Lev Gurilyov


Lev Stepanovich Gurilyov was a Russian serf musician and liturgical music composer, along with pedagogue and composer, who was active in Moscow during the late-18th to early-19th centuries. The father of pianist and composer Aleksander Gurilyov, Lev was a violin player and kapellmeister in the orchestra of Count Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov, the younger brother of Catherine the Great, to which was owned according to the principles of serfdom. The majority of his life was spent on the Semenovskoye-Otrada estate:ru:Отрада-Семёновское|, owned by the Orlov family, although several moves occurred. Due to the inherited musical aptitude in his son Aleksander, Count Orlov had the son sent to study under the guidance of Irish composer John Field for music composition, and Joseph Iosifovich Genishta for music theory.
He was most notably the contemporary of other late-baroque and early-classical, serf composers in Russia like Dmitry Bortniansky, Stepan Degtyarev, and Daniil Kashin.

Education

He was a pupil of Giuseppe Sarti, although this cannot be confirmed.

Career

For almost the entirety of his career, Gurilyov composed and played for the Orlov family in the chapel on their estate. Among his duties were teaching musicians, running rehearsals, leading the divine liturgy for the family, composing secular and sacred compositions, and various other kinds of rehearsal and practices. It is speculated that Gurilyov operated within the "Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker," located on the property of the estate. So competent and proficient was Gurilyov at his duties that performances had become well-attended, with popularity of work reaching other royal families and being notable for its praised combination of serf musicians from other regions.

Works

Emancipated after the death of his owner in 1831, Lev Gurilyov composed many piano pieces and variations on Russian folk themes.

Piano

  • 1794: Sonata in D minor
  • 1808: Russian song "Ah! Why are you, my dear, sitting sadly?" with variations in C minor
  • 1810: 24 preludes and one fugue for piano – the first cycle of preludes in all keys in the history of Russian music after J. S. Bach's 1722 analogous version.
  • Piano Sonata No. 1 E Minor PolonaiseG Minor PolonaiseRussian song "The people blame me" with variationsRussian song "I'm losing what I love" with variationsRussian song with variations Russian dance
  • ''Polonaise with choir in honor of Emperor Alexander I on the occasion of the conquest of all of Finland "All of Europe trembled, the horror of the kingdom destroyed everything"''

Cantatas

Let us glorify this longed-for day
  • ''Song to the dear father, sung by dear children in Otrada''

Mass

  • ''Mass for 4 voices''

Hymns and Chants

Lord, who dwellsHow long, O Lord, will you forget meIn the same way he desiresRejoice, O righteous ones, in the LordHear, O God, my voice, listenWith my voice I cried to the LordOn the divine guardAn angel is cryingMay my prayer be correctedIt is worthy to eatOur FatherCherubic Hymn No. 1Cherubic Hymn No. 2
  • ''The Grace of the World''