Wacław z Szamotuł ( Szamotuły, near

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, c. 1520 – c. 1560,

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 (2005). Pińczów belongs to the historic Polish province of Lesser Poland, a ...

), also called Wacław Szamotulski and (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

) Venceslaus Samotulinus, was a Polish composer.

Life

Wacław z Szamotuł was a student at the

Lubrański Academy The Lubrański Academy ( Polish: ''Akademia Lubrańskiego''; Latin: ''Collegium Lubranscianum'') was a university college that was established in 1518 in Poznań by Bishop Jan Lubrański. It was the first school with university aspirations in Pozna ...

later studying at

Kraków University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

in 1538. In 1547 or 1548 he was appointed composer to the court of

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

. In 1555 Wacław left Kraków, having received the title of "royal composer." Nevertheless, during Szamotuly's lifetime his music was known outside of Poland. He died early, and only a few of his works survive. In the words of

Szymon Starowolski Szymon Starowolski (1588 – 1656; Simon Starovolscius) was a writer, scholar and historian in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was probably born near Pruzhany, and died near Kraków. He was a very prolific writer, and left behind over 70 ...

, who wrote the first concise biography of Wacław, "If the gods had let him live longer, the Poles would have no need to envy the Italians their

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

Lappi Lappi is the name for several geographical areas. In Finland: * Lappi is the Finnish name for Sápmi (area), Lapland and the Lapland (Finland), northernmost region of Finland. ** Laponia (historical province), a historical province of Sweden (inclu ...

or Vedana." His

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 ''In te Domine speravi'' and ''Ego sum pastor bonus'' were the first Polish musical compositions to be published abroad. According to

Gustave Reese Gustave Reese ( ; 29 November 1899 – 7 September 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications ''Music in the Middle Ages'' (1940) ...

, Wacław's style may be seen in both of these motets; "the constant overlapping of phrases and full-fledged imitative style reveal Franco-Netherlandish influence."

Works

Motets (''Motety'') * ''In te, Domine, speravi'' (published in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, 1554) * ''Ego sum pastor bonus'' (published in

, 1564) * ''Nunc scio vere'' Songs (''Pieśńi'') * ''Alleluja, Chwalcie Pana Alleluia'' (''Laudate Dominum omnes gentes'' — Hallelujah, Praise the Lord) * ''Nakłoń, Panie, ku mnie ucho Twoje'' (Turn Thy Ear to Me, O Lord) * ''Kryste dniu naszej światłości'' (O Christ, Day of Our Light) — a

Lenten Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

compline Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times. The English wo ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

(c. 800) * ''Błogosławiony człowiek'' (''Beatus vir, qui non abiit...'' — Blessed Is the Man) * ''Modlitwa, gdy dziatki spać idą'' or ''Już się zmierzka'' (A Prayer When the Children Go To Sleep). This is perhaps his best-known composition.

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

(born 1933) has used this beautiful

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

melody in at least three compositions: ''Chorale in the Form of a Canon'' (1961/1984), ''Old Polish Music'' (1969), and the ''First String Quartet'' (1988), subtitled ''Już się zmierzcha'' (Dusk is Approaching). * ''Pieśń o narodzeniu Pańskim'' or ''Pochwalmyż wszytcy społem'' (Song of the Nativity) * ''Powszechna spowiedź'' (Daily Confession). This composition has a

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

texture, meaning that essentially all the notes occur at the same time, as contrasted with imitative polyphony.

Citations

References

External links

Scores by Wacław of Szamotuły in National Digital Library of Poland (Polona)
1520s births 1560s deaths People from Szamotuły Polish Calvinist and Reformed Christians Renaissance composers Polish composers Jagiellonian University alumni Polish male classical composers {{poland-composer-stub

Life

Works

See also

Citations

References

External links