Josip Runjanin Explained

Josip Runjanin
Native Name:Јосиф Руњанин
Native Name Lang:sr-Cyrl
Birth Name:Josif Runjanin
Birth Date:8 December 1821
Birth Place:Vinkovci, Slavonian Military Frontier, Military Frontier, Austrian Empire
Death Place:Újvidék (today Novi Sad), Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary
Occupation:Soldier and composer
Nationality:Austrian

Josip Runjanin (; 8 December 1821 – 2 February 1878) was a Croatian Serb soldier and composer from the Austrian Empire best known for composing the melody of Lijepa naša domovino, which later became the Croatian national anthem.

Life

Runjanin was born Josif Runjanin to a Serb[1] [2] [3] family on 8 December 1821 and baptized in the Serbian 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 in the Croatian Military Frontier district.

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.[4] It is generally agreed that Runjanin, an amateur musician, composed the music for Mihanović's patriotic Croatian poem "Horvatska domovina" in 1846 using inspiration from Gaetano Donizetti's aria "O sole piu ratto a sorger t'appresta" from the third act of his opera Lucia di Lammermoor, according to Croatian musicologist .[5]

His song "Ljubimo te naša diko" was composed using motives from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore.[6] "Ljubimo te naša diko (Hrvati svome banu)" was composed in honour of the Ban of Croatia, Josip Jelačić.[4] [7] [8]

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.[9] 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. As a representative of the First Banate regiment, he entered the Croatian Assembly in 1865.[10]

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 cemetery.[11]

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.[12]

Notes and References

  1. News: Kuzmanovic. Jasminka. 15 August 1995. After Centuries of Coexistence, End of Serb Community in Croatia. Associated Press. 8 December 2018. A Serb, Josip Runjanin, composed Croatia’s national anthem..
  2. Rihtman-Auguštin. Dunja. 1999. A Croatian Controversy: Mediterranean–Danube–Balkans. Narodna Umjetnost. 36. 2. 0547-2504. 116.
  3. Book: Mark Biondich. Richard C. Frucht. 2005. Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. 1. Croatia. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbara, California. 978-1-57607-800-6. 419.
  4. Web site: Josip Runjanin (Josif) . Josip . Šarčević . 7 April 2008 . Hrvatski povijesni portal . Inter nos . Prelog . 1846-4432 . 5 December 2015.
  5. Vrsni katalog emocija i epiteta (Runjanin i Donizetti) . . . 236 . Mirko . Tomasović . 20 March 2003 . An excellent catalog of emotions and epithets (Runjanin and Donizetti).
  6. Encyclopedia: Runjanin, Josip . Croatian . . 15 September 2014.
  7. ZAMP Baza autora: Ljubimo te naša diko (Hrvati svome banu)
  8. Republika. Page 41, note 2
  9. News: Josip Runjanin . Croatian . . Na današnji dan - 12. prosinca . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305073044/http://www.hrt.hr/arhiv/ndd/12prosinac/1208%20Runjanin.html . 2016-03-05 .
  10. Web site: Josip Runjanin. biografije.org . Biografije. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080526093311/http://www.biografije.org/runjanin.htm . 2008-05-26.
  11. Web site: Kompozitor "Lijepe naše" počiva na novosadskom pravoslavnom groblju. Kovačević. Snežana. Politika Online. 2020-02-22.
  12. Web site: Josip Runjanin . Croatian . 13 May 2014 . 31 May 2016 . Josip Runjanin Music School . Vinkovci . 7 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210907141709/http://www.runjanina.hr/o-nama/josip-runjanin.html . dead .