Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki
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Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (ca. 1665 to 1667 – 30 April 1734) was a Polish
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
composer. Considered one of the greatest composers of Polish
Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...
, during his lifetime he was called the "Polish
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
".


Life

Born in Rozbark near
Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital ...
in Silesia, then
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
-ruled Kingdom of Bohemia around 1665, little is known of his early life. Similarly little is known about his musical education; however, it is known that he attended the University of Prague, where he graduated from the department of Liberal Arts and Philosophy, and then attended the University of Vienna, where he gained a licentiate in theology. He arrived in Kraków in 1689 or 1690, where he then attended the Catholic Seminary. He was ordained on 22 March 1692. Following his ordination, he was appointed to the academy for missionary priests in Chełmno in Pomerania, where he lectured in rhetoric and poetry, as well as conducting the local orchestra. After two years, he returned to Kraków, where he was appointed
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
of the cathedral, and performed in the cathedral orchestra. He was appointed conductor on 10 January 1698, and remained in this position until his death on 30 April 1734. The earliest recorded information on any of Gorczycki's works comes from 1694, but he must have written a substantial amount before 1698 in order to be appointed ''
Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
.'' Unfortunately none of his compositions were ever published during his lifetime, so most of them have been lost; 39 works can, however, be attributed to him with surety.


Works

Gorczycki wrote mainly church music: unaccompanied compositions for choir, sometimes with b.c. accompaniment in the ''stile antico'' (
motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...
s, masses, songs), as well as vocal-instrumental works with b.c. accompaniment in the ''stile moderno'' featuring rich, concertato technique, multi-sectional and verse sacred concertos as well as ensemble
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...
s. Gorczycki is regarded as an outstanding Polish composer of the high
baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
. He used the most advanced achievements of the compositional techniques of the time. His work is essentially divided into three strands:


Works in the ''Stile Antico''

These are works for 4 part choir, either ''
a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
'' or with small accompanying ensemble. It is here we see Gorczycki's mastery of counterpoint; he wrote masses, as well as arrangements of introits, antiphons,
offertories The offertory (from Medieval Latin ''offertorium'' and Late Latin ''offerre'') is the part of a Eucharistic service when the bread and wine for use in the service are ceremonially placed on the altar. A collection of alms (offerings) from the co ...
and hymns which all belong to this category. Examples include: *''Missa paschalis'' *''Missa "Rorate"'' *''Sepulto Domino'' *''Tota pulchra es Maria'' *''Dignare me laudare te'' *''Ave Maria''


Works in the ''Concertante'' style

This style was more popular at the time, as opposed to the Renaissance style of the above works. These works were composed for small ensemble and choir. Examples include: *''Laetatus sum'' *''In virtute tua'' *''Conductus funebris'' *''Completorium'' *''Illuxit sol'' *''Litaniae de Providentia Divina''


Instrumental works

Whilst this section of his work is small, it is known that Gorczycki did write instrumental pieces; in 1962 evidence of a ''Ball Polonaise'' was discovered, however only a violin part remains. There is also evidence that the orchestra of Wieluń had Gorczycki's ''Ouverture ex D'' in its repertory.


External links


Cantus Quercus Press' short biographyRecording of ''Laetatus sum''
* Polish Language Wikipedia entry for Gorczycki * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorczycki, Grzegorz Gerwazy 1660s births 1734 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians Polish Baroque composers Polish classical composers Polish male classical composers 16th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests People from Bytom 17th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests