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The artists from the Polish Group played the folk sources of mazurkas inspired by the Polish folklore. On the 10 April, musicans from both ensembles performed together during the special evening - "Chopiniana".

 about the artists:

"Nobody questions the fact that the unique quality of Chopin’s work stems to large extent from his inspiration from folk music. Usually however those phenomena exist in separate contexts and belong to different performance traditions. Our program was born as a result of a desire to break this stereotype. We offer a brand new look which brings folk music and Chopin’s mazurkas to a common denominator." (Polish Group)

Since 1994 the Polish Group presents the most beautiful and interesting Polish folk songs and dances which are relatively unknown to the wider audience. Preserving and promoting the oldest traditions, the Polish Group musicians find inspirations for their repertoire in historical sources, scholarly documentation. They perform music exclusively on authentic folk instruments. Moreover, the Polish Group decided to take up the old tradition of the so-called ‘knee’ instruments which were played using the fingernail technique. This technique disappeared towards the end of the 19th century and its current revival was possible due to many years of experience in playing on Asian instruments possessed by the group’s founder director and author of arrangements Maria Pomianowska. Concerts of the Polish Group provide an exceptional opportunity for listening to the sound of an extinct tradition. Other instruments used by the musicians include violin, pipes, hurdy gurdy, cimbalom, bass and drums. Owning to their exceptional instruments, the band’s music is unique and authentic.

Maria Pomianowska - vocal, ancient violin, ‘suka’
Małgorzata Szarlik-Woźniak - folk violin
Marta Maślanka - cimbalom
Jacek Urbaniak - flutes
Jerzy Burdzy - bass
Robert Siwak - drums

Camerata Silesia - the Katowice City Singers' Ensemble was founded in 1990 by Anna Szostak, its director and conductor. The idea behind establishing the group was to create an ensemble capable of performing both chamber as well as a’capella choir pieces. Focusing on pre-classical and 20th century repertoire the group soon became the most renowned Polish ensemble of this type. The list of scores performed by Camerata includes older (secular and religious) music, such as masterpieces by Gesualdo da Venosa, Monteverdi, Bacha, Gorczycki, Zieleński, or Pękiel. The other field of focus includes 20th and 21th century music by Szymanowski, Panufnik, Lutosławski, Penderecki, Nono, Scelsi.

During their international tours, the group mainly promotes Polish music, both contemporary as well as form the renaissance and baroque period. The singers form Katowice have performed at all the important festivals in Poland, from the Warsaw Autumn to Wratislavia Cantans, as well as in a number of renowned musical centers in Europe. Camerata Silesia performed: at the festival in Ile-de-France, in the Saint-Louis des Invalides cathedral in Paris (with artists from Musicatreize from Marseilles), in Palais de Beaux-Art in Brussels, in Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, in Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome (with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia), as well as at the Festival de Noël in Nantes, or the G.Sinopoli the Sacred Music Festival "Anima Mundi" in Pisa.

The Katowice City Singers' Ensemble recorded several albums, which met with enthusiastic reactions and received a number of awards. In 2003 they released an album titled Camerata Silesia sings Chopin – with choir interpretations of Chopin’s mazurkas, preludes, etudes and waltzes. The album was considered as an extremely successful experiment with very difficult, in terms of vocal interpretation, "piano texture".
 

dates and venues:

Camerata Silesia: 09 April 2008, at 20.30
Maria Pomianowska Group: 09 April 2008, at 20.30
CHOPINIANA (Camerata Silesia and Maria Pomianowska Group): 10 April 2008, at 21.30

Rishon LeZion Performing Arts Center
(03) 972 99 72

Organizers: Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw, International Spring Festival in Rishon Le Zion
Partners: Performing Arts Center in Rishon LeZion, Polish Institute in Tel Aviv