Mikołaj Zieleński (Zelenscius, fl. 1611) was a Polish
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 def ...
,
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
and ''
Kapellmeister
( , , ), from German (chapel) and (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 has evolved considerably in i ...
'' to the primate Baranowski, Archbishop of
Gniezno
Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...
.
Neither the date of his birth nor of his death are known; documents from
Płock Cathedral
Płock Cathedral (), or the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Masovia, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Płock, in central Poland. It is an example of 12th-century Romanesque architecture and is the oldest and most important hi ...
state he was from
Warka
Warka () is a town in east-central Poland, located on the left bank of the Pilica river ( south of Warsaw), with 11,858 inhabitants (2013). It has been situated in Grójec County, in the Masovian Voivodeship, since 1999; previously it was in t ...
and show him to have been a member of the diocese in 1604 and organist in 1606, and in 1611 he married and was involved in a court case. The March 1611 dedication of his book places him at the Archbishop's court in
Łowicz
Łowicz is a town in central Poland with 27,436 inhabitants (2021). It is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Together with a nearby station of Bednary, Łowicz is a major rail junction of central Poland, where the line from Warsaw splits into ...
, and that Baranowski hired no replacement suggests he may have survived his patron, who died in 1615.
Zieleński's only known surviving works are contained in two 1611
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
cycles of polychoral works, the ''Offertoria/Communes totius anni''. These were dedicated to the
Archbishop of Gniezno
This is a list of archbishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno, Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primate (bishop), primates of Poland since 1418.Wojciech Baranowski. The whole comprises eight part-books and a ninth book, the ''Partitura pro organo'', which constitutes the organ accompaniment. This publication contains in all 131 pieces written for various vocal and also vocal and instrumental ensembles, all with organ accompaniment.
In addition to Offertories and Communions the two volume Venetian publication contains over a dozen other pieces, such as
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'' d ...
s,
antiphon
An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are usually taken from the Psalms or Scripture, but may also be freely compo ...
s, a
magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...
, and even three instrumental fantasias. In his compositions Zieleński relies on his own creative invention and does not, in general, make use of the '' cantus firmi.'' The few pre-existing melodies which may be traced out in his pieces are based not on plainsong but on the melodies of Polish songs. The sets consist of large-scale double- and triple-choir antiphons, as well as some monodic works typical of the '' Seconda pratica'' style of early Monteverdi. Zieleński's music is the first known Polish music set in the style of the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
.
Works
*''Offertoria totius anni, Venetijs, Apud Iacobum Vincentium MDCXI 1611''
*''Mikołaj Zieleński, Offertoria et communiones''
*''Magnificat''
Sources
*Mirosław Perz, article "Mikołaj Zieleński" in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 2001.
*Mikolaj Zieleński ''Opera omnia'' ed. W. Malinowski and Z. Jachimecki in ''Monumenta Musicae in Polonia'' (ser.a, i/1–) Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne S.A., (5 vols 1966–91 a 6th has appeared since