Repertoire

Early

MUSIC

Their participation in prestigious music festivals as well as the recording of numerous albums have earned Camerata Silesia the status of one of the best vocal ensembles specialising in early music. They follows the ideals of informed performance on period instruments in their interpretations of vocal-instrumental works of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Such were their concerts with the famous singers Emma Kirkby and Barbara Schlick as well as their performances with ensembles comprising magnificent musicians from Poland and abroad, including Il Tempo and Concerto Polacco, Arte dei Suonatori, Accademia dell’Arcadia.


They took part in two events of historic significance: the premiere of works written by the 17th century composer based at the Jasna Góra Monastery, Aleksander Władysław Leszczyński (performed at the Gaude Mater Festival in Częstochowa in 2007) and concert performances of forgotten, yet rediscovered works of Józef Zeidler at the Musica Sacromontana festival in Gostyń. Both Leszczyński’s and Zeidler’s music has also been recorded and released in CD format.


Their recently released album, “Jasna Góra Early Music vol. 54 – „Dark Lauds” (Musicon 2013), which contains three cycles of responsories composed by Marc’Antonio Ingegneri (1535 – 1592), is their next candidate for the Fryderyk prize.

Contemporary

MUSIC

The festival performances of the Camerata result in an ever increasing popularity among composers (Krzysztof Baculewski, Régis Campo, Ryszard Gabryś, Krzysztof Knittel, Zygmunt Krauze, Stanisław Krupowicz, Krzysztof Penderecki, Zbigniew Preisner, Bogusław Schaeffer, Witold Szalonek, Paweł Szymański, Agata Zubel), who have for a long time seen this Silesian vocal ensemble as the perfect „instrument” that can give both crystal clear renditions of neotonal and post-romantic works as well as undertake avant-garde challenges, including experimental and improvised musical material. Premieres of contemporary music are a constant element of the ensemble’s work. Camerata Silesia is regularly invited to such festivals as the Warsaw Autumn, Wratislavia Cantans or the Festival of Premieres in Katowice.


Camerata Silesia's artistic mastery has been highly praised by Krzysztof Penderecki, whose St Luke Passion, Polish Requiem and Seven Gates of Jerusalem were frequently performed by the ensemble under the baton of the conductor himself in such cities as Münster, Cracow and Hamburg. The Camerata has also performed Maestro Penderecki's Canticum Canticorum during the Warsaw Autumn Festival. In 2012, Camerata Silesia was invited to take part in performances and DVD recordings of the stage version of Penderecki's Passion directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna.

OTHER

Camerata Silesia performs music of various genres. Frederic Chopin a cappella, Krzysztof Baculewski’s carols and Negro Spirituals are just a segment of the ensemble’s extensive artistic offer. Concerts with such stars as Tomasz Stańko, Leszek Możdżer or Paco Peña demonstrate the breadth of artistic spectrum of the Camerata, who feel perfectly at home presenting diverse forms of popular music.


Operatic experiences of the Camerata include such works as: Samson and Delilah, Rübezahl as well as The Rake’s Progress. The ensemble has achieved considerable success during the Sommerfestspiele in the Austrian city of Bregenz, where they performed under the baton of famous conductors in such works as G. F. Haendel’s monumental oratorio Solomon, stage performances of G. Puccini’s Tosca and G. Verdi’s Aida as well as in critically acclaimed presentations of E. Krenek’s Charles V and K. Szymanowski’s King Roger.