František Gregor Emmert (19 May 1940 – 17 April 2015) was a Czech composer of classical and incidental music.
Biography
Emmert's ancestors came from the north of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, in the area around
Weiden,
Waldmünchen
Waldmünchen (Central Bavarian: ''Woidminga''), is a town in the district of Cham, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Czech Republic, 18 km (11 mi) north of Cham, and 18 km (11 mi) southwest of Doma ...
, and
Ippesheim
Ippesheim is a municipality in the district of Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim in Bavaria in Germany. Personalities
* Vitus Müller (1561-1626), Protestant theologian and philologist, professor at the University of Tübingen
The University o ...
. Their history is documented in the local books until the beginning of the 17th century. Gregor Emmert, father of the
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
, was born in Bavaria, and the Emmert family moved to
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Emmert was born in Mstišov, today a part of
Dubí
Dubí (; german: Eichwald) is a spa town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,800 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Town parts and villages of Běhánky, Bystřice, Cínovec, Drahůnky, Mstišov ...
near
Teplice
Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The his ...
in North Bohemia. In 1954, he went to study in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. He graduated from High School of Music Education and went on to take classes at the
Prague Conservatory
The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...
in piano, under
Lev Esch, and composition, privately under
Jan Zdeněk Bartoš
Jan Zdeněk Bartoš (4 June 1908, Dvůr Králové nad Labem – 1 June 1981, Prague) was a Czechs, Czech composer.
Biography
Bartoš started to play the violin as a pupil of Karel Hršel in Hradec Králové. In 1924, after he graduated from busi ...
. Later he continued his composition studies at the
Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts
The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts ( cs, Janáčkova akademie múzických umění v Brně; abbreviation in Czech: JAMU) is a public university with an artistic focus in Brno, Czech Republic. It was established in 1947 and consi ...
(JAMU) in
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
, under
Jan Kapr and
Miloslav Ištvan
Miloslav Ištvan (2 September 1928 in Olomouc – 26 January 1990, in Brno) was a Czech people, Czech composer whose work was inspired by the works of Béla Bartók and by the orientation of the modal style of Folk music, folk songs. He studied Rom ...
. After his graduation in 1975, he started to teach composition at JAMU himself.
As a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Emmert was never a member of the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominte ...
. He represented an alternative to the "Compositional School of Brno" (rationally and numerically composed music by Miloslav Ištvan and
Alois Piňos), and many later Brno composers, including
Pavel Zemek, cite him as an influence. In the 1970s, he became one of the key composers for the Husa na Provázku Theatre, where he composed an adaptation of
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
's novel ''
Demons
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
''. He also established himself as a composer of symphonic music, with 25 completed symphonies. His chamber and vocal music is inspired by the spiritual meaning of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and mysticism.
In 1991, he became a docent, and in 2006 was named a professor at JAMU. His composition classes were taken by many contemporary composers of artificial music, including
Mojmír Bártek,
Zoja Černovská,
Afrodité Katmeridu,
Pavel Malý,
Martin Štědroň,
Leoš Kuba,
Mário Buzzi,
Barbora Škrlová,
Lenka Foltýnová,
Ondřej Šárek,
Jana Bařinková,
Vojtěch Dlask,
Tomáš Lučivjanský,
Adrian Demoč,
Vratislav Zochr,
Jan Dobiáš,
Irena Franková,
Martina Kachlová,
David Postránecký,
Adrián Demoč and
Tereza Zemanová. He was awarded many times for various compositions.
He died on 17 April 2015 in Brno.
His son
František Emmert is a writer of non-fiction, with a focus on 20th century history.
Style
Initially, Emmert's music was heavily inspired by spiritual German music with emphasis on traditional
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
. His early work, until 1975, is marked by
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
and its typical signs are
aleatoric
Aleatoricism or aleatorism, the noun associated with the adjectival aleatory and aleatoric, is a term popularised by the musical composer Pierre Boulez, but also Witold Lutosławski and Franco Evangelisti, for compositions resulting from "action ...
,
multiserialism or timbre music. From the second half of the 1970s, he went back to his roots as his faith returned. His work was then marked by older compositional techniques and influences of the
romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
and
medieval music
Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissance ...
(
Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...
). His perception of
postmodernism
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
slightly differed from the standards; Emmert did not work with citations, he just arranged
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
. He was one of the first Czech composers who could be labelled as postmodernist. His later symphonies from the 21st century (Symphony No. 18 and after) are composed for large symphonic orchestras, usually scored in biform and
polytempo The term polytempo or polytempic is used to describe music in which two or more tempi occur simultaneously.
In the Western world, the practice of polytempic music has its roots in the music theory of Henry Cowell, and the early practices of Charle ...
for non-traditional instruments such as
clarina
Clarina () is a village in County Limerick in the province of Munster, Ireland. It lies between Mungret and Kildimo on the N69 National Route about 6 miles west of Limerick city close to the River Maigue. The Maigue is a tributary of the Ri ...
and
baritone oboe. These aspects mark Emmert's final stage of composition. Most of his symphonies are subtitled. Symphony No. 25 was the last of Emmert's work premiered, on 1 June 2017 in Brno, by the
Ensemble Opera Diversa string orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...
