Double Bach Filharmonia Narodowa

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Double Bach
Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, photo: Łukasz Rajchert

For more than three centuries, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has moved listeners with extraordinary power. At its heart lies relationship, and Double Bach offers an opportunity to deepen that experience of dialogue. In Bach's double concertos for two soloists, the point is not rivalry or dazzling display. Even in their most virtuosic passages, they remain a sounding record of relationship, concentration and attentiveness to another person.

The Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043, is one of the most frequently performed violin concertos in history. Its enduring popularity stems not only from its masterly structure and virtuosity, but also from the extraordinary emotional tension created between the two solo parts. The Concerto in C major for Two Harpsichords, BWV 1061.2, by contrast, grew out of a chamber duet, to which Bach most likely added the orchestral part only later. The work is shaped by the intimate relationship between the two solo instruments.

Composed during Bach’s early creative period, the Sinfonia from the cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21, delights with its subtle orchestration and exceptional emotional depth. The Concerto in C minor for Oboe and Violin, BWV 1060R, on the other hand, conceals an intriguing story behind the letter ‘R’. The original score has not survived, and the modern version was reconstructed from Bach's later concerto for two harpsichords.

The Wrocław Baroque Orchestra is one of Poland’s leading period-instrument ensembles. It is one of those ensembles that bring masterpieces written three hundred years ago vividly to life through the freshness and vitality of their interpretations. Their concerts are intense, deeply engaging musical experiences, performed with passion and imagination. Jarosław Thiel, an outstanding cellist who has shaped the character of the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra since its foundation, is one of the leading figures of Poland’s early music scene. His interpretations combine historical awareness with naturalness and dramatic flair, achieving a result that is at once remarkably precise and contemporary in its emotional impact.

The soloists, Aleksandra Rupocińska and Ewa Mrowca, are two outstanding harpsichordists who rank among the leading artists on Poland’s early music scene. They combine virtuosity with lightness, and precision with musical freedom. In Bach’s music, they create a dialogue of great subtlety, in which the harpsichord becomes the true centre of the musical narrative.

 

Maria Peryt

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NFM Wrocław Baroque Orchestra

Founded in 2006 by Andrzej Kosendiak, it is a resident ensemble of the Witold Lutosławski National Forum of Music, one of the few cultural institutions in Poland boasting its own Baroque orchestra playing period instruments. Since its inception, the orchestra’s artistic director has been the superb cellist Jarosław Thiel.

Today, the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra is considered to be one of the most important Polish ensembles playing period instruments. Its achievements and high artistic level result in cooperation with the greatest names of the international early music scene. The ensemble has performed under the baton of such conductors as Philippe Herreweghe, Giovanni Antonini, Andrew Parrott, Masaaki Suzuki, Ivor Bolton, Martin Haselböck and Paul McCreesh. It also has invited excellent ensembles, including the Orchester Wiener Akademie, Bach Collegium Japan, Collegium Vocale Gent, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Gli Angeli Geneve, and outstanding soloists such as Vivica Genaux, Andreas Scholl, Ian Bostridge, Julia Lezhneva, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Giuliano Carmignola, Regula Mühlemann, Renata Pokupić, Jakub Józef Orliński and Jean-Guihen Queyras.

In 2017, an album Haydn The Seasons 1801 was released, the result of the orchestra’s collaboration with Paul McCreesh and his Gabrieli Consort & Players (Gramophone magazine’s ‘Best Choral Recording 2017’ nomination, BBC Music Magazine’s ‘Record of the Month’). In 2018, the album 17th‑Century Sacred Music in Wrocław, recorded with Gli Angeli Geneve and Concerto Palatino under the direction of Stephan MacLeod was released by Claves Records. The CD received the 2019 International Classical Music Award in the ‘Baroque Music, Vocal’ category. In 2022, the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra’s latest albums were released: Johann David Heinichen – Dresden Vespers (world phonographic premiere; Accent), recorded with Ensemble Polyharmonique, and Kings in the North, recorded with baritone Tomáš Král (nominated in several categories for the Opus Klassik award) – both conducted by Jarosław Thiel.

 

[2024]

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