This Friday, December 19 at 6:00 p.m. an extraordinary concert, “Rudolphina 2,” will be held in the auditorium of I Liceum Ogólnokształcące in Legnica (Klasztorny Square 7). It will be the second concert in a series presenting works collected in the library of George Rudolf, Duke of Legnica and Brzeg, one of the most extensive music collections in 17th-century Europe. We will hear—taken exclusively from manuscripts—religious works for two choirs (6–8 voices), set to texts from the Holy Scriptures. Their authors include outstanding composers of Europe at the time—O. di Lasso, H. L. Hassler and G. Croce—as well as lesser-known figures: D. Brunetti, R. Giovanelli and A. Agazzari.
The unique motets by the masters of polyphony will be performed by the Wrocław ensemble Cantores Minores Wratislavienses, conducted by Piotr Karpeta. Apart from music lovers in Legnica, they will be heard only by audiences in Warsaw and Wrocław.
The Legnica concert will take place thanks to the Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk w Legnicy, which made the manuscripts in its possession available to the musicians.
The chamber choir Cantores Minores Wratislavienses was founded by E. Kajdasz in 1966. Under the direction of its current conductor, Piotr Karpeta (since 1991), the choir was reduced to 18 singers so that, in line with current performance practices, it could present music from earlier eras. Members of the ensemble also perform in smaller groups, ranging from 4 to 12 people, collaborate with other ensembles in Poland and abroad, and perform as soloists. The ensemble’s repertoire, comprising more than 800 works, encompasses all European music from the Middle Ages to contemporary music.
UM Legnica/ii