Josip Runjanin
| Josip Runjanin Јосиф Руњанин Josif Runjanin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
8 December 1821 |
| Died |
2 February 1878 (aged 56) |
| Nationality | Croat |
| Occupation | soldier and composer |
Josip Runjanin or Josif Runjanin (Serbian Cyrillic: Јосиф Руњанин; 8 December 1821 – 2 February 1878) was a Croatian composer and lieutenant-colonel of the Austro-Hungarian Army. He is best known for composing the melody of the Croatian national anthem.
Origins
The Runjanin family originated from the village of Runjani in Jadar, in the Drina valley (western Serbia). The family moved to Bijeljina in Bosnia in 1718 when Austria conquered Serbia and Northern Bosnia.
Most of the family's members fled once again, during the Second Great Migration of Serbs in 1739 when Serbia and Northern Bosnia were reoccupied by the Ottomans. The family found refuge in Osijek in the Austrian Empire controlled Slavonia.
One Đorđe Runjanin then settled in the village of Grk, in Syrmia with his family. Đorđe's son Stojak was a Serbian Orthodox priest in Kuzmin until his death in 1758. Stojak fathered Vasilije who was the father of Petar (another Orthodox minister), and whose son was Ignjat (1798 - 10 November 1876) who was an Austrian army captain in Vinkovci. Josip was the eldest of Ignjat's 7 children.
Life
Runjanin was born in December 1821 and baptized in the Orthodox Church of Pentecost in Vinkovci. He received his education in Vinkovci, and then Sremski Karlovci. He served in the Imperial Army as a cadet in the town of Glina along the Military Frontier.[1] While serving in Glina, he attained the rank of captain, and became proficient in playing the piano, being taught by the military bandmaster of Glina. There, he was introduced to the Illyrist circles, where he met noted poet Antun Mihanović.[2] It is generally agreed that Runjanin, an amateur musician, composed the music for Mihanović's patriotic Croatian song Lijepa naša domovina in 1846 using inspiration from Gaetano Donizetti's aria O sole piu ratto a sorger t’appresta from the 3rd act of his opera Lucia di Lammermoor, according to Croatian musicologist Josip Andreis.[3]
His song Ljubimo te naša diko was composed using motives from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.[1] Ljubimo te Naša Diko (Hrvati svome banu) was composed in honour of the ban of Croatia Josip Jelačić.[4][5][2]
The Croatian anthem by Mihanović and Runjanin would be first played in the streets of Zagreb in 1891 during the Croatian-Slavonian exhibit, so both men only achieved postmortem fame.[6] An obedient soldier, Runjanin was later made colonel.
In 1864 at the age of 43, Runjanin married the daughter of the pensioned captain Toma Perković.[7] As a representative of the First Banate regiment, he entered the Croatian Assembly in 1865.[7]
After retirement, Runjanin moved to Novi Sad where he died at the age of 57 on 2 February 1878 and was buried at the Serbian Orthodox Ascension Cemetery (Uspensko groblje).
Legacy
There are several schools in Croatia named after Runjanin, most notably the elementary Music School of Josip Runjanin (Osnovna glazbena škola Josipa Runjanina) in Vinkovci.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Runjanin, Josip (in Croatian). Miroslav Krleža Lexicographical Institute. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Šarčević, Josip (7 April 2008). "Josip Runjanin (Josif)". Prelog: Inter nos. ISSN 1846-4432. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- ↑ Tomasović, Mirko (20 March 2003). "Vrsni katalog emocija i epiteta (Runjanin i Donizetti)" [An excellent catalog of emotions and epithets (Runjanin and Donizetti)]. Vijenac (Matica hrvatska) (236).
- ↑ (Croatian) ZAMP Baza autora: Ljubimo te naša diko (Hrvati svome banu)
- ↑ (Croatian) Republika. Page 41, note 2
- ↑ "Josip Runjanin". Na današnji dan - 12. prosinca (in Croatian) (Croatian Radiotelevision).
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 biografije.org. "Josip Runjanin". Biografije. Archived from the original on 2008-05-26.
- ↑ "Josip Runjanin" (in Croatian). Vinkovci: Josip Runjanin Music School. 13 May 2014.
External links
- Serbs of Vinkovci at the Wayback Machine
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