep without an udder is a ram, a cow without ...
• 18 AUGUST in the Name Day Dictionary:
  Evstigney ...
• SEVASTIAN KARAGANDA in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
  Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Sevastian (Fomin) (1884 - 1966), schema-archimandrite, reverend, confessor. Commemoration of April 6 ...
• MIKHAIL (BOGDANOV) in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
  Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Mikhail (Bogdanov) (1867 -? 1925), Bishop of Vladivostok. In the world Bogdanov Mikhail Alexandrovich, ...
• KOREAN ROCOR MISSION in the Orthodox Encyclopedia Tree:
  Open Orthodox encyclopedia "DREVO". Korean Orthodox Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Tel .: (+ 82-33) 573-5210 Website: http://www.korthodox.org E-mail: [email protected] History Orthodoxy ...

The most famous and prolific of Russian composers of the second half of the 18th century, who laid the foundation for musical nationalism in our country; came out of the people and came from the courtyard people. He was born in St. Petersburg on August 5, 1741, but when and under what circumstances he managed to get an initial education is unknown.

It is only known that in his adolescence F. was enrolled as a pupil of Imp. Academy of Arts, but soon, in view of the discovered musical abilities, he was sent to Italy to study the theory of composition.

Very little information about his stay abroad has also been preserved, but the success of his studies can be judged by the fact that for some time, despite his foreign origin, he was a pensioner of the Bologna Academy of Music.

In the early 1770s, F. returned to Russia and first settled in Moscow, where for some time he was the conductor of the private theater of Medox.

The beginning of his musical fame dates back to the same time, which was laid in 1772 by staging the opera Anyuta (libretto by M. Popov) on the court stage in Tsarskoye Selo. The comic opera, which told about the violence and injustices of the serf era in a light and playful form, was received by the liberal empress very favorably. "The court audience," says Mikhnevich, "who had set their teeth on edge with French comedy and Italian music, were pleasantly struck by the freshness of the plot and the nationality of the music ... This genre became fashionable, and many of the composers of that time began to work hard on it." F. himself worked a lot on composing music to the text of predominantly Russian writers: Empress Catherine the Great, Ablesimov, Knyazhnin, I. A. Dmitrevsky, I. A. Krylov, Kapnist, Prince. Dolgorukov, Nikolayev and others. Of the operas written by him in the late 70s, the following were especially successful: "The Miller is a Sorcerer, a Deceiver and a Matchmaker" (words by Ablesimov), staged on stage in 1779, first in Moscow, then In Petersburg.

True, for the court theater, it was found too vulgar and therefore was soon removed from the repertoire, but in the private theater of Knipper it was shown 27 times (in Moscow - 22 times) and, according to the opinion of modern critics, “so much aroused attention from the public that the theater was always filled up "; even "foreigners were quite curious about her ... To put it briefly: perhaps the first Russian opera had such admired spectators and splashes" (Dram. Dictionary, 1787). I liked "Miller ..." both in terms of content and in terms of music.

The latter, "insignificant and incriminating - in the words of Cheshikhin - a self-taught composer, rather helpless in technique", was built exclusively on folk motives, and this was its novelty and originality.

The arias and verses of the opera, which the public liked so much, were sung everywhere; they could be heard in secular salons, in footmen's salons, and on the street. F.'s popular opera retained its interest to some extent in the 19th century, when it was published by Yurgenson in Moscow and resumed on the stage in St. Petersburg in the 50s. By the time of the resounding success caused by the production of this opera, F.'s resettlement to St. Petersburg probably belongs.

In the mid-80s, he undoubtedly already lived here, performing musical orders of the Empress, who instructed him, for example, in 1786 to write an opera on his own words - "The Novgorod Bogatyr Boeslavich". More detailed information about the official position of the composer at this time is not available.

