Can you think of any Polish Baroque composers? There are some! At this Christmas concert, besides Bach’s great classic, we will place Polish Baroque music under the Christmas tree.

Polish music history has an interesting connection with German music. Germans and Poles co-existed in a substantial part of Poland, but while the German-speaking population was traditionally Lutheran, most of the Polish people had Roman Catholic rites, and accordingly, their music differed. We will glimpse the Advent and Christmas music of two Polish masters. Both of them were gifted composers, but while one of them looked from the Baroque era back to the Renaissance for inspiration, the other was enthused by Viennese Classicism.

WROCŁAW BAROQUE ENSEMBLE

Wrocław Baroque Ensemble specialises in historically informed performance, having the main focus on exploration into uncommon repertoire from Central Europe. The group presents a variety of early music, from chamber works to oratorios and cantatas, keeping a particular interest in heritage of Polish Re­naissance and Baroque. It was founded in 2012 by Andrzej Kosendiak and from the very beginning it has been operating under his artistic direction. Currently, it is one of the resident ensembles of the National Forum of Music in Wrocław. The core of the group consists of outstanding instrumentalists and singers from European countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and Germany).

Wrocław Baroque Ensemble can boast a wide recording catalogue, which includes a series of CD albums dedicated to Baroque repertoire featuring mainly works by the Polish composers – Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, Bartłomiej Pękiel, Marcin Mielczewski, Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński, Mikołaj Zieleński, and Jacek Różycki (CD Accord). The series is available on Spotify and worldwide distributed by Naxos, earning positive international reviews on MusicWeb International, ClassicsToday.com, and Fanfare Archive. The first album, with music by Gorczycki, was awarded the Wrocław Music Prize in 2013. In 2013, 2015, 2017–2021, 2023 the albums were nominated for a prestigious Polish music award, Fryderyk. In 2019, Mielczewski II won a Fryderyk and in 2021 – Mikołaj Zieleński (both in the Album of the Year – Early Music category). In 2015, the group released The Salzburg Marian Mass (with liturgical music by Mozart) in collabora­tion with the NFM Boys’ Choir under the baton of Andrzej Kosendiak. In 2022, the ensemble released their first vinyl disc with Gorczycki’s Completorium and the CD Marcin Józef Żebrowski – Vesperae in Visitatione Beatae Mariae Virginis (awarded Fryderyk 2023 and nominated for Opus Klassik). Their latest album is Musica liturgica recorded with the organist Marcin Szelest. It features all the preserved works by Marcin Leopolita, alongside anonymous pieces coming from tablatures, works by Wacław of Szamotuły and two world premiere recordings of compositions by Francesco Maffon.

The ensemble has appeared at major international festivals, such as Wratislavia Cantans, Ohrid Summer, Emilia Romagna Festival, Usedomer Musikfestival, and Ljubljana Festival, as well as performing in numerous cities in Poland and Europe.

Wrocław Baroque Ensemble:

Aldona Bartnik, Aleksandra Turalska – sopranos
Piotr Olech, Bartosz Wasiluk – countertenors
Florian Cramer, Maciej Gocman – tenors
Volodymyr Andrushchak, Jaromír Nosek – basses
Zbigniew Pilch (koncertmistrz), Victoria Melik, Michał Piotrowski – 1st violins
Mikołaj Zgółka, Vida Bobin-Sokołowska, Małgorzata Kosendiak – 2nd violins
Marzena Malinowska, Agnieszka Papierska – violas
Krzysztof Karpeta – cello, violone
Julia Karpeta – viola da gamba, violone
Łukasz Macioszek – double bass
Agnieszka Gorajska, Radosław Orawski – transverse flutes
Noelia Melian, Peter Tabori – oboes
Tomasz Wesołowski – bassoon
Fruzsina Hara, Bence Samodai, Peter Solymosi – trumpets          
Marton Szives – timpani
Přemysl Vacek – lute
Marta Niedźwiecka – chest organ

Music of the First Commonwealth

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland within the framework of the programme "Inspiring Culture".