Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego

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Composers

Michał Orłowski

2 poł. XVIII w.

Orłowski Michał, lived in the second half of the 18th century, a Polish composer, violinist and conductor. In the second half of 1783 he worked in the band of the Pauline Monastery in Częstochowa, which is confirmed by inscriptions in the monastery account books showing the quarterly remuneration of the lay people who were members of the orchestra. Three compositions of Orłowski were preserved in the Paulines’ archives: Missa e Pastorella ex G (2C, B, 2 violins, 2 French horns, organ; solo fragments in 2C), Pastorella in G (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 1 bassoon, 2 French horns), Sinfonia in F (2 violins, 1 viola, 2 oboes, 1 bassoon, 2 French horns, 1 bass; solo fragments for the first oboe and the bassoon). Among the 117 symphonies of various composers listed on the cover of one of the symphonies from the archives, there is the Symphony in E flat, not preserved. The inscription of the title page of the Pastorella in G (XAW Pro Horo Musico Ecclesiae Parochialis ac Collegiatae Kłob[ucensis] Can[onicorum] Reg[ularium] Latt[eranensium] Anno 1796 diebus Augusti, from JP. Orłowski) indicates the year and origin of the manuscript and may point to composer’s connections with canons regular of Kłobuck, whose musical works were collected in the archives at the end of the 18th century. In the Symphony in F Orłowski used concertante techniques: in the first Allegro the secondary theme/countertheme is performed by solo instruments accompanied steadily by the string section: in the exposition - the first oboe concertante (bars 22–50) and in the reprise - bassoon concertante (bars 98–126). Although this technique was used in Baroque to dismember the form, here it allowed to distinguish the secondary theme and became a contrasting element, crucial for shaping the form of a classical symphony. The Symphony in F, due to its three-part structure and the character of themes, is classified as belonging to the early stage of formation of the classical Polish symphony.