In 1797, a resolution was passed on the acceptance of the "professor of the academy" F. in the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters "to the position of the Russian troupe in order to teach him actors and actresses from new operas and pass old ones; also, what would need to be changed in music; this, he should teach singing to pupils and female students in schools, and, if necessary, to accompany French and Italian operas in the orchestra. " All these complex duties were paid by F. with a salary of 720 rubles. in year. In his new position F. stayed, however, only three years and in April 1800 he died, and, in view of his insolvency, the theatrical management released 25 rubles for his burial.

In addition to the above, F.'s musical works include a number of operas (more than 30 in all), the authenticity of which, however, is very difficult to establish due to the scarcity of information about the composer and some special conditions of the time when he lived. So, for example, in 1800 Kapnist put on the stage the shepherd's opera "Clorida and Milon" with music by F., but Karamzin in his letter to II Dmitriev (December 23, 1800) attributes the music of this opera to Pleshcheev. M. H. Longinov in this regard makes the assumption that F., according to the customs of the time, could "loan" his already known name to a composer who was not yet sure of his success.

As you know, there have been cases when people from high society, out of false shame, deliberately hid their names in this way in literary and musical works.

Finally, it is possible that F. wrote some of his operas together with other composers, for example Matinsky, also a musical nugget, a well-known author of many librettos.

In modern editions F. the following operas are attributed: "The Good Girl" (op. Matinsky), "Invented Treasure" (op. Luknitsky), "Love Refutes the Alliance of Friendship" (op. Mikhailov), "Vain Jealousy ..." (Op. . Kolychev), "Rebirth" (op. Matinsky), "Happiness by lot" (op. Ablesimov), "Orpheus and Eurydice" (op. Knyazhnin), "Coachmen at the post" (Russian op.), "Party .. . "(the same)," Three Lazy "(op. Knyazhnin)," Sorcerer, a witch and a matchmaker "(op. I. Yukin)," Honest criminal "(op. I. Dmitrevsky)," Mad Family "(op. I. A. Krylova), "Grinder" (op. Nikolayev), "Guardian-teacher, or Love is more cunning than Eloquentia" (his), "Bride under the veil ..." (Russian op.), "Happy Gambler" (the same), "Love Magic" (op. Prince Dolgorukov), "Bochar" (op. Gensch), "Americans" (op. Klushin), "Vladisan" (an unknown author), "Strange enterprise ..." (op. Glinka) and "The Golden Apple" (op. I. Ivanov) - the last piece by F., which went on stage after his death, in 1804. about of the listed operas, comic in content, are declamatory operas and "according to the unpretentious and too superficial makeup of the music - according to Norkov - they are far from being suitable for our contemporary art requirements"; in some of them, the influence of Western European opera of that time is still strongly noticeable, but at the same time everywhere the desire to go out on an independent path, to give music a national color, is already evident.

Technically, the opera "The Americans" stands above the others. V. Cheshikhin, "History of Russian Opera", St. Petersburg, 1906, ch. I. - I. F. Gorbunov, "Essay on the history of Russian theater", St. Petersburg, 1902 - V. Mikhnevich, "Essay on the history of music in Russia", St. Petersburg, 1879, pp. 242-244, 249 - Morkov, "Historical sketch of Russian opera", St. Petersburg, 1862, pp. 33-36. - L. A. Saketti, "Essay on the General History of Music", St. Petersburg. and M., 1903, pp. 401-402. - Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, vol. 28, p. 693 (article on Russian music by Bulich) and so. 82, p. 948. A.G. (Polovtsov) Fomin, Evstigney Ipatovich - famous composer of the 18th century, born ... August 5, 1741 in St. Petersburg, d. April 1800 ibid. Descended from courtyards; was enrolled as a pupil of Imp. Academy of Arts, but then was sent to study music in Italy (Bologna Academy of Music).

By the 70s F. was already in Russia.

For some time he was the Kapellmeister of the Medox private theater in Moscow; then he was appointed "professor of music" at the failed music academy at the failed university in Yekaterinoslav (see Khandoshkin) and in this rank in 1797 he was accepted into service in St. Petersburg. Imp. opera "to the position of the Russian troupe, in order to teach him actors and actresses ... so, as will need, change in music; on top of that, he should teach singing to pupils and female students in schools, etc." (for a salary of 720 rubles per year). F. died three years later.

