Anton Pann

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Anton Pann bigraphy, stories - Translators

Anton Pann : biography

– November 2, 1854

Anton Pann (born Antonie Pantoleon-Petroveanu, and also mentioned as Anton Pantoleon or Petrovici; 1790s—November 2, 1854), was an Ottoman-born Wallachian composer, musicologist, and Romanian-language poet, also noted for his activities as a printer, translator, and schoolteacher. Pann was an influential folklorist and collector of proverbs, as well as a lexicographer and textbook author.

Legacy

The Anton Pann Memorial House in [[Râmnicu Vâlcea]] Pann is generally believed to have authored the music to Deşteaptă-te, române!, Romania’s national anthem. His associate Gheorghe Ucenescu is known to have arranged the melody to the lyrics of Andrei Mureşanu, Valer Rus, , at the Mureşanu Memorial House site but Pann’s direct implication in the creative process was allegedly not confirmed by sources. According to one account, Ucenescu had used a romanza composed by Pann in 1839, in turn complimenting the lyrics of Grigore Alexandrescu. It has also been argued that the music was that of a popular lied, and first published in one of Pann’s manele collections. The ethnographic research carried out by Dimitrie Gusti confirmed that the same melody was being sung as a folk song by Southern Dobrujan ethnic Turks in the 1930s.

Mihai Eminescu, one of Romania’s most influential poets, made a reference to Pann in his poem Epigonii (1870), which, in its opening verses, traces the development of early literature and the impact of Romanticism. Cited alongside Dimitrie Cantemir, Dimitrie Ţichindeal, Vasile Cârlova, Ienăchiţă Văcărescu, Alexandru Sihleanu, Ion Heliade Rădulescu, Cezar Bolliac and others, Pann is referred to as the son of Pepelea, the witty hero of folk literature, and complimented with the words "as clever as a proverb". Mihai Eminescu, (wikisource) During the interwar period, the works of Anton Pann were reflected and complimented in the modernist poetic art of Ion Barbu.Tudor Vianu, Scriitori români, Vol III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1971, p.419-421 Barbu’s Nastratin Hogea la Isarlâk uses Pann’s main character to tragic effect, depicting, in willing contrast to the proverbial setting, Nastratin’s violent self-sacrifice. George Călinescu noted that Pann’s "mix of buffoonery and seriousness" present in the works of poet Tudor Arghezi, came "in the line of Anton Pann".George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1983: "Anton Pann", p.91-95; "Tudor Arghezi", p.322

In 1945, Lucian Blaga authored a three-act play named Anton Pann, centered on the poet’s Şchei period. A museum of the life and activity of Anton Pann exist in Râmnicu Vâlcea, and, since 1990, a public theater in the same city bears his name.

Works

Literary works

  • Versuri musiceşti ("Musical Lyrics")
  • Poezii deosebite sau cântece de lume ("Various Poems or Worldly Chants")
  • Îndreptătorul beţivilor ("The Correction Instrument for Drunks")
  • Hristoitia sau Şcoala moralului ("Hristoitia or the School of Morals")
  • Noul erotocrit ("The New Erotokritus")
  • Marş de primăvară ("March of the Spring")
  • Memorialul focului mare ("A Memoir of the Great Fire")
  • Culegere de proverburi sau Povestea vorbei ("Collection of Proverbs or the Story of the Word")
  • Adiata ("Testament")
  • Înţeleptul Archir şi nepotul său Anadam ("Archir the Wise and His Nephew Anadam")
  • Spitalul amorului sau Cântecul dorului ("The Hospital of Love or the Song of Lust")
  • O şezătoare la ţară sau Călătoria lui Moş Albu ("A Countryside Gathering or Father Albu’s Trip")
  • Versuri sau Cântece de stea ("Lyrics or Songs to the Stars")
  • Cântătorul beţiei. Care cuprinde numele beţivilor şi toate faptele care decurg din beţie ("The Poet of Drunkenness. Comprising the Names of Drunks and All Deeds Caused by Drunkenness")
  • Triumful beţiei sau Diata ce o lasă un beţiv pocăit fiului său ("The Triumph of Drunkenness or the Testament Left by a Penitent Drunk to His Son")
  • Năzdrăvăniile lui Nastratin Hogea ("The Mischiefs of Nastratin Hogea")
  • Poveşti şi angdote versificate ("Versified Stories and Anecdotes")
  • De la lume adunate şi iarăşi la lume date ("[Sayings] Gathered from Folk and Returned to Folk")