Eamonn Dougan & The Sixteen release 3rd Polish CD

30 March 2015

Following on from the success of the first two CDs in The Sixteen’s acclaimed series of Polish music, the first of which was shortlisted for the Gramophone Awards, conductor Eamonn Dougan explores the work of Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (1665–1734) in the third disc, released today.

Regarded as the outstanding Polish composer of the high baroque, Gorczycki studied in Prague and Vienna in his early years and returned to Kraków in 1690 where he took holy orders. He was appointed Magister capellae at Wawel Cathedral in 1698, a position he held until his death. Like his predecessor Bartłomiej Pękiel (COR16110), Gorczycki wrote in both stile antico and stile moderno; the works featured in this recording display his skill in both genres. The Missa Rorate shows his mastery of counterpoint and sensitivity to word-setting, as does Illuxit Sol in which Gorczycki revels in the rhetoric of the text, painting it with lush five-part string writing; Conductus Funebris, a four-movement work setting text from the Burial Service, marries his contrapuntal skills with a more emphatic, declamatory style, while in the Litania de Providentia Divinae, Gorczycki unleashes the full power of his invention as he paints the virtues of "Divine Providence" with a glowing palate of colours. 

Praise for the first two discs was effusive: “This craftsman's masterful music is presented here with an assured charisma by the mighty Sixteen. Eamonn Dougan draws typically golden performances.” Gramophone on Bartłomiej Pękiel (COR16110)

“The Sixteen luxuriate in textures and sonorities, offsetting serene, arching lines with more urgent declamatory passages...basses plummet while sopranos soar into the stratosphere in a swirl of all-embracing sound.” Performance ***** Sound ***** BBC Music Magazine on The Blossoming Vine (COR16123)

All three discs in the Polish Baroque series can be purchased directly from Coro. To watch short videos of Dougan introducing the first two discs visit his client page. For further news follow Eamonn Dougan on Twitter.