The most famous of his operas "The Miller the Sorcerer, the Deceiver and the Matchmaker" (to the text by Ablesimov, again published in 1895 by Yurgenson) was staged for the first time in 1779 in Moscow, at the Medox Theater, and was a huge success. She did not leave the repertoire of metropolitan and provincial theaters even at the beginning of the 19th century. This opera is nothing more than Singspiel, with inserted music. numbers in that conventional Russian genre, which was cultivated for a long time even later (up to Alyabyev and Varlamov).

Russian melodies (sometimes folk) were also used by F. in some of his other operas, of which the later expose the hand of a more experienced composer (in the style of Cimarosa) than the former.

Anyuta (1772, libretto by Popov) was also a great success.

Other operas (all with conversations): "The Good Girl" (1777), "Rebirth" (Moscow, 1777), "The Guardian Professor, or Love Is Stronger than Eloquence" (Moscow, 1784), "The Novgorod Bogatyr Vasily Boeslavich" (libretto by Catherine II , 1786, Hermitage), "Parties" (1788), "The Sorcerer, the Witch Doctor and the Matchmaker" (1791), "The Americans" (1800, libretto by Klushin, 1895 published by Jurgenson), "Clorida and Milon" (1800, libretto by Kapnist) ...

The opera "Fedul with Children", attributed to the "Archive of Imperial Theaters" F., was written by Pashkevich and Martin (as indicated on the manuscript; see also "Notes" by Khrapovitsky).

See Svetlov "Russian Opera in the 18th century." ("Yearbook of Imperial Theaters", 1897-98, app. 2); Kashkin, "From the History of Russian Opera" ("Russian Gazette", 1895, №№ 237, 251, 259). (Riemann) Fomin, Evstigney Ipatovich (1761-1800) - composer, from the serfs; a bright representative of the constellation of Russian trainees of Italian masters, in whose work, despite the strongest Italian influences and noble-"Peisan" sentimentalism, the tendencies of creating a Russian national musical style were clearly outlined (the widespread use of the peasant song, an appeal to the national plot).

Fomin studied at the muses. class of the Academy of Arts, after which (1782) he was sent to the Bologna Philharmonic Academy, where he completed (1785) at the padre Martini his musical education.

He wrote a number of comic operas ("The Novgorod Bogatyr Boeslavovich", "Coachmen on the Post", "Americans", etc.) and several spiritual and musical works.

F.'s major version of the opera "The Miller, the Sorcerer, the Deceiver and the Matchmaker" (Ablessimov's text, Sokolovsky's musical numbers), which for a long time was attributed entirely to F. ., 1929, vol. II, pp. 218-31; Music and musical life of old Russia (collection of articles), ed. "Asdemia", L., 1927. Fomin, Evstigney Ipatovich (born on 16.VIII.1761 in St. Petersburg, died in April 1800 in the same place) - Russian. composer, conductor, teacher.

From the age of 6 he studied music. class of the Academy of Arts (composition by G. Raupach, F. Captori). After graduating from the academy with honors in 1782, he was sent for improvement to Bologna, where he studied for 3 years with G. Martini and S. Mattei.

In 1785 he was elected a member. Bologna Philharmonic Academy, in 1786 he returned to Russia.

In 1797 he was appointed to the St. Petersburg Theater Directorate as a "tutor for opera parties" (accompanist) and a vocal teacher.

Information about the life and work of F. is scarce.

Means. part of his production. remained unknown, for example. cit., created in Bologna.

The work of F., a major, original artist, a mature master, one of the creators of everyday opera on national-Russian subjects (using folk song intonations), is distinguished by the courage of creative pursuits, a variety of opera genres of his time.