, with soloists Milan Pal’a (viola), Marek Pal’a (organ) and Jarmila Balážová (mezzosoprano), and conducted by Ondrej Olos.
Selected works
Symphonies
Emmert finished 26 symphonies.
* Symphony No. 5 "Kosmické zvony" (Cosmic Bells) for soprano, male choir, tape recorder and orchestra (1971)
* Symphony No. 10 "Euanggelion" (1985)
* Symphony No. 12 "Veraikon" (1986)
* Symphony No. 16 "Útěcha zarmoucených" (Soothing The Saddened) for solo violin, two string quartets and two chamber orchestras (1990)
* Symphony No. 23 "Věčný Jeruzalém" (Jerusalem Eternal, 2004)
Chamber music
* ''Tamango'' (suite for string orchestra and timpani, 1962)
* ''Sonata for organ'' (1968)
* ''Trio for oboe, cello and piano'' (1985)
* ''Decimetto for brass instruments'' (1986)
Choral works
* ''Otče náš'' (Lord's Prayer, 1984)
* ''Magnificat'' (1985)
* ''Biblické písně'' (Biblical songs, 1986)
References
Further reading
*Bártová, Jindřiška. ''Jan Kapr: nástin života a díla''. Brno: JAMU, 1995.
*Bártová, Jindřiška. "Pozoruhodné dílo mladého skladatele." ''Kam v Brně za kulturou'', no. 2, 1975, pp. 14–15.
*Bártová, Jindřiška. ''Miloslav Ištvan''. Brno: JAMU, 1997.
*Bártová, Jindřiška – OPRŠÁL, Martin. "Vzpomínka na hudebního skladatele Františka
*Gregora Emmerta." ''Opus musicum'', vol. 48, no. 3, 2016, pp. 66–73.
*Ciprys, Pavel. ''Osobnost Františka Emmerta a jeho duchovní tvorba''. Diploma Thesis, The Faculty of Theology at Palacký University, Olomouc, 1998.
*Dlask, Vojtěch. "Milosrdenství jako princip uvolňující zázrak: Neobjevený symfonik
*František Emmert." ''Opus musicum'', vol. 38, no. 1, 2006, pp. 48–51.
*Dlask, Vojtěch. "Symfonická tvorba Františka Gregora Emmerta." Opus musicum, vol. 47, no. 5, 2015, pp. 38–59.
*Emmert, František. "Konfese Františka Emmerta." ''Opus musicum'', vol. 6, no. 8, 1974, pp. 269–270.
*Emmert, František. ''Poznámky k instrumentaci II''. Brno: JAMU, 2001.
*Frajtová, Ivana. ''Houslové dílo Františka Gregora Emmerta''. Diploma Thesis, Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Brno, 2007.
*Fukač, Jiří. "Emmertova vokální symfonie." ''Hudební rozhledy'', vol. 28, no. 2, 1975, pp. 111–112.
*Havlík, Jaromír. "Co je to symfonie?" ''Opus musicum'', vol. 16, no. 6, 1984, pp. 161–167.
*Havlík, Jaromír. ''Česká symfonie 1945–1980''. Prague: Panton, 1989.
*Hlaváček, Jan. ''František Emmert: Koncert pro trubku a orchestr''. Diploma Thesis, Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Brno, 1976.
*Kotek, Miroslav. ''Bicí nástroje''. Prague: Panton, 1983.
*Macek, Petr (ed.). ''Slovník české hudební kultury''. Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1997.
*Martínková, Alena (ed.). ''Čeští skladatelé současnosti''. Prague: Panton, 1985.
*Petrželka, Ivan. "Kantátová novinka." ''Svobodné slovo: list Československé strany socialistické''. Brno-město, 21. 2. 1975.
*Štědroň, Miloš. "Jaká je hudba Františka Emmerta?" ''Opus musicum'', vol. 22, no. 6, 1990, pp. 183–185.
*Štědroň, Miloš. "Koncerty SČSKU v Brně." ''Hudební rozhledy'', vol. 41, no. 3, 1988, pp. 112–113.
*Trojan, Jan. "O zaklínání času a náhody. (Koncert z nové tvorby brněnských skladatelů)." ''Práce: list Revolučního odborového hnutí''. Moravian edition, 2. 12. 1969.
*Veverica, Julian. ''Filozofický pohľad na dielo Františka Emmerta z pozice interpreta''. Diploma Thesis, Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Brno, 2012.
*Vysloužil, Jiří. ''Dvě stě let české hudby na Moravě''. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackéhov Olomouci, 2014.
*Vysloužil, Jiří. ''Hudební slovník pro každého: Díl 2, Skladatelé a hudební spisovatelé''.
*Vizovice: Lípa, 1999.
External links
František Gregor Emmertat Musicbase.cz
František Gregor Emmertin Český hudební slovník osob a institucí
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmert, Frantisek Gregor
1940 births
2015 deaths
People from Teplice District
Czech classical composers
Classical composers of church music
Prague Conservatory alumni