Jarzębski, Adam (EN)

Jarzębski, Jarzembski, Harzebski, Harzebsky, Adam, *second half of the 16th century, Warka (near Warsaw), †1649 Warsaw, Polish composer, instrumentalist, poet. Nothing is known about Jarzębski’s early life. In September 1612, already an outstanding violinist, he became a musician for John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg; in May 1615, he was granted a year’s leave to travel to Italy. It is likely that from around 1617 (until the end of his life) he remained in Warsaw as a royal musician; he enjoyed great recognition from Sigismund III, who bestowed upon him a number of grants on account of his “singulari in arte musicae peritia” (exceptional skill in the art of music). In 1635, Jarzębski took over the supervision of the construction of the royal palace in Ujazdów (from then on, he used the title ‘musician to His Royal Majesty and builder of Ujazdów’). Around 1630, he married the widow of a Warsaw painter, Elżbieta Cybulska, née Sienicka, and had three sons with her: Szymon (†before 1679), violist in the royal band from 1654 (or slightly earlier), Władysław, an instrument maker, and Samuel, as well as a daughter, Marianna. In 1648, Jarzębski was granted citizenship of the city as a respected long-time resident of Warsaw and owner of two tenement houses within city walls. He died at the turn of 1648/49.

The view promoted in the literature (Tomkiewicz) that Jarzębski was particularly skilled in financial matters is completely unfounded. The grants he received from Sigismund III, although fairly numerous, were modest in financial terms and probably constituted occasional remuneration for his compositional work, which, as a member of the court violin ensemble, Jarzębski was not obliged to perform.

In addition to his collection of compositions, Jarzębski left behind a poorly written poem entitled Gościniec abo Krótkie opisanie Warszawy… [The Main Road, or a Short Description of Warsaw], which today is a valuable source of information about the city’s architecture at that time. Gościniec also contains several vague references that can be related to Jarzębski’s own life. Writing about the Radzimiński (pp. 3167–70) and the Wołucki family (pp. 3437–42), Jarzębski states that he “once ate bread” there, which was interpreted (Dunicz, Tomkiewicz) as evidence of his employment in these houses as a teacher (of music?) to young nobles. Due to the accepted convention of the description (a fictional journey through the city by a peasant, who, incidentally, constantly forgets his condition) and the filling of the verses with trivial vocabulary for verification purposes, these references cannot be taken literally; incidentally, they refer to the previous owners of these properties, and not to the Radzimiński and Wołucki families, as assumed by Dunicz and Tomkiewicz. The “Ruthenian magnates”, on the other hand, whom Jarzębski was said to visit, and “whose number has now decreased” (ibid., 3443–44), were probably not the Lubomirskis, who were in good health in 1643, but the Daniłowicz family: Jan (†1628), Ruthenian voivode from 1613 to 1628, and his son Stanisław (†1636). It cannot be ruled out that Jarzębski, as a young musician (even before his stay at the Brandenburg court), served at the courts of the nobility; it is also possible that these references in Gościniec are an echo of Jarzębski’s sporadic musical performances in noble homes, as are the more explicit references to his music-making at the manor house of S. Warszycki (ibid. 3519–24) or at the court of Princess Anna Catherine (ibid. 3590–96).

The former view that Jarzębski composed exclusively instrumental music can no longer be upheld today, although as a violinist, instrumental chamber music may have been particularly close to his heart. It was common at the time for composers to adapt to local repertoire needs; it is a matter of chance that a relatively extensive collection of Jarzębski’s chamber instrumental compositions and the remains of one vocal composition have survived. Canzoni e Concerti, as a collection of chamber instrumental music that is the most advanced in terms of new stylistics and the use of current achievements of Italian music in this field, is of fundamental importance not only for the history of Polish musical culture, but for the entire circle of Central Europe.

It is important to determine the date of Jarzębski’s compositions. The manuscript bears the year 1627, so these compositions may have been written either just before that year or over a longer period of time. It seems certain that the works with titles derived from the names of cities, especially German ones, were written during Jarzębski’s time in John Sigismund’s ensemble. These would therefore be among the composer’s earliest works, dating from 1612 to 1614. The remaining works may have been composed either during Jarzębski’s stay in the elector’s band, during his stay in Italy, or already in Poland. However, the great stylistic uniformity of all of Jarzębski’s surviving instrumental works would indicate that they were composed around the same time.

Jarzębski’s instrumental compositions can be divided into two groups: 1. compositions that have their origins in another composer’s vocal work; this group includes all 2-part works with a Latin incipit in their title (Diligam te Domine is based on Nasca la pena mia, a 6-part madrigal by A. Striggio, In Deo speravit on C. Merulo’s 6-voice motet, Susanna videns on Susanne un jour, a 5-voice chanson by Orlando di Lasso, Cantate Joh. Gabrielis on G. Gabrieli’s 6-voice motet, Corona aurea on Palestrina’s 5-voice motet, Cantate Domino. Secunda pars on Vestiva i colli, Palestrina’s 5-voice madrigal, In te Domine speravi on C. Merula’s 6-voice motet, Venite exultemus on Io son ferito ahi lasso, Palestrina’s 5-voice madrigal) and most likely the works entitled Concerto; 2. compositions, most likely original; these include all 3- and 4-part works. However, there is no major stylistic difference between the two groups in terms of architecture, the type of melody used, or the treatment of tonality.

All of Jarzębski’s compositions have a multi-section structure (from 3 to 11 sections); the arrangement of parts within a piece is characterized by diversity. The 2-voice works are most similar in structure to the ricercar, either with a loose connection between the parts, or in its variation form, or with only certain elements of variation. In the latter case, intermediate architectural forms are created: the piece partially retains its thematic uniformity in variation, and partially consists of thematically different sections, and even takes on such characteristics of the canzona as a reference at the end of the piece to its beginning. The predominance of typical characteristics of the canzone occurs in all 3- and 4-voice pieces. The most typical features of Jarzębski’s canzonas are: the presence of at least one section in odd meter (in 14 works), a reference at the end of the work to its beginning through the repetition of one or two sections, refrain arrangements, phrases that are more compact than in 2-voice works, with a more decisive melodic contour, a much greater contrast between individual parts, and a more decisive demarcation between them with strongly marked cadences. Jarzębski’s canzonas include those with an arch form (e.g., four of the 4-part canzonas, Küstrinella, Spandesa, and others), canzona with a refrain structure (Canzon terza), canzona variée similar to ricercars but retaining its motivic and melodic character (Tamburetta, Bentrovata), and multi-section canzona with a loose arrangement of sections (Könisberga). As in the two-voice works, various elements of the canzona and ricercar interpenetrate each other. Some of Jarzębski’s canzonas can be described as having an ABA framework (Canzon prima, Canzon secunda).

Jarzębski’s two-voice works based on vocal models are commonly referred to as transcriptions or paraphrases; these terms are not entirely accurate, as these pieces are individually conceived, independent instrumental compositions that differ greatly from their models, especially in terms of motif and melody, but are closely related to them in terms of the overall structure of the composition. Jarzębski reduces 5- or 6-voice polyphony to 2 voices and adds a basso continuo part. Through the repetition of certain sections, his compositions are at times a few measures longer than their models. The bass voice is the most faithful to the original, as it is a basso seguente built strictly from the lowest notes of the vocal composition. The other two voices are always soprano and bass-tenor (with the exception of Corona aurea, where both voices are soprano). These voices refer to the melodic line of the highest and lowest voices of the model composition (in Corona aurea to the two sopranos of the original), but sometimes – especially when the voice in the original pauses – they refer to the middle voices. This is undoubtedly an innovative approach, typical of the Baroque period, when the extreme voices had a fixed role in the composition: the bass as harmonic support, the soprano as the carrier of the main (sometimes only) melody.

