Supraskie Kantyki (Suprasl Canticles) Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir & Violetta Bielecka

• 1 Anonymous: Tobie, walecznej Hetmance 01:02
• 2 Anonymous: Archanioł z nieba posłan był 02:41
• 3 Anonymous: Bacząc Najświętsza Panna na swoje dziewictwo 01:19
• 4 Anonymous: Czeka Dziewica z upragnieniem 03:00
• 5 Anonymous: Kiedyś Egipt oświecił światłem swojej prawdy 06:29
• 6 Anonymous: Chciał Symeon 01:18
• 7 Anonymous: Moc swą, zjawiając, Stwórca 03:12
• 8 Anonymous: Ty, o Najświętsza Dziewico 03:52
• 9 Anonymous: Zaiste, godna jesteś, Matko 02:18
• 10 Anonymous: Słońce niezachodzące zbawienie niosące światu 04:49
• 11 Anonymous: Litania dyszkantowa 09:39
• Total Runtime 39:39

Info for Supraskie Kantyki (Suprasl Canticles)

This new release from DUX presents a world premiere recording of the Suprasl Canticles; a recently reconstructed score from the collections that are being kept in Vilnius, but come from the famous monastery in Suprasl.

In the last two decades, three vocal scores have been uncovered, and another three have been reconstructed on the basis of other manuscripts containing music written in the Orthodox polyphony technique, called partesny singing. The authorship of the Suprasl Canticles is attributed to Greek Catholic monks from the Basilian order who lived in the monastery in the 17th century. The score contains 49 religious vocal pieces for male voices (two trebles, two tenors and two basses) to texts in Old Church Slavonic.

The monastery in Suprasl was once an important cultural centre aware of the achievements of Western music. In the Canticles, we see the impact of that music in the form of extremely elaborate Baroque polyphony.

The Suprasl Canticles were the crowning achievement of the Western European musical stylisation in the Orthodox Church tradition in the Commonwealth of Poland. This kind of singing was possible thanks to contacts of the Orthodox and Uniate Church hierarchs (especially Uniate Metropolitan Bishops Kolenda and Zochowski) who became acquainted with the culture of the Latin West and the countries of southern Europe.

Thanks to the authors of the Suprasl Canticles, Baroque polyphony was implemented in the Moscow Patriarchate and at the Tsar's court. The Suprasl Canticles were of great importance in the cultural transmission of Western Renaissance and Baroque music to the tradition of the Uniate Orthodox Church in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 17th century as well as to the litur-gical repertoire of Orthodox Russia. The Suprasl Canticles are performed here by the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir under the baton of Violetta Bielecka, assisted by Joanna Jurczuk.

Poldasie Opera
Philharmonic Choir
Violetta Bielecka, conductor

Violetta Bielecka
earned an MA degree in choral conducting (with distinction) from the State Higher School of Music, Warsaw. She also completed a post-graduate programme in choral conducting and voice emission at the Academy of Music of Bydgoszcz. In 2000 she was awarded the title of professor of musical arts.

Professor Bielecka teaches at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music, Warsaw (the Department of Instrumental and Educational Studies, Białystok). In 1995–2017 she was the chair of Cantica Cantamus, a Białystok-based society for choral music, and led the Białystok Chamber Choir associated with the organisation. She started and then organised international workshops of Polska Filhamronia Pokoju (Polish Peace Philharmonic). In 1995–1997 she was a vocal consultant with the Chorus of the Polish National Opera, Warsaw. The ensembles she led were awarded numerous distinctions and accolades. Currently, she is the conductor and artistic director of the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir of Białystok. Under her leadership, the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir was presented with three Fryderyk Awards and an International Classical Music Award (2018).

She is a recipient of a Silver Gloria Artis Medal for Services to Culture (2008), a Gold Cross of Merit (1990, 2002), the Decoration of Honour for Services to Polish Culture (2006), a Minister of Culture and National Heritage Award (1st Degree) for artistic and teaching achievements (2009), a Commission of National Education Medal awarded by the Ministry of Education (2009), Presidential Medal for Long Service (2010).

Violetta Bielecka and the Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic Choir have performed at the Chopin and his Europe Festival on a few occasions. In 2010 and 2016 they performed Bellini’s Norma and I Capuleti e i Montecchi under Fabio Biondi. In 2017 they appeared in Verdi’s Macbeth, while in 2018 they sang in Moniuszko’s Halka.

Booklet for Supraskie Kantyki (Suprasl Canticles)