Cit .: opera "Novgorod hero Boeslavich" (1786), comic. operas "Coachmen on a Set" (1787), "Americans" (op. 1788, post. 1800), "Parties, or Guess, Guess, Maid" (1788, not saved), "The Sorcerer, the Witch Doctor and the Matchmaker" (1791 , not saved), melodrama "Orpheus and Eurydice" (1792), "Clorida and Milo" (not saved), opera-ballet "Golden Apple" (1803), arr. comic. operas by M. Sokolovsky "The Miller - a sorcerer, a deceiver and a matchmaker" (1792); choirs to the tragedies "Vladisan" by Y. Knyazhnin and "Yaropolk and Oleg" by V. Ozerov.

E. Fomin (1761 - 1800) is one of the talented Russian musicians of the 18th century, through whose efforts a national composing school was created in Russia. Together with his contemporaries - M. Berezovsky, D. Bortnyansky, V. Pashkevich - he laid the foundations of national musical art. His operas and the melodrama "Orpheus" showed the author's breadth of interests in the choice of subjects and genres, mastery of various styles of the opera house of that time. History was unfair to Fomin, as, indeed, to most other Russian composers of the 18th century. The fate of the talented musician was difficult. His life ended prematurely, and soon after his death his name was forgotten for a long time. Many of Fomin's works have not survived either. Only in Soviet times did interest in the work of this remarkable musician, one of the founders of Russian opera, grow. Through the efforts of Soviet scientists, his works were brought back to life, and some meager data on his biography were found.

Fomin was born into the family of a gunner (soldier-artilleryman) of the Tobolsk infantry regiment. He lost his father early, and when he was 6 years old, his stepfather I. Fedotov, a soldier of the Izmailovsky Life Guards regiment, brought the boy to the Academy of Arts. On April 21, 1767, Fomin became a student of the architectural class of the renowned Academy, founded by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. All the famous artists of the 18th century studied at the Academy. - V. Borovikovsky, D. Levitsky, A. Losenko, F. Rokotov, F. Shchedrin and others. Within the walls of this educational institution, attention was paid to the musical development of students: the students learned to play different instruments and sing. An orchestra was organized at the Academy, operas, ballets, and dramatic performances were staged.

Fomin's bright musical talent manifested itself in the elementary grades, and in 1776 the Council of the Academy sent a student of "architectural art" Ipatiev (as Fomin was often called then) to the Italian M. Buini for teaching instrumental music - playing the clavichord. Since 1777, Fomin's education continued in music classes that opened at the Academy of Arts, led by the famous composer G. Paypakh, author of the popular opera Good Soldiers. Fomin studied music theory and the foundations of composition with him. Since 1779, the harpsichordist and conductor A. Sartori became his musical mentor. In 1782 Fomin graduated from the Academy brilliantly. But as a student in the music class, he could not be awarded a gold or silver medal. The council awarded him only a cash bonus of 50 rubles.

After graduating from the Academy, as a pensioner, Fomin was sent for 3 years' improvement to Italy, to the Bologna Philharmonic Academy, which was then considered the largest musical center in Europe. There, under the guidance of Padre Martini (teacher of the great Mozart), and then S. Mattei (with whom G. Rossini and G. Donizetti later studied), a modest musician from distant Russia continued his musical education. In 1785 Fomin was admitted to the exam for the title of academician and passed this test perfectly. Full of creative energy, with the high title of "master of composition", Fomin returned to Russia in the fall of 1786. Upon arrival, the composer received an order to compose the opera "Novgorod Bogatyr Boeslaevich" to the libretto of Catherine II herself. The premiere of the opera and the debut of Fomin the composer took place on November 27, 1786 at the Hermitage Theater. However, the empress did not like the opera, and this was enough for the career of a young musician at court to be canceled. During the reign of Catherine II, Fomin did not receive any official position. Only in 1797, 3 years before his death, he was finally accepted into the service of the theatrical management as a tutor for operatic roles.

It is not known how Fomin's life went in the previous decade. However, the composer's creative work was going on actively. In 1787 he composed the opera "Coachmen on a Set" (to the text by N. Lvov), and the next year two operas appeared - "Party, or Guess, Guess Maid" (music and libra. Did not survive) and "Americans".

