Double Small

Thursday Concerts, Early Music — Wrocław Baroque Orchestra under the direction of Jarosław Thiel with music by J.S. Bach.

Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, photo by Łukasz Rajchert

For more than three hundred years, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach has moved listeners with extraordinary force. At its center remains the relationship, and Double Bach allows to deepen this experience of dialogue. The composer's double concerts are not about the competition of soloists or a spectacular show. Even in the most virtuosic passages, they remain a sounding record of relationship, focus and attention to man.
The concert in D minor for two violins BWV 1043 is one of the most performed violin concertos in history. It owes its popularity not only to its masterful construction and virtuosity, but also to the extraordinary emotional tension built between solo parts. On the other hand, the Concerto in C major for two harpsichords BWV 1061.2 grew out of an chamber duet, for which Bach most likely only later created an orchestral part. The nature of the work is determined by the intimate relationship between the solo instruments.
Created in the early period of Bach's work, Sinfonia from the cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis BWV 21 impresses with its subtle orchestration and exceptional emotional depth. On the other hand, the Concerto in C minor for oboe and violin BWV 1060R hides an interesting story under the letter R. The original score has not survived, and the modern version was reconstructed on the basis of a later concert for two harpsichords.
The Wrocław Baroque Orchestra is one of the leading Polish ensembles of early music. It is one of those teams that can bring masterpieces from three hundred years ago to life with their extraordinary interpretive freshness and energy. Their concerts are an intense, emotional experience of music performed with passion and imagination. Jarosław Thiel, an outstanding cellist who has shaped the character of the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra since the beginning of the band's existence, is one of the most important figures of the Polish early music scene. His interpretations combine historical awareness with naturalness and dramaturgy, achieving an effect that is both extremely precise and emotionally contemporary.
The soloists — Aleksandra Rupocińska and Ewa Mrowca, are two excellent harpsichordists belonging to the leading Polish early music scene. The artists brilliantly combine virtuosity with lightness, and precision with musical freedom. In Bach's music, they create a dialogue full of subtlety, in which the harpsichord becomes the true center of the musical narrative.

Maria Peryte