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ENCORES: "Ego sum pastor bonus" & "Alleluja, Chwalcie Pana" performed by Folger Consort (2014)

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Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darkness
Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darkness

Folger Public Programs is pleased to present ENCORES, an online series highlighting past performances and recalling the rich history of programming on the historic Folger stage. These ENCORES provide a way to connect and revisit the breadth of Folger offerings with a wider audience.

ENCORES presents

Folger Consort
“Ego sum pastor bonus” & “Alleluja, Chwalcie Pana”
Performed as part of A Polish Renaissance: Music of Poland’s Golden Age
April 2014

Performed by:

  • Robert Eisenstein, viol
  • Christopher Kendall, lute
  • Michael Collver, cornetto
  • Amy Domingues: viol
  • Webb Wiggins: harpsichord, organ
  • Tom Zajac: recorder, flute, bagpipe, trombone

With vocal Group The Western Winds

  • Linda Lee Jones, soprano
  • Michelle Kennedy, soprano
  • Bill Zukof, countertenor
  • Todd Frizzell, tenor
  • Robert Puleo, tenor
  • Elliot Z. Levine, baritone

Read the introduction by countertenor Bill Zukof:

Hello and welcome to Folger Encores. I’m Bill Zukof, and I’m very happy to be able to speak with you today. The Folger has been sharing selections from their plays, music, and readings in this Encores series. Today we are sharing some early music from Poland from the Folger Consort performance recorded in 2014.

For that program, titled A Polish Renaissance, the Consort partnered with my vocal ensemble The Western Wind. The concert was made up entirely of music from what is modern-day Poland. Today, we’re sharing two works by the little known Waclaw Szamotul from the mid-16th century. We know he studied music composing in Kraków and was a court composer in the mid-16th century.

We’ll hear two settings of sacred texts. The first is a four-part a cappella performance of Waclaw’s “Ego sum pastor bonus,” which flows right into the setting in Polish of Psalm 117, “Alleluja, Chwalcie Pana” a joyful song of praise. “Ego sum bonus” is composed in the polyphonic style, typical of choral music from the Renaissance. The vocal polyphony is enhanced when the instrumental ensemble joins the singers in the “Alleluja, Chwalcie Pana.”

I hope you enjoy these gems from the early music repertoire. Please join us again for these biweekly episodes of Encores, highlighting all that Folger has to offer. Thank you.

Folger ENCORES, red theater seats fading into darknessCheck back each Friday for a new “from the archives” performance, introduced by some of our favorite artists, showcasing the best of Folger Theatre, Folger Consort, O.B. Hardison Poetry, and lectures.

Folger Theatre

Folger Theatre is the vibrant center piece of the Folger’s public programs. With a focus on Shakespeare, Folger Theatre produces plays reflecting the breadth of the library’s peerless collection. In this unique setting, with collaborations between artists and experts, Folger Theatre produces innovative stagings that have been commended as “breathtakingly original...strikingly contemporary” (The Washington Post). Led since 1991 by Artistic Producer Janet Alexander Griffin, Folger Theatre has received 135 nominations and 23 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in acting, direction, design, and production. During the recent seasons Folger Theatre has received the Outstanding Resident Play Award for its productions of Measure for Measure in 2007, Hamlet in 2011 and The Taming of the Shrew in 2013. Other highlights from Folger Theatre’s producing history include these Helen Hayes Award recipients or nominees for outstanding production: Romeo and Juliet (2013), Orestes: A Tragic Romp (2010), Henry VIII (2010), Arcadia (2009), Macbeth (2008), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2006), Melissa Arctic (2006), She Stoops to Conquer (2002), Shakespeare’s R & J (2001), Much Ado About Nothing (1998), and Romeo and Juliet (1997). — View all posts by Folger Theatre