Performers
- Maciej Skrzeczkowski harpsichord
Programme
John Bull
Carol Een Kindeken is ons geboren [3’]
Lord Lumley’s Pavan and Galliard [8’]
Duke of Brunswick’s Alman [2’]
Duchess of Brunswick’s Toy [1’]
My Self [2’]
In Nomine [V] [4’]
In Nomine [IX] [6’]
Chromatic Pavan and Galliard [9’]
Bull’s Good Night [4’]
Melancholy Pavan and Galliard [8’]
Pavan and Galliard ‘Saint Thomas, Wake!’ [5’]
Salvator mundi [II] [3’]
Concert description
Polish premiere of the album The Real John Bull (Ricercar 2024).
During the concert we will get to one of the sources of harpsichord music, which is considered to be the works of English virginalists from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. An outstanding representative of this musical trend is John Bull – an intriguing composer, in whose life two opposing natures constantly clashed: that of a pious organist and academic, and that of a hedonist and wastrel, causing numerous moral scandals. The artist’s turbulent personality was reflected in his work: absolute polyphonic mastery and rigorous adherence to the rules of counterpoint sit side-by-side with uncouthness, whimsical virtuosity and unexpected harmonic turns. The recital program will be filled with a wide range of musical forms present in the English composer’s oeuvre: from keyboard miniatures, through pavanes and galliards, to grandiose fantasias and plainsongs. The guide through this repertoire will be Maciej Skrzeczkowski, a young harpsichordist and pianist, who in 2023 became the first Pole to win the prestigious Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges. With his performance, the artist is promoting his debut album, The Real John Bull, which showcases the Englishman’s compositions in their original virginal sound.
– Maciej Skrzeczkowski