Styl polifonii a cappella Bartłomieja Pękiela
Bartłomiej Pękiel's Style of polyphony a cappella
One of the most important tendencies in the 17th century polyphony a cappella was the creative processing of the Renaissance idiom. Such tendency can be found in the vocal compositions by one of the most eminent representatives of Polish musical Baroque, Bartłomiej Pękiel (died about 1670). Pękiel's style is old and at the same time new. The novel aspect forms as the transformation of tradition and its "rendition". Into the Renaissance type of melodic line Pękiel incorporates the leap of diminished fourth, moderately expanded progressions, and quasi-instrumental formulae. The basically continuous form is equipped with rhythmical contrasts and various kinds of antithetons. Harmonics is filled with discords while the tonal course with alterations. The texture evolves into a motif counterpoint although it has never reached it fully because the short condensed motifs present in each of his compositions are deeply rooted in the linear conception. The level of their autonomy is still too small to form a completely new type of polyphonic tissue where the broadly sophisticated melody line is no longer the centre of reference to the counterpoint tectonics but is replaced by microstructure: motif, formula and a turn. In this respect Pękiel prefers an indirect state - the tendencies in both directions are balanced.
