The Spanish capital held concerts dedicated to old world music in a series organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Institute in Madrid
Polish musicians performed in Madrid in order to promote the "Golden Age of the Polish Republic" exhibition, currently ongoing at the city's Royal Palace. Until the 4th of September museum-goers can see the most accomplished works of art and cultural heritage of the Polish republic from the times of Kazimierz the Great till the loss of independence in 1795.
The Arte dei Suonatori orchestra as well as the OCTAVA Ensemble performed as part of the "Music of the Setting Sun" festival series, organised by the Spanish Patrimonio Nacional and held in San Lorenzo del Escorial and La Granja de San Ildefonso. Both areas are located on the outskirts of Madrid and are places of cultural heritage. In Escorialu there is a monastery which the Spanish have called the 'eighth wonder of the world' built by Phillip II in the sixteenth century. As well as housing a palace and monastery, Escorial also served as a burial area for Spanish kings. The museums of Escorial are particularly known for displaying works by sixteenth century Italian painter Titian. Museum collections also house paintings by El Greco, Veronese, Tintoretto and Velazquez.
The Arte dei Suonatori orchestra performed a concert in the courtyard of the Patio de Carruajes. The programme included works by Telemann and Vivaldi. The orchestra is one of the best baroque- music orchestras in the world, giving a total of almost 100 concerts annually in addition to hosting five old-world music festivals in Poland. Arte dei Suonatori CD releases have gained international musical prasie from publications such as: Diapason d'Or, Gramophone Editor's Choice, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Luister 10, 10 de Repertoire, Classics Today and Classic CD. In 2003 British classical music magazine Gramophone awarded the group's "La Stravaganza" (featuring Vivaldi concetos recorded by the orchestra with British violinist Rachel Podger) with an award for the best CD in the category of "baroque instrumental music".
The OCTAVA Ensemble gave two concerts in the Spanish capital: one in the gardens of Casita del Principe (a palace designed by one of the most important neoclassical architects in Spain-Juan de Villanueve) and the second in Casa de las Flores in La Granja de San Ildefonso. The group, which has been hailed by music critics as one of the most interesting vocal ensembles of the younger generation, was quick to establish its prominent position among Polish chamber music circles. They perform a repertoire of songs from a variety of musical genres and eras, ranging from music from the Middle Ages to contemporary compositions, even finding inspiration in both jazz and rock melodies. The group's artistic director is Zygmunt Magiera, a Krakow music academy graduate and laureat of the First Prize at the XII Polish Choir Conductors Compeition in Poznan as well as the 2nd prize in The International Choral Conducting Competition "Towards Polyphony". In Spain they performed a repertoire with compositions by Mikołaj Zieleński, Bartłomiej Pękiel, Mikołaj Gomółek, Wacław z Szamotuł and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki.
Date: 15-17th of July, 2011
Venue: San Lorenzo del Escorial and La Granja de San Ildefonso, Madrid
Organised by: the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Polish Institute in Madrid
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute