Ensemble Šviesotamsa (Vilnius)

Ensemble Šviesotamsa (Vilnius)

The ensemble Šviesotamsa (it. Chiaroscuro), founded in 2014 in Vilnius, presents the figure of the 17th-century poet Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (1595–1640), regarded as one of the most renowned Latin-writing poets of Europe. Born in 1595 in Sarbiewo, Masuria (Poland), Sarbiewski’s life was most closely connected with Vilnius and Lithuania. 

This concert program of italian baroque music is presented to the Vilnius audience for the first time, intimately linked to the poet’s surroundings and reflecting three decades and places of his life:

  • In 1612, Sarbiewski entered the Jesuit novitiate in Vilnius, at St. Ignatius Church.
  • In 1622, having begun his studies at Vilnius University in 1620, he continued them in Rome. In this milieu, he heard the works of leading composers and performers of the time, such as G. Kapsberger (who dedicated a work to Władysław Vasa), Fr. Anerio (who worked at the Vasa court), Fr. Caccini, V. Mazzochi, and others.
  • In 1635, Sarbiewski was appointed preacher at St. John’s Church in Vilnius. That same year he became court preacher to King Władysław Vasa, residing with the monarch in Kraków, Warsaw, and Vilnius.

Concert is supported by the Vilnius city municipality
Free entrance

Ensemble Šviesotamsa:

  • Rūta Vox (Vosyliūtė) – soprano
  • Marianna Puriņa (Latvia) – baroque violin
  • Vilimas Norkūnas – bass, harpsichord, basso continuo

The ensemble’s three founders – Rūta Vosyliūtė (baroque voice), Ieva Baublytė (recorders, Gothic harp), and Vilimas Norkūnas (harpsichord, organ) – completed specialized Early Music studies in Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. Their shared desire to bring the knowledge and experience of Early Music gained in Western Europe back to Lithuania brought them together. For this project, violinist Marianna Puriņa (Latvia) joins the ensemble.

The name Šviesotamsa (“Chiaroscuro”) evokes the origins of the Baroque era. The expression of strong emotions, passions, and contrasting moods through light and darkness permeates all Baroque art – from Caravaggio’s paintings to the recitar cantare vocal style in the music of G. Caccini, C. Monteverdi, and others.