Mikołaj Gomółka (c. 1535 – after 30 April 1591, most probably 5 March 1609) was a

Polish Renaissance The Renaissance in Poland ( pl, Renesans, Odrodzenie; literally: the Rebirth) lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Crown ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, and member of the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

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 ...

, where he was a singer, flutist and trumpeter. Gomółka was born in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Provi ...

. Between 1545 and 1563 he stayed at the royal court, where he learned to play the

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, the 'sztort' (an old Polish

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

, prototype of the

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

), the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

, and then he became a royal chapel musician with full rights. Having left the court he fulfilled various social and legal functions in Sandomierz; for some time he stayed at the court of the

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

bishop

Piotr Myszkowski Piotr Myszkowski can refer to: * Piotr Myszkowski (bishop) Piotr Myszkowski (c. 1510 – 1591) was a 16th-century Roman Catholic Bishop of Plock and Kraków, in Poland. Early life Piotr Myszkowski was born about 1510 at Przeciszów into the Ja ...

(to whom he dedicated his work "Melodies for the Polish Psalter"); he conducted mining researches near

Muszyna Muszyna is a town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. Population: 4,989 (2006). It is a railroad junction, located near border with Slovakia, with trains going into three directions - towards Nowy Sącz, Krynica-Zdrój and southwards, ...

and also stayed at the court of

Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski ( la, Ioannes Zamoyski de Zamoscie; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Cha ...

, where he was still living on 30 April 1591; this is the last known date of his life. The only preserved work by Gomółka is a collection of 150 independent compositions to the text of

David's Psalter ''David's Psalter'' (original Polish title: ''Psalterz Dawidow'')The form ''Dawidow'' here is not a genitive plural, as it would be in standard modern Polish, but the masculine singular nominative form of a possessive adjective, meaning "of David ...

Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz. ...

, for four-part unaccompanied

mixed choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

. The music is fully subordinated to the contents and the expressive layer of the text; he illustrates the mood or particular words by means of musical devices. In some works the composer applies dance rhythms characteristic of

canzonetta In music, a canzonetta (; pl. canzonette, canzonetti or canzonettas) is a popular Italian secular vocal composition that originated around 1560. Earlier versions were somewhat like a madrigal but lighter in style—but by the 18th century, especial ...

. Th
"Melodies for the Polish Psalter"
are a valuable monument of Old Polish culture showing the lay achievements of the

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 ...

adapted to the Polish conditions.

Music

*"Melodies for the Polish Psalter" ("Melodiae na Psałterz polski"") of Mikołaj Gomółka was recorded in 1996 on CD by

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

Warsaw Music Society's medieval instruments ensemble -Ars Nova and vocal ensemble Il Canto. CD got award of the Polish music industry

Fryderyk The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK's BR ...

in category of

in 1996.List of Ars Nova LP`s.
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References

External links

Works by Mikołaj Gomółka in National Digital Library of Poland (Polona)
Renaissance composers 1530s births 1609 deaths Polish composers People from Sandomierz People from Yazlovets Polish male classical composers {{Poland-composer-stub