Overture to the opera "The Americans"

They were followed by the opera The Sorcerer, the Witch Doctor and the Matchmaker (1791). By 1791-92 the best work of Fomin is the melodrama "Orpheus" (text by Y. Knyazhnin). In the last years of his life he wrote a chorus to the tragedy of V. Ozerov "Yaropolk and Oleg" (1798), the operas "Clorida and Milan" and "Golden Apple" (c. 1800).

Fomin's operatic works are diverse in genres. Here are Russian comic operas, an opera in the Italian buffa style, and a one-act melodrama, where the Russian composer first turned to a high tragic theme. Fomin finds a new, individual approach to each of the selected genres. So, in his Russian comic operas, he is attracted primarily by the interpretation of folklore material, the method of developing folk themes. The type of Russian "choral" opera is especially vividly presented in the opera "Coachmen on a Base". Here the composer makes extensive use of different genres of Russian folk song - lingering, round dance, dance, applies the techniques of sub-vocal development, juxtaposition of the solo solo and the choral refrain. The overture is also built on the development of folk song dance themes - an interesting example of early Russian programmatic symphony. The principles of symphonic development, based on the free variation of motives, will find a wide continuation in Russian classical music, starting with M. Glinka's "Kamarinskaya".

In the opera on the text of the famous fabulist I. Krylov "The Americans" Fomin brilliantly showed his mastery of the buffa-opera style. The pinnacle of his work was the melodrama "Orpheus", staged in St. Petersburg with the participation of the famous tragic actor of that time - I. Dmitrevsky.

Fomin - Orpheus and Eurydice - I - Overture

Fomin - Orpheus and Eurydice - IV - Grazioso

Fomin - Orpheus and Eurydice - V - Adagio

Fomin - Orpheus and Eurydice - VIII - Andantino

Fomin - Orpheus and Eurydice - IX - Chorus: Adagio Sostenuto

This performance was based on a combination of dramatic reading accompanied by an orchestra. Fomin created excellent music, full of stormy pathos and deepening the dramatic concept of the play. It is perceived as a single symphonic action, with continuous internal development directed towards a common culmination at the end of the melodrama - "Dance of the Furies".

Fomin - Orpheus and Eurydice - XI - Finale: "The Dance of the Furies"

Independent symphonic numbers (overture and Dance of the Furies) frame the melodrama, like a prologue and an epilogue. The very principle of juxtaposing the intense music of the overture, the lyrical episodes located in the center of the composition, and the dynamic finale testifies to Fomin's astonishing perspicacity, who paved the way for the development of the Russian symphony of a dramatic plan.

The melodrama “was presented at the theater several times and earned great praise. Mr. Dmitrevsky, in the role of Orpheus, crowned her with his extraordinary acting, ”we read in the essay about the Princess, which was sent to his collected works. On February 5, 1795, Orpheus premiered in Moscow.

The second birth of the melodrama "Orpheus" took place on the Soviet stage. In 1947 it was performed in a cycle of historical concerts prepared by the Museum of Musical Culture named after M.I. Glinka. In the same years the famous Soviet musicologist B. Dobrokhotov restored the score of Orpheus. The melodrama was also performed in concerts dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Leningrad (1953) and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Fomin (1961). And in 1966 it was first performed abroad, in Poland, at the congress of early music.

The breadth and variety of Fomin's creative pursuits, the bright originality of his talent allow him to rightfully be considered the largest opera composer of Russia in the 18th century. With his new approach to Russian folklore in the opera "Coachmen on a Stand" and his first appeal to the tragic theme in Orpheus, Fomin paved the way for the operatic art of the 19th century.

Yestignei Fomin - "A valiant heart is valiant", "The nightingale sings not at the father's place", "In the field, the birch raged"

E. Fomin - "The Falcon Flies High". Choir from the opera "Coachmen on a Base"

Song of Timothy from the opera "Coachmen on a Stand" by Evstigney Fomin