 |
 |
 |
|
Cyprian Bazylik, Cyprian of Sieradz, Ciprianus Siradiensis was born into a burgher family in Sieradz in c. 1535. It is believed that he studied Theology at the Jagellonian University in Kraków from about 1550. In 1557 he was granted nobility and was given the surname of Bazylik. At that time he was a clerk at the court of King Zygmunt August I. From 1558 he joined the supporters of the Reformation led by Mikołaj Czarny Radziwiłł at the court in Vilnius, where he was first a musician, and later a translator. Bazylik was highly regarded as a translator and was responsible for Polish translations of, for example, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski's O poprawie Rzeczypospolitej (On the Reform of the Commonwealth). In 1569-70 he ran a Calvinist printing house in Brest Litovsk. He died later than 1600.
Today we know 15 of Cypriana’s hymns and songs, which are presented on this CD. The collection of hymns which Bazylik composed for Albrecht Hohenzollern has not survived. The pieces on the CD come from Renaissance prints from the Kraków workshops of Andrysowic, Sibenreicher, Wierzbi ta and the hymnals of Zaremba and Seklucjan. Contemporary editions by Zygmunt M. Szweykowski and Piotr Pożniak have been helpful in studying them.
Cyprian Bazylik’s songs and hymns, composed in his youth, stand alongside the compositions of Wacław of Szamotuły, Mikołaj Gomółka and Sebastian Klonowic, as outstanding examples of the music of the Polish Renaissance. They are part of the repertoire of many Polish ensembles. This recording however contains the largest number of Bazylik's pieces; there is musical ornamentation introduced through the use of Renaissance instruments, and musical intervals which contain improvisation. In this way the musical drama is built up, and the literary and vocal narratives are complemented by the instrumental. The songs are based on the most expressive verses, selected from the whole literary output.
The last three pieces on the CD have been handed down to us as songs for a single voice, but the author of the adaptation, Jacek Urbaniak, has reconstructed the remaining three voices (soprano, alto, bass) which are played by instruments, in Renaissance style. In this recording of the hymns of Cyprian of Sieradz, a fellow-townsman, the Sieradz Cantilena choir underlines the strength of the central tenor voice, the cantus firmus, which was in Renaissance times the foundation of choral singing.
All the songs are religious, calling for a life without sin, in harmony with God, man and nature. Bazylik himself wrote of the influence of music on man: ... simple by singing, or playing music on some instrument, I gladden my heart ...
Jacek Urbaniak (Translation: Emma Harris)
source: https://www.sonusantiqva.org/i/A/ArsNovaW/2012Cyp...
Selections:
| 1. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Pius Song, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 2. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: O God, the heathen are come into thine, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 3. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Song about dangers oh human life, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 4. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 5. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Song of the Gospel removed, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 6. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Blessed is every one, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 7. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Lord's Goodless, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 8. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Our Father, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 9. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: The New Song, in which we thank Almighty, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 10. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: New Christian Song, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 11. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Out of the depths, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 12. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Abstain from the company of malevolent people, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 13. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Song of the morning, when the sun rises, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 14. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Farewell Christian every day, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
| 15. Cyprian Bazylik of Sieradz: Benedicto Men, Chór Cantilena, Sieradz, Subtilior Ensemble, Ensemble Ars Nova, Jacek Urbaniak |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
Features
- Compact disc 56 selections
- 21 page English/Polish language booklet with historical notes about the music.
- Performed by Ars Nova, The Warsaw Music Society's medieval instruments ensemble.
- Total Time 57:25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|