Wrocław Baroque Ensemble presents rarely performed works by Polish composers at concerts in Romania

The Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, a resident ensemble of the National Forum of Music (Narodowe Forum Muzyki – NFM) in Poland, will present a series of concerts in Romania exploring rarely performed works from Polish composers.

Since its establishment in 2012, the group has specialized in historically-informed performance of Polish Renaissance and Baroque music under the direction of founder and conductor Andrzej Kosendiak.

The ensemble will perform in Romania as part of the Icon Arts Festival 2025. Concerts are scheduled in Pitești, at the Philharmonic Concert Hall on July 31, and at Brașov Philharmonic Concert Hall on August 2.

The program presents works by Polish composers Marcin Józef Żebrowski and Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, often referred to as the 'Polish Handel.'

The ensemble's 2013 recording of works by Gorczycki was awarded the Wrocław Music Prize. The Ensemble's recent recording of Żebrowski's Vesperae in Visitatione Beatae Mariae Virginis, which will be performed in both of these concerts, was awarded a Fryderyk Award in 2023 and was nominated for an Opus Klassik.

The Wrocław Baroque Ensemble's repertoire encompasses a diverse range of early music, from chamber works to oratorios and cantatas, with a particular interest in the heritage of Polish Renaissance and Baroque music.

The core of the group comprises instrumentalists and singers from European countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

The ensemble's recording catalogue includes a series of albums dedicated to Baroque repertoire featuring mainly works by the Polish composers – Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, Bartłomiej Pękiel, Marcin Mielczewski, Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński, Mikołaj Zieleński, Jacek Różycki, Marcin Leopolita, and Kaspar Förster. The first album, with music by Gorczycki, was awarded the Wrocław Music Prize in 2013. In 2015, the group released The Salzburg Marian Mass (with liturgical music by Mozart) in collaboration with the NFM Boys' Choir under the baton of Andrzej Kosendiak. In 2022, the ensemble released its first vinyl disc, featuring Gorczycki's Completorium, and the CD Marcin Józef Żebrowski – Vesperae in Visitatione Beatae Mariae Virginis. In September 2024, it released an album containing the Requiem Liturgy and the Canon of the Resurrection by Mykola Dyletsky.

The ensemble has appeared at international festivals such as Wratislavia Cantans, Ohrid Summer, Emilia Romagna Festival, Usedomer Musikfestival, Ljubljana Festival, 'Varna Summer' International Music Festival, Schlesisches Musikfest, Leoš Janáček International Music Festival, Moravian Autumn, Lerici Music Festival, and Galway Early Music Festival, and has performed in numerous cities in Poland and Europe.