POLSKI CHÓR KAMERALNY
Schola Cantorum Gedanensis
Polski Chór Kameralny (The Polish Chamber Choir) was founded by Ireneusz £ukaszewski in 1978, who handed over to his brother Jan Lukaszewski in 1983. Over the years, the choir has been making a name for itself as a top ensemble of international renown.
Its declared aim is to work at an instrumental, “orchestral” level which, apart from other skills, requires total control of the vocal instrument. The main interest of the 24 professional musicians lies on unaccompanied music, and especially on romanticism and contemporary music. Hence the countless compositions dedicated to the choir and that profusion of world premiere performances.
Besides that, mainly in oratorios and opera, Polski Chór Kameralny regularly co-operates with many important symphonic and chamber orchestras, yet also with e.g. the Academy of Ancient Music, the Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik as well as with other specialist Early Music ensembles from all over Europe. A main stay of the choir’s musical work is their regular co-operation with guest conductors from all over the world (Ericson, Gronostay, Bernius, Layton, and many others).
Notwithstanding all their serious work, Polski Chór Kameralny enjoys experiments - in 2001, for example, they participated in the world’s first genuine real-time internet concert. Polski Chór Kameralny frequently appears at international festivals, among them the Warsaw Autumn and Vratislavia cantans, the Ruhr-Festival, the "rendez-vous musique nouvelle", but also Salzburg, Dresden, Berlin and Tokyo. Its concert tours take it through all of Europe, to the USA and to Japan.
Besides now 60 CDs, MCs and videos many of which have won grammophone prizes, Polski Chór Kameralny has recorded profusely for Polish and many European Radio and TV stations. Their latest CD, Penderecki: Complete Choral Works recorded on the composer’s instigation puts them in a unique position of being the only ensemble worldwide counting in its repertoire the entire output of music for unaccompanied choir by Krzysztof Penderecki. Among the events conceived and organized by Polski Chór Kameralny the most spectacular is the International Mozart Festival Mozartiana, presenting to a wide public Mozart’s music in a diversity of styles and drawing many thousands of people to Gdansk-Oliva each August.
