How great was the power of the state that came to being with the union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569 is perhaps easiest to comprehend when one examines the map of Europe at that time. However, the strength of the Commonwealth was by no means limited to territorial dominance of nearly one million square kilometers. The September concerts of the Music First cycle will bring closer the scale of the cultural influences that this union had over the continent. The Old Polish musical heritage will be presented by the Wrocław Baroque Ensemble and maestro Andrzej Kosendiak in the historical interiors of Wrocław’s churches.
During the first event of the series, the musicians will turn to the masterpieces by Mikołaj Zieleński. At the beginning of the 17th century, he worked at the court of Wojciech Baranowski, the Bishop of Płock, later Archbishop of Gniezno and Primate of Poland. Although in the composer’s lifetime Wrocław lay outside the borders of Poland, fate created strong ties between the artist and the Silesian capital. The only complete set of partbooks for two bound collections of works by this Warka-born composer was kept here, in Wrocław, a the Municipal Library – until the Second World War. These collections – titled Offertoria Totius Anni and Communiones Totius Anni and printed in Venice in 1611 – contain the entirety of Zieleński’s legacy that has survived to this day.
History bound the composer even more closely to the city on the Oder when the Wrocław Baroque Ensemble released two albums with recordings of his music. The Lower Silesian city became a significant protagonist of the second of these records, released only a few months ago. The selection of works on that album was guided by how they connect with saints vital to Wrocław’s cultural identity. We will hear these compositions by Zieleński in the second part of the concert, at the Church of St Stanislaus, St Dorothy, and St Wenceslaus. Earlier in the evening, artists will perform pieces from the album first released in 2020, selected and arranged to tell the story of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.