Péter Bornemisza Explained

Péter Bornemisza (c. 1535 – 1584) was a Hungarian Lutheran bishop of noble birth. His father was killed by the Turks around the time he was six years old. A scholar from England, at the University of Cracow, first interested him in Protestantism and later Philipp Melanchthon had a strong impact on him. He later preached and printed Protestant works in his native land.^[1]

In addition to religious work he proved to be a significant playwright of works such as Magyar Elektra.^[2]

Hungarian composer György Kurtág's song cycle The Sayings of Péter Bornemisza (1963–1968) for soprano and piano^[3] incorporates brief texts from Bornemisza's sermons.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Book: Hughes Oliphant Old. The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Volume 5: Moderatism, Pietism, and Awakening. 23 July 2004. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 978-0-8028-2232-1. 310.
2. Book: Roy Porter. The Renaissance in National Context. 1992. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-36970-1. 172, 174, and 176.
3. Beckles Willson, Rachel. 1998a. "The Fruitful Tension between Inspiration and Design in Kurtág's The Sayings of Péter Bornemisza op.7". Mitteilungen der Paul Sacher Stiftung 11:36–41.
4. http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-sayings-of-peter-bornemisza-1-549526 An article in The Scotsman