Bazylik, Cyprian (EN)

Bazylik Cyprian, Cyprian of Sieradz, Ciprianus Siradiensis, *ca. 1535 Sieradz, †ca. 1600, Polish writer, musician, composer, and printer. He was of bourgeois origin. Ennobled in 1557, he received his coat of arms and surname from H.J. Basilikos. In 1550, he studied at the Krakow Academy, then worked in the office of Sigismund Augustus. From 1558, he stayed at the court of Mikołaj Radziwiłł in Lithuania (Vilnius, Brest), initially employed primarily as a musician, then as a clerk and translator of Calvinist publications. In 1569–70, he was the owner of a printing house in Brest-Litovsk and a courtier of Albrecht Łaski, the voivode of Sieradz. Later, endowed with several royal grants, he continued to work as a translator, translating historical and political works from Latin. He also wrote a number of occasional poems; his last literary work was published in 1600. Bazylik’s texts are distinguished by their perfection in the Polish language.

Of Bazylik’s musical works, signed with the initials C.S. or C.B., 12 four-voice songs have survived, printed around 1556–58 in Krakow by M. Siebeneicher, Ł. Andrysowicz, and M. Wierzbięta. Bazylik’s songs were written for use in the Polish Reformation; they are mostly written in a simple but correct contra notam texture and intended for general performance. However, some of them use ornamental counterpoint, which suggests that Bazylik also composed more elaborate works and that it was thanks to them that he enjoyed a reputation as a seasoned musician. Bazylik also collaborated on the arrangement of polyphonic songs in J. Zaremba’s songbook (published in Brest in 1558).

Literature: K. Hławiczka Pieśni Cypriana z Sieradza, “Muzyka” 1959 no. 3; P. Poźniak Dwunasta pieśń czterogłosowa Cypriana Bazylika, “Muzyka” 1996 no. 1 (contains facsimiles and critical editions of songs).