Jarzębski developed the motivic and melodic material of the original in accordance with the recommendations of contemporary diminution manuals. The method he adopted here consists in quoting the first few notes of a given imitative phrase of the original with only slight ornamentation; each subsequent phrase is immediately diminished, and in an increasingly intense manner. Usually, by the third imitative phrase, the diminution has progressed so far that a completely new type of melodic progression is created in relation to the original, retaining only certain notes that coincide with those of the original. However, these notes are so strongly emphasized by Jarzębski that the connection with the model piece is preserved. Even a melodic progression as distant from the original as in Corona aurea (measures 40–47) has notes in common with it, very clear in the notation (though difficult to hear). This system derives from the Renaissance practice of diminishing polyphonic works, when – at least at the beginning of the tactus – the sounds of the model melody were retained in order to protect the diminished version from contrapuntal irregularities. In Jarzębski’s case, with the use of only 2-voice texture, and in many sections even one voice accompanied by basso continuo, this technique was not a technical necessity; it indicates the remnants of the Renaissance tradition in which Jarzębski was raised.

Jarzębski’s diminution technique can be reduced to three basic situations: diminution of intervals, larger values, and cadential phrases. In all these situations, Jarzębski shows great inventiveness, although he obviously uses the entire arsenal of ornamental figures and diminution techniques provided by the treatises of the time. Apart from the stereotypical four-sixteenth-note figures and scale runs, Jarzębski’s favorite figures are those built on broken triads or seventh chords, often highly varied in rhythm. Jarzębski often uses cadences in the Dorian mode on the first or fifth degree, always in the same ornamented form.

Jarzębski’s transformation of the motivic material of the original is varied: not only did he introduce new motifs typical of Renaissance diminution melodies, but he also completely modified the character of the original, giving it, for example, a dance-like character not typical of the melody of the model, as in Susanna videns (measures 106–112). Despite obvious similarities with the models, the distinctiveness of Jarzębski’s arrangements is also expressed in the fact that the architectural division of his compositions often differs from the structure of the model piece. This involves not only lengthening the pieces by repeating certain measures, but also a different layout of the composition.

At the time when Jarzębski was composing, it was not yet possible to speak of typically instrumental melody, as it imitated vocal melody. In Jarzębski’s works, two types of melody can be distinguished: ornamental-virtuosic and lyrical, with a singing character. The first type of melody definitely prevails, inspired, it seems, by the diminution technique, as we find the same type of ornamental figures both in his compositions based on the vocal model and in his original works. This type of melody is characterized by great motion (eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and even thirty-second notes), a large ambitus filled with runs or ornamental figurations, and large leaps (most often fourths and fifths, but also sixths, octaves, tenths and larger, and more rarely intervalli falsi), among which there is a seventh – a very characteristic interval of the new Baroque melody, especially when the ascending scale run is shifted to a lower register and continues in the same direction. This type of melody is often characterized by motoric movement (Tamburetta) and a dance-like character (Susanna videns, Sentinella, Spandesa). A decidedly different type of melody is the lyrical melody with a singing character. It occurs mainly in sections with an irregular meter and is usually written with longer note values, which, according to the conventions of the time, did not at all imply a slower tempo. This type of melodics is characterized by great fluidity, and the structural principle of these sections is repetition and progression, which makes them extensively developed. In both types of melody, we particularly often encounter thematic phrases built on a spread triad, which does not yet indicate harmonic thinking, but rather a growing sense of tonality and the increasing role of the chord, and is very typical of the turn of the century and the first decades of the 17th century. Jarzębski keeps pace with the leading Italian composers in this respect.

Jarzębski also uses quotations or paraphrases of melodic material that was popular at the time. Paraphrases of the chorale occur most often in two-voice works (Concerto quarto, In Deo speravit, In te Domine speravi, and partly Corona aurea), but this is not due to direct references to the chorale, but rather to quotations from model compositions based on the chorale. In Concerto secundo, on the other hand, in addition to a quotation from the chorale, we find quotations from the Christmas carols Resonet in laudibus and Nuż my dziatki zaśpiewajmy. In Sentinella (measures 92–100), a phrase popular in the Renaissance period is quoted (it was used, among others, by Mikołaj Gomółka in Psalm XXIX Nieście chwałę mocarze [Bring glory, mighty ones]). In Spandesa, Dunicz sees the use of the Ballo del Gran Duca melodic pattern, popular in Italian music at the very beginning of the 17th century. This proves that Jarzębski was familiar with the Italian music of the time; his knowledge of the most modern solutions in Italian music is also evidenced by his use of a trio in both forms: two soprano voices and basso continuo, or two soprano voices, one bass voice and basso continuo.

