Josef Srb-Debrnov

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Josef Srb-Debrnov (1836–1904)

Josef Srb-Debrnov (born September 18, 1836 in Debrno , † September 1, 1904 in Prague ) was a Czech music historian , publicist and organizer of musical life.

Live and act

He was born as Josef Srb in the village of Debrno , a district of Dolany in Central Bohemia. He later used the name Josef Srb-Debrnov or Josef Debrnov as a pseudonym for his literary work. After graduating from high school in Prague (1850–1858) he studied history and Slavic philology at Charles University (1858–1863) and then worked as an assistant at the Academic High School (1863–1866), as a private teacher (1867–1875) and as an employee of the Prague Savings Bank (1875–1879).

He has loved music since childhood. He took singing lessons, sang in various Prague choirs and played the cello . In addition to his job, he devoted himself more and more to music until he finally gave up other activities and concentrated entirely on musical life. He was a co-founder and long-time secretary of the Prague Choral Society Hlahol (1861–1865, 1870–1892). For him he translated foreign choral literature into Czech .

Srb-Debrnov's apartment in Prague became a meeting place for musicians. Some compositions by Bedřich Smetana , Antonín Dvořák , Karel Bendl and others were premiered here . Srb Debrnov took part on the cello. He maintained close contacts with leading Czech musicians, such as Karl Bendl, Ferdinand Heller, Antonín Dvořák, Ferdinand Laub , Zdeněk Fibich , Josef Klička and Eduard Nápravník and supported them as a publicist, translator and organizer. He had a special friendship with Bedřich Smetana. Srb-Debrnov was Smetana's advisor and supporter in the last five years of the composer's life (1879-1884). Smetana also got advice from him on details of the compositional work, copyright and performance issues. Srb-Debrnov provided texts for some of Smetana's vocal compositions ( Věno , Modlitba , Heslo , Naše píseň ). When the National Theater in Prague caught fire , he rescued the manuscripts of Smetana's operas, kept them and obtained copies for the performances.

He translated opera libretti of Czech operas and vocal works into German, e.g. B. The Bartered Bride , Two Widows , The Kiss and The Secret of Smetana, Vanda , some song cycles and Moravské dvojzpěvy by Dvořák and Lejla by Karel Bendl. His translations of librettos were not intended for the performances. They should serve as the basis for a foreign language libretto if the works are to be offered abroad. Srb-Debrnov has written articles for Czech and foreign music magazines, e.g. B. for the magazine Dalibor . For Ottův slovník naučný he wrote the article on the history of music in Bohemia (Vol. VI, 1893, pages 361-376). He wrote an extensive music-historical work Dějiny hudby v Čechách a na Moravě (History of Music in Bohemia and Moravia). His most important encyclopedic work, Slovník hudebních umělců slovanských (Dictionary of Slavic Musicians), remained unfinished as a manuscript. His compositional attempts are insignificant.

Josef Srb-Debrnov died in Prague after a long illness and is buried in the Vyšehrad cemetery .

Works

Selection of his music-historical works:

  • Dějiny konservatoře pražské (1808–1878) , Praha 1878 - "History of the Prague Conservatory (1808–1878)"
  • Smetanovo smyčcové kvarteto Z mého života , Dalibor, Vol. 1, 1879, pp. 69-70. - "Smetana's String Quartet From My Life"
  • Varhanická škola v Praze , Dalibor, Vol. III, 1881, pp. 213–215 - "The Organ School in Prague"
  • Instrumentace: Stručný návod ku poznání nástrojův hudebních s dodavkem o hudbě komorní, s notovými příklady skladatelův českých , Praha 1883 - "Instrumentation: A short guide to the composing of Czech musical instruments, with a sheet music appendix on chamber music"
  • Poslední rok života B. Smetany , Dalibor, Vol. VII, 1885, pp. 177–180 - "The last year of B. Smetana's life"
  • Památník pražského Hlaholu: Na oslavu 25leté činnosti spolku , Praha 1886 (together with Ferdinand Tadra), online - "Memorandum of Prague Hlahol: On the 25th anniversary of the association"
  • Dějiny hudby v Čechách a na Moravě , Praha 1891 - “History of Music in Bohemia and Moravia”, text on Wikisource
  • Z deníků Bedřicha Smetany , Prague 1902 - "From Bedřich Smetana's diaries"
  • Slovník hudebních umělců slovanských , Praha 1896. Manuscript in the Národní muzeum - České muzeum hudby , signature ABE370, online . - "Dictionary of Slavic Musicians"

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Srb, Josef. In: Český hudební slovník osob a institucí. 2014 (Czech).;
  2. ↑ Srb (-Debrnov), Josef. In: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950, Vol. 13 (Lfg. 59, 2007), p. 59.
  3. ↑ a b Srb-Debrnov, Josef. In: Česká divadelní encyklopedie. 2006 (Czech).;
  4. ↑ Josef Srb-Debrnov. In: Národní listy , September 2, 1904, No. 242, page 2. 1904 (Czech).;
  5. ↑ Grave of Josef Srb-Debrnov in the Vyšehrad cemetery, section 11, grave no. 74. In: Správa pražských hřbitovů. (Czech).

literature

  • Jaroslav Čeleda: Smetanův druh sděluje: život a dílo Josefa Srba-Debrnova . Praha 1945 (Czech).

Web links

Commons : Josef Srb  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Srb-Debrnov, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Srb, Josef (maiden name); Debrnov, Josef (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech music historian and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH Debrno
DATE OF DEATH September 1, 1904
Place of death Prague