The only popular book of its kind, in the scientific and artistic genre, telling about the interesting events of Russian history of the 18th century, about the fate of one of the greatest figures of the era, about court intrigues and the vicissitudes of monarchical changes, about the formation of musical traditions in Russia, the emergence of a school of composers , the mysteries of ancient hooks - medieval Russian notation, the appearance of choirs and “octagonal” singing in Rus', the most famous transcriptions of the most common spiritual chants. The author is based on little-known and archival materials collected in repositories in many countries around the world. To date, this is the first comprehensive work telling about “Orpheus of the Neva River” - as Dmitry Bortnyansky’s contemporaries called him. The musician’s biography is unusual and rich, events develop at an incredible speed and are intertwined in such a way that they could form the basis of an adventure film rather than a musical one.