Jarzębski, a violinist, almost never specifies the type of instruments to be used in his works. The high voices are referred to by vocal names: soprano or canto, and in 4-voice works – vox prima, secunda or terza; the lower voices are called tenore or basso. The only instruments mentioned are the bastarda (14 times), trombone (twice) and fagotto (once). In Concerto terzo, the bass voice is marked twice: bastarda, trombone, so these instruments could have been used interchangeably. It is puzzling that Jarzębski never once indicated that his works are intended for the violin, and that he so often used the bastarda, an instrument that was already falling out of use. All high parts (except for Diligam te Domine, where a soprano viola is required) can be played on the violin (17 parts have an ambitus requiring the use of the G string, 19 have an ambitus requiring the use of the three higher strings, and one moves only on the two higher strings), except that Jarzębski makes little use of violin technique, limiting himself to playing in the first two positions. Jarzębski’s designation of the higher voices with vocal terminology suggests that, at least in part, these voices were written for any instrument, as was customary at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Jarzębski does not yet use the so-called “typical” violin figures (these were only just developing at the time), but instead uses ornamental vocal figures, introducing them in such a way that they are most convenient to perform on the violin: so that they begin with the most convenient note or cover as many open strings as possible.

The basic means of developing Jarzębski’s compositions are repetitions and progressions, used in polyphonic, concertante, and variation techniques, as well as in monophonic and homorhythmic passages. In each of Jarzębski’s works, to a greater or lesser extent, there is imitation, usually very simplified, sometimes associated with another technique: concertante or homorhythmic. Imitations are most often carried out in fourths, fifths, octaves, or unison, with the thematic phrase appearing once or multiple times in each voice. The imitation of a given phrase appears only in a given section, unless that section is repeated in the course of the composition, as is the case, for example, in Canzon ąuinta (sections I and V), where the composer used a typical imitation with the use of the concertante technique and the thematic phrase carried out in inversion. Jarzębski also uses more elaborate polyphonic constructions, such as the canon in octaves and fifths in Diligam te Domine, In te Domine speravi, Venite exsultemus, or the canon included in M. Scacchi’s Cribrum musicum as an example of contrapuntal proficiency. In the second part of Cantate Domino, Jarzębski introduced a kind of extended fugato; he also sometimes used techniques such as diminution of the thematic phrase, its inversion, and strong strettos, which shows that Jarzębski was fluent in counterpoint. A better idea of his skills in this area could be gained from his now incomplete Missa sub concerto. Jarzębski’s use of free counterpoint in various forms, from nota contra notam to contrapunctus floridus, is much more modest and fragmentary.

Jarzębski used concertante technique with complete ease, even though it was a new technique at the time. He introduced it in almost every piece. However, he did not attach much importance to color variation. In pieces with a uniform instrumentation (e.g., Corona aurea, Sentinella, Könisberga), he usually repeated individual phrases in unison, without using the color of another register. The concertante technique is intertwined with the imitative technique, which is another characteristic feature of Italian music of that period (compare Diligam te Domine, vols. 1–8).

Jarzębski’s variation technique, which is an important and distinctive feature of his work, contributes to the stylistic uniformity of his compositions. It is largely based on ornamental technique: Jarzębski ornaments the thematic phrases occurring in the individual voices of the model piece, using the entire range of possible compositional techniques and introducing the maximum variety of possible figures. This results in ornamental-figurative variants of a given phrase, but with the principle of ornamenting almost every phrase, certain effects are inevitably repeated, sometimes exactly, sometimes with some variation. Hence, paradoxically, phrases that are different in the model piece take on a similar form in their ornamental transformation.

