Notes and Editorial Reviews
BAROQUE IN POLAND: Church and Court Music
•
Alla Polacca Ens
•
ARS 38 065 (SACD: 67:54)
Music of
MIELCZEWSKI, WRONOWICZ, JARZEBSKI, PODBIELSKI, SZARZY´nSKI, MILWID, FÖRSTER, LUPARINI
Poland in the 17th and 18th centuries, like America in the 18th and 19th, was a musical backwater, at least as far as concert music was concerned. Native composers self-consciously followed foreign models, and always seemed just a bit behind international fashion. This
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does not mean that their work was necessarily rudimentary or dull; to the contrary, the items on this survey of Polish Baroque music can be quite engaging. And, yes, sometimes a bit original. The opening canzona by Marcin Mielczewski, for example, is clearly derived from Italian examples, yet it does include the occasional, subtly rustic, quasi-Polish episode. But then the cantata
Semper mi Jesu
by Antoni Milwid adheres to a surprisingly antiquated style for a contemporary of Beethoven (admittedly, a man born 15 years before Beethoven, but one who also outlived the master). If you just close your eyes and open your ears without fretting over what composers of this or that decade “should” have been doing to meet international standards, you will have before you more than an hour of breezy performances of attractive music. Alla Polacca, an ensemble consisting of soprano Iwona Le?niowska-Lubowicz, keyboardist Paulina Kilarska, and theorbist Stanislaw Gojny plus string-playing guest artists, employs subtle manipulations of dynamics and rubato, though never self-consciously. The soprano has a pleasant, flexible voice, although her vibrato can become almost strong enough to be mistaken for ornamentation. The playing of the organ and harpsichord in both solo and continuo roles is always vibrant. The sonics are resonant, with the theorbo and organ perhaps having a little more presence than the strings. If you like early Italian sonatas, you will probably enjoy this program very much.
FANFARE: James Reel
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Works on This Recording
1.
Canzona Prima à 2 by Marcin Mielczewski
Performer:
Stanislaw Gojny (Theorbo),
Paulina Kilarska (Harpsichord)
Period: Baroque
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 8 Minutes 50 Secs.
2.
In dulci iubilo, sacred concerto for voice, 2 violins & continuo by Maciej Wronowicz
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Alla Polacca
Period: Baroque
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 8 Minutes 22 Secs.
3.
Berlinesa by Adam Jarzebski
Performer:
Paulina Kilarska (Harpsichord),
Stanislaw Gojny (Theorbo),
Holger Faust-Peters ()
Period: Baroque
Written: 1627; Poland
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 4 Minutes 29 Secs.
4.
Praeludium in D major, for organ by Jan Podbielski
Performer:
Paulina Kilarska (Harpsichord)
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 1 Minutes 42 Secs.
5.
Canzona Primi Toni, for organ by Anonymous
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 3 Minutes 41 Secs.
6.
Jesu spes mea, concerto for voice, 2 violins & continuo by Stanislaw Sylwester Szarz
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Alla Polacca
Period: Baroque
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 4 Minutes 50 Secs.
7.
Veni Sancte Spiritus, concerto for voice, 2 violins & continuo by Stanislaw Sylwester Szarz
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Alla Polacca
Period: Baroque
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 7 Minutes 8 Secs.
8.
Sonata for 2 violins & organ by Stanislaw Sylwester Szarz
Period: Baroque
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 6 Minutes 48 Secs.
9.
Semper mi jesu, cantata for voice, violin & continuo by Antoni Milwid
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Alla Polacca
Period: Baroque
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 7 Minutes 46 Secs.
10.
Sonata a 3 ex G, KBPJ 38 by Kaspar Förster
Performer:
Stanislaw Gojny (Theorbo),
Holger Faust-Peters (),
Paulina Kilarska (Harpsichord)
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 1 Minutes 23 Secs.
11.
In martirio crudele, cantata for voice, 2 violins & continuo by Giovanni B. Luparini
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Ensemble Alla Polacca
Period: Baroque
Venue: Immanuelskirche Wuppertal
Length: 0 Minutes 59 Secs.
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