GERBURT VON BREICHFORT

Gerburt von Breichfort was a composer of the Age of Discovery Era, known most for his role in reviving composition as an art form and making music available to the people of Gottland.

Early Life
Gerburt von Breichfort was born in the year 6302 to Adelf von Breichfort and Helga, who was Jordic. Adelf was a very successful and busy diplomat who often traveled across Caradon and even occasionally to Yevernin as a representative of the Einhart Empire. The year of Gerburt’s birth was a very turbulent time for the empire, as the Galatisian War raged throughout the western continents. Nevertheless, Adelf was able to raise his family well and Gerburt enjoyed an affluent childhood.

Gerburt was raised in the Electorate of Bjornmark, which was the southernmost of the Gottic realms, nearest to Jordland in both geography and culture. He was very fond of music in his youth, having traveled with his father to many foreign nations in Caradon, where a wide variety of folkish tunes could be heard. But it was in the Kingdom of Gradia where little Gerburt heard beautiful music for the first time. As he walked by a massive cathedral, he caught the voices of Petrosian choirs singing praises to Ankor, most likely cantatas written by Cyrilius, who had lived over a thousand years prior. At the time, sophisticated music could be found only within the walls of a Petrosian cathedral, which were nowhere to be found in the Einhart Empire. Desperate to hear more, Gerburt begged his father to be trained in music, who refused; he wanted his son to study the art of diplomacy, and if not that, law. In despair, Gerburt began to curse his Gottic-Jordic heritage, for though the Einhart Empire was renowned for its military and political prowess, one would scoff at the notion of any art coming from the region.

Winning Independence
Gerburt remained an obedient son, nevertheless, and studied diplomacy, though he hoped always in secret that he might be sent to Gradia to hear its music once more. He remained in school until the age of 18, when, upon becoming an adult by law, he decided once-and-for-all to study music. His father was outraged at the notion and disowned his son, for it was very un-Gottic to indulge oneself in the arts. Disheartened yet excited to follow his dream, Gerburt left the Einhart Empire and made his home in Vicazzo, a town in Gradia, in 6320.

Career in Vicazzo
In Vicazzo, he found work in a local congregation and studied under its principal, Benevicci de Vigo, who was well-versed in sacred music. Gerburt learned much under Benevicci, who himself had experimented in secret composition, which he employed in worship services. During this time, new music was hardly ever written, as the Petrosian Church declared that only the works of Cyrilius, Tyrecius, and a few others be sung; the reason for this was as vile as it was subtle: the church’s leadership did not want new ideas through new music overcoming the status quo of Melathonian doctrine. Thus, men like Benevicci were rare and often dismissed from service.

Gerburt, not natively Petrosian, thought the outlawing of new music to be absurd. By the age of 27, having been sufficiently trained in music theory and performance, began composing his own works for his congregation. His first piece, A Psalm to the Most Merciful, was finished in 6329 and put to the 40th psalm of King Diva’ad. Gerburt’s music was so beautiful and moving that, when it was discovered he had composed new works only a few years later, the Petrosian Church did not dismiss him from service, but encouraged him to continue.

Rivalry with Sertori
In 6334, another young man rose to prominence as a musician. For two men to be widely known as composers and accepted as such was unheard of; the times were changing. His name was Leovold Sertori, born in Gradia and raised in the Petrosian tradition. Gerburt eagerly sought him out, for there were no other known composers in the region aside from his mentor, de Vigo. Sertori was a brilliant musician, recognized for his fast and sharp style. However, he was also the world’s first composer of secular, sophisticated music, employing his gifts outside of the church. Upon hearing the Gradian’s work for the first time, Gerburt was impressed but disappointed in what he believed to be a misuse of talent. Sertori was insulted, dismissing Breichfort as a “Gottic brute who knew nothing of art or music”. The two despised one another, competing for musical dominance over the Kingdom of Gradia for the next year.

In 6336, Benevicci de Vigo died in his sleep; he was 76. Heartbroken, a defeated Gerburt sought to return home to Gottland.

Work in Gottland
While Sertori went on to change the world of music forever, inventing the first ever organ and innovating new musical forms, Gerburt returned to the Einhart Empire with one goal in mind: to spread the beauty of sacred music to his native countrymen. For years, he worked painstakingly in Elberg, Gottland, teaching students how to read and play music, tutoring hopeful composers, and writing cantatas for church services. Though he toiled for most of his life, his efforts bore fruit; within 50 years, musicians were making their names known in the Einhart Empire and the brutal stereotypes Gottic people endured began to fade away.

Later Life and Death
Gerburt dedicated the remainder of his life to the musical development of the Gottic people. He never married and thus bore no sons or daughters, but was acquainted with many children in his career as a music teacher. Many looked to him as their father, and he loved them dearly.

For over 50 years, Gerburt remained in Elburg until his death; he was 89 when he passed away. Thousands attended his funeral; men, women, and children from Vicazzo journeyed their way north to Elburg, where they joined the already massive throng mourning their beloved composer’s death.

MUSICAL OUTPUT AND STYLE
Gerburt von Breichfort was a man of Ankor, writing music solely for the purpose of worship. He wrote a melody to each of King Diva’ad’s 85 psalms and put much of canonical scripture to music as well. Thus, his output was quite prolific; it was estimated in his time that he wrote over 400 pieces, all designed to be sung in worship.

Because Breichfort wrote sacred music exclusively, his style varied from subject to subject. He was very keen on writing slow and heavy melodies, characterized by a droning bass and minimal harmony, but was capable of employing a lighter and more delicate tone when he deemed it appropriate. It is important to note that Breichfort, aside from what he learned under Benevicci de Vigo and the writings of Cyrilius and Tyrecius, had little to go off of in terms of musical innovation; thus, he was forced to be more original than his successors.

Orchestrally, Breichfort primarily employed the organ, though he downplayed the fact that his organ was indeed of Leovold Sertori’s design. He loved the deep and resounding texture it produced, which he believed inspired one to worship Ankor. Beyond this, Breichfort made occasional use of an orchestral ensemble, made up of a small violin section, supported by violas and enriched by a pair of cellos and a bass. Instruments of such quality, however, were hard to find.

Breichfort’s music was very simple - a critic might even say primitive, but it elicited a deep sense of longing that only a transparent melody could produce. His music defined the Gottic style that dominated the Einhart Empire for five decades (6340’s to the 6390’s) and was commonly used alongside Cyrilius’ sacred cantatas in settings of worship.