All such technical procedures fall within the scope of variation technique, but Jarzębski also uses this technique independently of diminutions, transforming entire thematic phrases in various ways. The most representative example in this respect is Concerto terzo, as almost the entire piece is derived from the initial 5-measure phrase. The means of variation technique used by Jarzębski are primarily figurations, melodic and rhythmic transformations, sometimes going very far, elisions and abbreviations, augmentations and diminutions, metrical changes, gradual reduction of a very elaborate thematic phrase to a simple motif (Cantate Joh. Gabrielis), as well as the use of the ostinato technique (Corona aurea). The high degree of development of the variation technique and the use of its sophisticated means place Jarzębski in the same league as the most outstanding masters of the variation technique of the time, led by G. Frescobaldi. Frescobaldi’s concept, which consists in maintaining the motivic -thematic unity throughout the work, Jarzębski’s solution in Bentrovata is similar, where the integrating role is played by a variation on a descending third motif, and in the three-part work Corona aurea, where in the second part the basic phrase is derived from the thematic phrase of the first part, while the third part is a repetition of the first part. Dunicz stresses that “all coloratura and motifs in Jarzębski’s work result solely from harmonic figuration” and that this is a distinct feature of new Italian instrumental music, in contrast to German music, where there is still a tendency towards melodic linearity. While one can agree with the second statement, the first – formulated so radically – raises some reservations. There is no doubt that in instrumental music, especially Italian, the sense of chord was much stronger than in vocal polyphonic music. However, Jarzębski’s preference for spread triads or melodies based on chord tones was partly due to the fifth tuning of the violin, i.e. the adaptation of the type of melody to the technical conditions of performance, partly to the character of the melody of the model piece, and partly to the use of a specific diminution figure. One cannot speak also – with regard to Jarzębski’s work – of harmonics in terms of major and minor, as Dunicz does. Modality and its laws still prevail in this work. Modality is particularly evident in two-part works, i.e. those modelled on earlier polyphonic vocal works. The Dorian mode definitely predominates in them (both in the transposed form with finalis g and in the untransposed form, with the exception of Concerto terzo, Venite exsultemus and Corona aurea). In his other works, Jarzębski more often resorts to more ‘modern’ modes (Aeolian, Ionian), in line with new trends in Italian music, which often contained elements of later major and minor keys. Eight works are composed in the Aeolian mode (Concerto terzo, Venite exsultemus, Sentinella, Berlinesa, Chromatica, Canzon prima, secunda, terza), six in the Mixolydian mode (Nova casa, Küstrinella, Tamburetta, Bentrovata, Canzon quarta, quinta) and finally two pieces in the Ionian and transposed Ionian modes, with finalis f (Spandesa, Corona aurea). Only Könisberg and Norimberga are in the Dorian mode. However, the adopted mode does not prevail throughout the entire piece; Jarzębski’s compositions are characterized by constant tonal instability and sometimes quite significant deviations from the mode indicated at the beginning of the piece – again, a characteristic feature of early 17th-century Italian music. Most often, only the first part of the work remains in the mode that begins the work, while in the final parts, a return to the initial mode is found mainly in 3- and 4-voice works and in some 2-voice works. The middle sections show the greatest mobility in tonal shifts, which is due in part to the rich use of progressions.

Jarzębski was not indifferent to the problem of chromaticism, which was preoccupying mainly Italian composers at the time, and he expressed this in his work Chromatica. In the third movement of this work, he used a descending chromatic quartal theme, which had been very popular since the beginning of the 17th century, accompanied by chromatic counterpoint. In addition, throughout this passage, he introduced an exceptionally large number of dissonances in the form of delays, substitute notes, or passing notes. However, these dissonances are always properly prepared and resolved in an appropriate manner. Sporadic chromatic progressions and oblique sounds can be found in almost all of Jarzębski’s works, but they are not expressive in nature. Dunicz already emphasized that Jarzębski belongs to the composers who began to treat chromaticism and dissonance as an important means of expression in instrumental music.

The only known but incompletely preserved vocal work by Jarzębski is Missa sub concerto. Based on the bass voice, we can conclude that the mass is based on song material, which Jarzębski emphasizes especially in passages with an uneven meter. The melody is developed in a variational manner, without the use of diminution and ornamentation techniques. Jarzębski does not introduce rich ornamentation here, treating the melody syllabically. Imitative phrases are generally very short, covering one to one and a half measures; tonally, the mass is maintained in the transposed Ionian mode (finalis f). This mode is so strongly emphasized that almost every phrase begins with the note F. As in instrumental works, we find numerous deviations from the prevailing mode here.

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