"•Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki's (c. 1666-1734) Missa Rorate is a composition destined for vocal performance by soloists and four-part choir. • The work’s score, lacking all the vocal elements necessary for a High Mass, compelled the composer to furnish some original parts. Completorium is the last hour of the day, said before resting. • The Completorium is festive in nature, i.e. sung to close holiday celebrations. • The soloist and choir are accompanied by an instrumental ensemble, adding much splendor."

"•The fourth CD release in Dux's Musica Sacra series features the world-premiere recording of Pawel Łukaszewski's Missa De Maria A Magdala to a text by Sylvester J. Kwiatkowski. • Mr. Łukaszewski is currently Artistic Director and Conductor of the ‘Musica Sacra’ Choir of the Warsaw-Praga Cathedral and of the Musica Sacra Edition. • Conductor Jan Borowski leads the Śląska Orkiestra Kameralna."

Considering Schubert's particular emotional stage in the early 1820s, it's no wonder he was deeply moved by Wilhelm Muller's story of a miller who finds his eternal relief in the waters of the stream that bore witness to his sorrow.

CLASSICS OF CHAMBER MUSIC OF 2

The Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot was established by Wojciech Rajski in 1982 and consists of dynamic musicians, all of whom are soloists in their own right. Its typical sound—fire, precision and lightness or, to say it with others words, vitality, discipline and elegance—is praised by the critics worldwide.

ELSymphonica

This Dux double CD brings to the fore the somewhat forgotten composer Alexander Kulikowski (1915-93). Hailing from Vilnius he settled in Warsaw after the end of WWII, where he took up teaching and composing. Disc One of this set comprises duo chamber works, including a suite for cello and piano, and the Mountain Triptych for small chamber ensemble. Disc two contains songs, some with texts written by Kulikowski himself, sung by soprano Anna Mikolajczyk accompanied by pianist Edward Wolanin.

MADRIGALS

Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) was a most original composer, prominent pianist and noted theorist. + He was greatly influenced by J. S. Bach’s music; his piano transcriptions of Bach’s works, called the Bach-Busoni transcriptions, are justifiably famous and oft recorded. + Pianist Łukasz Kwiatkowski is author of the book J. S. Bach’s Music in the Piano Works of Ferruccio Busoni (in Polish, Lublin: Polihymnia, 2013). + An international and national music competition prizewinner in piano and chamber music, he often gives recitals and concerts as soloist and chamber participant at home and abroad.

Siewinski: Requiem

Radomska Orkiestra Kameralna consists of 16 musicians, working under Maciej Żółtowski as the ensemble’s Manag­ing and Artistic Director. In addition to regu­lar concerts, the orchestra organizes special events including the Krzysztof Penderecki International Composers’ Competition ARBORETUM. The important part of ROK’s repertoire is music of the 20th and 21st century.

STRING QUARTETS

The late-Romantic German composer Max Reger’s solo viola suites constitute some of the first attempts at independent viola music. +Reger’s fascination with Baroque counterpoint explains his heightened, rich and precise polyphony and loss of a degree of lyricism. +The other works on this CD also largely constitute staple solo viola repertoire. +Ms. Katarzyna Budnik-Gałązka is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and is currently an assistant in the viola class there.

GERMAN CLARINET SONATAS

Jerzy Madrawski belongs to an elite group of accordionists who do not content themselves with performing the existing accordion repertoire. The main goal of his artistic activity is to collaborate with composers, popularize new music and look for new pieces for transcription. Impressions for the Accordion, showcasing a diversity of ensembles, includes pieces dedicated to him by Andrzej Tuchowski, transcriptions of works by Krzysztof Olczak and Juliusz Karcz, a new instrumental version of The Music of Time and Space, and chamber pieces by Finnish composers Heikki Vappola and Matti Murto.