This is a distant excursion from home base for the British choir the Sixteen, for which familiarity of repertory is generally part of the plan. The music heard here, by composer Bartlomiej Pekiel (active 1633-1670), is little known outside Poland. Indeed, the Polish Baroque, which attracted plenty of Italian composers in its day, provides fertile ground for choirs looking to perform unknown masterpieces. The style of the music is in general what you would expect from a composer keeping close tabs on the latest music from ...
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This is a distant excursion from home base for the British choir the Sixteen, for which familiarity of repertory is generally part of the plan. The music heard here, by composer Bartlomiej Pekiel (active 1633-1670), is little known outside Poland. Indeed, the Polish Baroque, which attracted plenty of Italian composers in its day, provides fertile ground for choirs looking to perform unknown masterpieces. The style of the music is in general what you would expect from a composer keeping close tabs on the latest music from Italy; Pekiel was the first native-born Polish composer to crack what had been a scene dominated by imports. There are several short motets in Renaissance stile antico , as well as masses in the newer concerted style, with solos and various contrasts of massed groups accompanied by a small continuo-based instrumental ensemble. Pekiel's realizations of these styles are unique. Most interesting is the torso of the Missa à 14, of which only the Kyrie and Gloria have survived. To...
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