Capella Cracoviensis | November 25, 2023 | House Program

only uses chromatic dissonance to equally inspire
expressiveness, but also displays a high-level of
imitative counterpoint where the same melodic
idea moves through all five parts.
Giovanni Gabrieli, the principal organist and
composer of Venice’s St. Mark’s Basilica from
1585 until his death in 1612, benefited from
the mentorship of his uncle, Andrea Gabrieli,
and similarly returned the favour to the many
composers who visited Venice from across
Europe, including Heinrich Schütz. The three,
4-part choirs that Giovanni Gabrieli used in
dialogue in the Magnificat setting is an excellent
example of resonantly glorious choral writing and
Zieleński’s 12-part version is similarly impressive.
Another Venetian composer, Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643), was equally adept at writing
beautiful choral music that combines chordal
writing with florid counterpoint as can be heard
in this six-part setting of the Good Friday text,
Adoramus te, Christe (We Adore Thee, O Christ).
J.S. Bach knew and studied the music of Heinrich
Schütz and Johann Schein, with Schein also
having served as the Cantor of the St. Thomas
Church in Leipzig from 1615-1630, a post Bach
held from 1723-1750. Schütz’s Syncharma
Musicum: En novus Elysiis, is the only secular
work on this program and is a very triumphant
ceremonial motet written for the 1621 swearing
of allegiance of the Silesian nobility to Johann
Georg of Saxony as the representative of
Emperor Ferdinand.
A distant relative of J. S. Bach, the older church
organist and composer, Johann Michael Bach,
later became more closely connected through
marriage when his youngest daughter, Maria
Barbara, married Johann Sebastian in 1707. In
J.M. Bach’s funeral motet, Herr, wenn ich nur
dich haben (Lord, if I have you alone), it is worth
listening closely to the soprano’s ornamented
chorale because it is the same melody used in
the J. S. Bach motet that ends today’s concert.
As with J. M. Bach’s treatment, J.S. Bach places
the chorale melody in the sopranos, but with
contrapuntal ingenuity, treats each phrase of
the melody in imitation in the lower parts
reaching a density of seven separate voices.
©2023 by John Burge for the Isabel
ABOUT CAPELLA CRACOVIENSIS
Capella Cracoviensis (CC) chamber choir and
orchestra is one of the most interesting ensembles
on the contemporary scene of period music.
Its repertoire ranges from Renaissance polyphony
to early Romantic operas performed on period
instruments using historical performance
techniques. CC has been hosted at many
important festivals and concerts halls, including
Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Bachfest Leipzig,
SWR Festspiele Schwetzingen, Händel Festspiele
Halle, Haydn Festspiele Brühl, Opéra Royal
Versailles, Theater an der Wien, the Polish
National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice,
Szczecin Philharmonic and the Misteria Paschalia
Festival in Krakow. The ensemble has already
performed with such eminent guests as Evelino
Pidó, Christophe Rousset, Alessandro Moccia,
Giuliano Carmignola, Paul Goodwin, Andrew
Parrott and Paul McCreesh.
One of CC’s greatest successes was the
performance of all Beethoven’s symphonies
on historical instruments within one day, on 27
August 2016 in Krakow, with live transmission
on the radio. The total of 2300 audience
members could appreciate the mastery of 90
instrumentalists, 44 singers and 5 conductors.
The latest achievements of CC include the first
performance of Wagner’s works on historical
instruments with the participation of Waltraud
Meier (Wesendonck-Lieder) and the recording of
the following operas by Pergolesi and Porpora for
Decca Records: Pergolesi: Adriano in Siria (Fagioli
Basso Sancho Adamus) and Porpora: Germanico
in Germania (Cencic Leznieva Adamus) which
was awarded with Diapason d’Or.
CC’s other albums include Te Deum / Lully
& Charpentier with Le Poème Harmonique
(conducted by Vincent Dumestre) and the
recordings of Bach’s motets (conducted by
Fabio Bonizzoni) for Alpha records as well as
the piano concerto in F minor and the unfinished
symphony by Schubert (Klimsiak / Adamus)
for AviMusic.
In May 2018 CC began the six-year project Haydn:
complete symphonies 2018-2023 including
concerts and live recordings.