Audite, Gentes! – Psalms of the Golden Age
Psalms by Mikołaj Gomółka to words by Jan Kochanowski: excerpts from Melodie na psałterz polski [Melodies on the Polish Psalter], arranged by Fernando Reyes
Paulina Ceremużyńska (soprano), Fernando Reyes (vihuela, Renaissance guitar) and Carlos Castro (percussion)
CDAccord ACD214 (release date: April 14, 2015)
Melodies for the Polish Psalter by Mikołaj Gomółka is a collection of 150 four-voice compositions intended as a musical setting for Jan Kochanowski’s poetic translation of the Book of Psalms. It ranks among the most significant works of Polish culture. Seemingly simple in style, Gomółkas Melodies are a true compendium of various musical forms. The performing practice was a lot less rigid than we might think today. The musical score of each psalm was really a proposal, opening up the possibility for many different interpretations, i.e. for several voices accompanied by lute, organ or other instruments; for solo voice accompanied by lute, vihuela or other harmonic or melodic instruments. Melodies could also be accompanied by percussion instruments, since the presence of dance forms can be found in many of Gomółkas psalms. Those same dances could also be included in the interpretation of Melodies as ritornelli or preludes. Mikołaj Gomółkas work offers rich interpretive possibilities. Its version for lute (by lute we also mean the vihuela and the renaissance guitar) is perhaps the one that lets us approach the text most closely and the one that moves the affections most. (by Fernando Reyes, reprinted from amazon.com)
[Source: press release, naxos.com, amazon.com]