Marcin Leopolita (also Marcin z Lwowa; 1537) was one of the most eminent Polish composers of the 16th century. He attended the

Jagiellonian 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 ...

(

Collegium Maius A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their reaf ...

) and may have studied under the Polish composer Sebastian z Felsztyna and Jan Jelen of Tuchola. He was born in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

(now Lviv,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). By the age of 20 he was a member of the royal music ensemble at the court of

Zygmunt August 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 rule ...

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

and

Grand Duke of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

. apparently becoming court composer there in 1560. Few compositions of Leopolita have survived. Four

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, written 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 ...

, (''Cibavit eos'', ''Mihi autem'', ''Resurgente Christo'' and ''Spiritus Domini)'' are preserved in

organ tablature Organ tablature is a form of musical notation used by the north German Baroque organ school, although there are also forms of organ tablature from other countries such as Italy, Spain, Poland, and England. Portions of Johann Sebastian Bach's Orgelb ...

; of these, ''Cibavit Eos'' can be restored with confidence to its original vocal form. All four works are known from a single source, a tablature formerly belonging to the Warsaw Musicological Society which now only survives as a photographic copy, the original having been destroyed during World War Two. This tablature was probably written around 1580 and has been known as the ''Tablature of Martin Leopolita,'' although while Leopolita himself was an organist, his connection with the

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

is uncertain. Leopolita's five-part

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

''Missa paschalis'' is the only 16th century Polish mass to survive intact, and the ''Agnus Dei,'' which adds a sixth voice (a second ''Cantus)'' has the distinction of being the earliest extant example of six-part Polish

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

. It is based on themes from four Polish

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

Easter songs——hence the designation 'Paschalis'—of which ''Chrystus Pan zmartwychwstał'' is the most prominent.

Recordings

* Early Polish Masses Gorczycki: Missa Paschalis Leopolita: Missa Paschalis Mielczewski: Missa super "O Gloriosa Domina" Jaroslaw Malanowicz (organ) Il Canto CD Accord - ACD018 * Waclaw z Szamotul: Songs and Motets and Leopolita: Missa Paschalis Collegium Vocale Bydgoszcz Dux - DUX0248 recorded 1992 and 1994

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopolita, Marcin 1540s births 1580s deaths Polish composers Ukrainian classical composers Jagiellonian University alumni 16th-century composers