“Vida, pensamiento y obra de Guillermo Morphy, el Conde de Morphy (1836-1899): su contribución a la música española en el siglo XIX”. Diss. PhD, Universidad de Oviedo, 2019. .
Previous Next| Publication type | Year | ISBN/ISSN | Bibliog code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book: Thesis | 2019 |
(ABSTRACT) Guillermo Morphy, the Count of Morphy (Madrid, 1836-Baden, Switzerland, 1899) was private secretary of Alfonso XII and, after his death, of the Queen Regent Maria Cristina. He deployed an intense activity in benefit of national art, becoming a nuclear figure during the Bourbon Restoration. This work explores his multiple facets as musicologist, composer, music critic and musicologist. His views are influenced by the discourse of Agustín Durán, which transmits the nationalism of Herder and the historicism of Christian stamp of the Schlegel brothers. His aesthetic and eclectic thinking are also linked to the philosophy of Victor Cousin and his teacher Santiago de Masarnau. Morphy shows himself conciliatory between Classicism and Romanticism, and values foreign influence in the national arts. In addition, he becomes a promoter of nationalism, and aestheticism linked to a spiritual doctrine of Catholic foundation, which consolidates during the Bourbon Restoration. His thoughts enter into confrontation with the excesses of rationalism, scepticism, materialism, "prosaic" realism, dissolvent cosmopolitanism and commercialization of the arts. He played an important role in the defence of a Spanish opera model enriched with modern innovations in terms of harmony and instrumentation, yet remaining linked to the Spanish tradition. Morphy becomes a key figure in favour of Hispanic nationalism and the creation of a Spanish school in a way that distances him from Barbieri and finds opposition in Pedrell and the musical critic Peña and Goñi. Morphy became the main diffuser of foreign music and defender of the lyrical drama of Tomás Bretón and Isaac Albéniz. He promoted the staging of Wagner's work, recognizing his enormous influence at the time, but discouraged his imitation. He rejected Italian verism and defended Verdi, Mancinelli and Saint-Saëns, whose works he considered universal without renouncing their traditional backgrounds and Latin essence. His personal friendship with Saint-Saëns is reflected in this work and letters. We note the synergy that developed between the Society of the Philharmonic Institute, the Concert Society of Madrid and the Ateneo de Madrid, all chaired by Morphy. His mediation and management promoted a varied program, in the image of other European halls. An analysis of his musical works confirms his solid formation and knowledge of contemporary musical trends; likewise his eclecticism uniting Classicism and Romanticism. The publication of his musicological book Les luthistes espagnols du XVI siècle (1902) constitutes a contribution of unquestionable value to the history of Spanish
Composer MILAN, MUDARRA, VALDERRABANO, PISADOR
Instrument VIHUELA
Century 19CENT
Region
Medium
Music genre
Research field HISTORY, SOCIAL HISTORY