Orlik

"The wonderful discoveries that I have made during my research on neglected repertoire often make me wonder why it is that so much beautiful Polish music has fallen into oblivion" - thus writes Acte Préalable (AP) impresario Jan Jarnicki in his customary preamble for the CD booklet. Music-lovers who have bought previous AP discs will have asked themselves the same question - how to account rationally for the big repertoire gap between Chopin and Szymanowski, and again between Szymanowski and Penderecki/Górecki. The names capable of filling those holes are legion, a fact to which many previous AP recordings are persuasive testimony.

Les Explorateurs is a chamber ensemble based around pianist Joanna Ławrynowicz, with guest musicians coming in according to the requirements of works at hand. Ławrynowicz has recorded over thirty CDs for Acte Préalable (AP) spanning more than a decade, and was apparently the first Pole to record the complete works of Chopin - also for AP. For these two new releases she and cellist Łukasz Tudzierz combine in genial, committed performances to reveal to the world another batch of forgotten gems from seriously neglected composers. The Dobrzyński disc in particular is outstanding in every respect - perhaps AP's finest to date.