Marcin Józef Żebrowski I
The album was recorded by preeminent soloists, The NFM Choir and Wrocław Baroque Orchestra conducted by Andrzej Kosendiak – many-time winners of the Fryderyk award. This is another album released as part of a series presenting the work of Polish Baroque masters under the direction of Andrzej Kosendiak. The album features Magnificat, Rorate coeli and Missa Pastoritia composed by Marcin Józef Żebrowski at Jasna Góra.
Marcin Józef Żebrowski I
The album was recorded by preeminent soloists, The NFM Choir and Wrocław Baroque Orchestra conducted by Andrzej Kosendiak – many-time winners of the Fryderyk award. This is another album released as part of a series presenting the work of Polish Baroque masters under the direction of Andrzej Kosendiak. The album features Magnificat, Rorate coeli and Missa Pastoritia composed by Marcin Józef Żebrowski at Jasna Góra.
Date of release: 2019
Publishers: National Forum of Music, CD Accord
Conductor: Andrzej Kosendiak
Performers: Jian Hui Mo, Matthew Venner, Maciej Gocman, Felix Schwandtke, NFM Boys' Choir, Małgorzata Podzielny, NFM Choir, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra
Signs and symbols occupy a very important place in all spheres of our lives. They organise our world, help in understanding it, give us a sense of identification. Having a cultural significance, they function as carriers of ideas and emotions. Their presence is characteristic of religion, but also of art – they have been used in every artistic expression since antiquity.
One of the most important Polish symbols is the image of the Black Madonna – an icon surrounded by a special religious cult, also having a great historical significance. The same is true of the Jasna Góra sanctuary itself, which for hundreds of years has been the goal of numerous pilgrimages, and is, after all, an extremely important place on the map of artistic achievements, especially in the art of music. In the 18th century, Jasna Góra was a thriving cultural centre, which is confirmed by the collections from that time kept in the archives of the Pauline monastery. The works by Marcin Józef Żebrowski featured on this album are the best example of late Baroque European creativity – both from the formal point of view, as well as considering craftsmanship, rhetoric, sound qualities and emotional charge. All these qualities place the composer’s work on a par with recognised masterpieces created in other countries at that time and testify to the highest level of Polish music of the 18th century.
For this recording, we used a male vocal ensemble in line with the performance practice of that period, in which the part of the highest voice is performed by a treble. This homogeneous line-up worked perfectly – it turned out to be unique primarily due to its one-of-a-kind sound capacity.
We believe that you will be delighted with the wonderful works of Marcin Józef Żebrowski and, like us during the rehearsals and recordings, will relish them as you get to know them. We also hope that Jasna Góra will again become, like centuries ago, a symbol and synonym of the highest artistic craftsmanship.
Andrzej Kosendiak
Awards: Nomination for Fryderyk 2020
