Nikolaos Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros (, ; , 26 October 1795 – 12 April 1872) was a Greek- Italian

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 ...

born in

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

, major representative and founder of the so-called Ionian School of music (Επτανησιακή Σχολή).

Biography

Mantzaros was of noble Greco-Italian descent, coming from one of the most important and wealthy Venetian families of the " Libro d'Oro" di

and therefore he never considered himself a "professional composer", teaching the youth of Corfu without profit. His father was Iakovos Chalikiopoulos Mantzaros and his mother Regina Turini, from

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

. Recent research and performances have led to a re-evaluation of Mantzaros as a significant composer and music theorist.

Debut in Corfu

He was taught music in his native city by the brothers Stefano (pianoforte) and Gerolamo Pojago (violin),

Stefano Moretti Stefano Moretti (born Ancona, Italy) was a musician, singer and teacher of music upon the island of Corfu. Biography Moretti was ''maestro al cembalo'' of a group within Naples. The group had performed during 1790 within San Giacomo. He is conside ...

from Ancona (music theory) and ''cavalliere'' Barbati, possibly a Neapolitan (music theory and composition). Mantzaros presented his first compositions (three concert or substitute arias and the one-act ''azione comica'' ''Don Crepuscolo'') in 1815 in the theatre of San Giacomo of Corfu.

Relationship to Italy

From 1819 onwards he was regularly visiting Italy (

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Bologna, Milan, Naples), where, among others, he met the veteran

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

composer Niccolo Antonio Zingarelli.

Work

His compositions include

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

, vocal works in Italian and

demotic Greek Demotic Greek or Dimotiki ( el, Δημοτική Γλώσσα, , , ) is the standard spoken language of Greece in modern times and, since the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976, the official language of Greece. "Demotic Greek" (w ...

, sacred music for the Catholic Rite (three masses ossibly 1819, 1825, and possibly 1835 a '' Te Deum'' 830 and the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (dis ...

(notably, a complete mass based on the septinsular

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

traditional

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

ing

834 __NOTOC__ Year 834 ( DCCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 1 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Fr ...

, band music, instrumental music (24 piano ''sinfonie'', some of them also for orchestra) etc. Mantzaros also composed the music for the first concert aria in Greek in 1827, the ''Aria Greca''. Mantzaros was an important music theorist,

contrapuntist 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 ...

and teacher. From 1841 and until his death he was the Artistic Director of the

Philharmonic Society of Corfu The Philharmonic Society of Corfu ( el, Φιλαρμονική Εταιρεία Κερκύρας, ''Philharmonice Ɛtaerɛia Cɛrcyras'', ), or ''Old Philharmonic'' (Παλαιά Φιλαρμονική) -to be distinguished from the other 17 bands ...

Greek national anthem

His most popular composition remains the musical setting for the poem of Dionysios Solomos' ''Ýmnos eis tīn Eleutherían'' (

Hymn to Liberty The "Hymn to Liberty", or "Hymn to Freedom" ( el, Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν, also ), is a poem written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823 that consists of 158 stanzas and is used as the national anthem of Greece and Cyprus. It ...

), which Mantzaros added to Solomos' poem in 1828. The first and second stanzas were adopted initially in 1864 as the Royal Anthem of Greece and on 28 June 1865 as the Greek national anthem. However, recent research and performances have proved that Mantzaros had broader activities as a significant composer and music theorist, which go beyond the established perception of him as the mere composer of the National Anthem.

Recordings

* ''Mantzaros-Solomos: The Hymn to the Liberty'' (Lyra, CD0064, 1991) * ''Music of the Ionian School. N.Mantzaros, N.Lambelet, P.Carrer'' (Motivo, NM1049, 1996). The 'Nikolaos Mantzaros Chamber Music Ensemble' performing arrangements from piano Sinfonias by Mantzaros. * ''Nikolaos Halikiopoulos Mantzaros (1795-1872): Early Works for voice and orchestra (1815-1827)'' (Ionian University / Music Department, IUP005, 2005) * ''Don Crepuscolo'' performed by

Christophoros Stamboglis Christophoros Stamboglis ( el, Χριστόφορος Σταμπόγλης) is a Greek operatic bass. Stamboglis was born in Athens, Greece. With The Royal Opera, he has sung Ramfis in ''Aida'', Count Rodolfo in ''La sonnambula'' and Doctor Gren ...

George Petrou George Petrou ( el, Γιώργος Πέτρου) is a Greek conductor, pianist and stage-director. Biography George Petrou was born in Greece. He studied at the Athens Conservatoire, the Royal College and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He ...

and Armonia Atenea (Athens Camerata) in the CD Georg Friedrich Haendel, ''Alessando Severo'' / Niccolo Manzaro, ''Don Crepuscolo'' (MDG, LC06768, 2011) * Niccolo Calichiopulo Manzaro - Fedele Fenaroli, ''Partimenti for String Instruments'' performed by Ionian String Quartet (Irida Classics 009, 2011)

References

External links

* * * *Kostas Kardami
"From popular to esoteric: Nikolaos Mantzaros and the development of his career as composer"
''Nineteenth-Century Music Review'' 8 (2011) from ''Cambridge Journals Online'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantzaros, Nikolaos 1795 births 1872 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century male musicians Greek classical composers Greek classical musicians Greek opera composers Ionian School (music) Musicians from Corfu National anthem writers 19th-century Greek musicians