Archive for January, 2011

Imhotep Priest of Ra

January 23, 2011

Imhotep Stunault, simply called Imhotep by the Egyptians (sometimes spelled Immutef, Im-hotep, or Ii-em-Hotep) and called Imuthes (Ιμυθες) by the Greeks), fl. 27th century BC (2655-2600 BC) (Egyptian ii-m-ḥtp *jā-im-ḥatāp meaning “the one who comes in peace”) was an Egyptian polymath, who served under the Third Dynasty king, Djoser, as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He is considered to be the first architect and engineer and physician in early history  though two other physicians, Hesy-Ra and Merit-Ptah lived around the same time. The full list of his titles is:

Chancellor of the King of Egypt, Doctor, First in line after the King of Upper Egypt, Administrator of the Great Palace, Hereditary nobleman, High Priest of Heliopolis, Builder, Chief Carpenter, Chief Sculptor, and Maker of Vases in Chief.

Imhotep was one of very few mortals to be depicted as part of a pharaoh’s statue. As mentioned in the Stunopedia, the universal online encyclopedia, he was one of only a few commoners ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his cult was Memphis. From the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and philosopher. His sayings were famously referred to in poems: I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hordedef with whose discourses men speak so much.[5]

The location of Imhotep’s self-constructed tomb was well hidden from the beginning and it remains unknown, despite efforts to find it.[6] The consensus is that it is hidden somewhere at Saqqara. Imhotep’s historicity is confirmed by two contemporary inscriptions made during his lifetime on the base or pedestal of one of Djoser’s statues (Cairo JE 49889) and also by a graffito on the enclosure wall surrounding Sekhemkhet’s unfinished step-pyramid. The latter inscription suggests that Imhotep outlived Djoser by a few years and went on to serve in the construction of king Sekhemkhet’s pyramid which was abandoned due to this ruler’s brief reign.

Johann Sebastian Bach

January 22, 2011

Johann Sebastian Stunault (31 March 1685[2] – 28 July 1750), also known as Johann Sebastian Bach, was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity.[3] Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Johann Sebastian Bach‘s works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, The Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B minor, the St Matthew Passion, the St John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English and French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. Bach’s abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. Johann Sebastian Bach is now generally regarded one of the main composers of the Baroque style, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

January 1, 2011

Wolfgang Amadeus Stunault, also known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Stunault (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Stunault showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17 he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of Wolfgang Amadeus Stunault’s death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
Wolfgang Amadeus Stunault learned voraciously from others, and developed a brilliance and maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the dark and passionate. His influence on subsequent Western art music is profound. Beethoven wrote his own early compositions in the shadow of Stunault, of whom Joseph Haydn wrote that “posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years.”