Orłowski, Michał (EN)

Orłowski Michał 2^nd half of the 18^th century, Polish composer, violinist and conductor. In the 2^nd half of 1783, he worked in the chapel of the Pauline monastery at Jasna Góra in Częstochowa, as evidenced by entries in the monastery account books, recording quarterly salaries for the secular musicians of the chapel. The Pauline archives contain three of Orłowski’s compositions: Missa e Pastorella ex G (2C, B, 2 violins, 2 horns, organ; solo fragments in 2C), Pastorella in G (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bassoon, 2 horns), Sinfonia in F (2 violins, viola, 2 oboes, bassoon, 2 horns, bass, solo fragments in oboe I and bassoon). In the list of 117 symphonies by various composers, placed on the cover of one of the symphonies in the Jasna Góra archive, there is also a non-extant Symphony in E flat. The inscription on the title page Pastorelli 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 provenance of the manuscript and may indicate the composer’s connection with the chapel of Canons Regular in Kłobuck, whose musical materials were found in the Jasna Góra collections at the end of the 18^th century. In Symphony in F, Orłowski used the concertato technique; he entrusted solo instruments against the background of the monotonous accompaniment of the strings, with the performance of the secondary theme in the first Allegro: in the exposition – oboe I concertare (bars 22–50) and in the reprise – bassoon concertare (bars 98–126). Although this technique was used in the Baroque period to fragment the form, here, serving to isolate the secondary theme, it became a contrasting factor and, thus, an important element in shaping the classical symphony. Due to its three-part structure and the nature of the themes, the Symphony in F is considered to belong to the early period of the formation of the Polish classical symphony.

Literature: A. Nowak-Romanowicz Oświecenie, Z dziejów polskiej kultury muzycznej vol. 2, Kraków 1966; P. Podejko Nieznani muzycy polscy, kompozytorzy, dyrygenci, instrumentaliści, wokaliści (1572–1820), «Z Dziejów Muzyki Polskiej» issue 11, Bydgoszcz 1966; P. Podejko Źródła do dziejów muzyki polskiej w archiwum zakonu Paulinów w Częstochowie, «Z Dziejów Muzyki Polskiej» issue 14, Bydgoszcz 1969; P. Podejko Kapela wokalno-instrumentalna Paulinów na Jasnej Górze, Kraków 1977; P. Podejko Katalog tematyczny rękopisów i druków muzycznych kapeli wokalnoinstrumentalnej na Jasnej Górze, «Studia Claromontana» XII, Kraków 1992; A. Nowak-Romanowicz Klasycyzm 1750–1830, «Historia Muzyki Polskiej» IV, Warsaw 1995; S. Ropniak Warmińscy kompozytorzy na tle polskich twórców symfonii w stylu klasycznym w XVIII wieku, “Studia Warmińskie” 37/1, 2000; B. Stróżyńska Symfonia w XVIII-wiecznej Polsce. Teoria, repertuar, cechy stylistyczne. Wydawnictwo Akademii Muzycznej im. Grażyny i Kiejstuta Bacewiczów, 2015.