Biography
The scant biographical materials indicate that Titov was born in the 1650s. He joined Tsar Fedor's choir, the Gosudarevy Pevchie Diaki (Государевы Певчие Дьяки, The Tsar's Singers) when he was in his twenties; his salary is recorded in 1678. He quickly rose to prominence as both singer and composer. In the 1680s he collaborated with Simeon Polotsky (a famed churchman, man of letters and tutor to the children of Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich), composing musical settings of Polotsky's psalter and an almanac of sacred poetry. In the 1680s Titov also joined Tsar Ivan's choir.
When Tsar Fedor died in 1682, Titov retained his position in Tsar Ivan's choir. Tsar Ivan died in 1696 and the choir was disbanded in 1698. It is not known precisely what happened next to Titov. He may have taken up a position as choir master in a church of the Moscow Kremlin and/or head of a music school in Moscow. Nothing is known of his last years, except that he wrote some compositions associated with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and died soon after that.
Read more about this topic: Vasily Polikarpovich Titov
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