Collegium Clara Tumba is an ensemble of early instruments performing court and popular music from the late Middle Ages to the early 17th century. With its international Polish-Italian-Portuguese lineup, the ensemble strives to present to its audience a repertoire from various cultural circles, whose common denominator is early music that straddles the boundary between classical and popular music.
The ensemble’s repertoire consists mainly of court dances preserved in the Tabulatura Jana z Lublina, Caioni Codex, Vietoris Codex, but also Renaissance music standards (compositions by Mikołaj Gomółka and Wacław of Szamotuły) performed together with the collaborating Choir of the Cistercian Basilica in Mogiła and the vocal ensemble Triplum.
The Collegium Clara Tumba ensemble has had the opportunity to perform, among others, as part of the Wawel Evenings organized by the Krakow Philharmonic (February 4, 2024) and in the auditorium of the Jagiellonian University’s Collegium Novum (November 20, 2024) with its standard program, which was recorded on the anniversary album entitled 800 lat Cystersów w Mogile (800 Years of Cistercians in Mogiła) produced with funding from the City of Krakow Scholarship Fund for 2022. The ensemble also plays occasional concerts, including a repertoire of old Polish Christmas carols, pastorals, and pastorells, which it had the opportunity to present at the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec (January 6, 2025) and the Rectorate of Divine Mercy in Krakow (January 14, 2024).
Repertoire
Spod strzechy do dworu. Folklore in court dances
The theme of the concert is an attempt to show the influence of folk music on the court repertoire. The compositions performed will be those inspired by or directly based on folk music from the cultural circles of Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and even the Ottoman Empire. This will present the musical landscape of Europe, where different cultures mixed and were influenced by Orientalism. The repertoire includes compositions from, among others, the Slovak-Hungarian Codex of Anna Szirmay-Keczer, the Hungarian-Moldavian Caioni Codex and the Swedish tablature of the Uhre family.
An instrumental concert combined with short introduction and stories about historical instruments.
Concert duration: 1 hour
Święta po sarmacku. Concert of Old Polish Christmas Carols
Concert of historical Christmas carols and pastorals performed in Poland and Europe from the 15th to the 18th century. The concert repertoire includes, among others, the oldest Polish carol “Zdrow bądź, krolu anjelski”, “Chrystus Pan się narodził”, carols and pastorals from the Staniątki, Puławy and Kórnik hymnals, as well as foreign pieces such as “Adeste Fideles”, accompanied by medieval Marian songs from the Iberian collection Cantigas de Santa Maria. In addition, at the end of the concert, the ensemble encourages the audience to sing Polish carols together.
Concert performed in collaboration with singer Annika Mikołajko-Osman, accompanied by an introduction about the Polish Christmas repertoire of olden times.
Concert duration: 1 hour
Jezusa Judasz przedał. Polish plancta and Lent hymns
A concert consisting of the oldest plancta and Passion songs from hymnals and manuscripts dating from the 15th to the 18th century. The repertoire includes, among others, “Jezusa Judasz Przedał” by Władysław of Gielniów, a Polish Bernardine monk, “Dobrotliwość Pańska” by Cyprian Bazylik, and “Siedząc po niskich brzegach babilońskiej wody” (Psalm 137) by Mikołaj Gomółka, as well as numerous songs by anonymous composers, such as “Ach, nam nędznym grzesznym nasze grzeszenie” and “O Jezu jakoś ciężko skatowany”.
The concert is performed in an instrumental version on its own or in a vocal-instrumental version in collaboration with the early music ensemble Anonymus, combined with an introduction to Polish Passion compositions.
Concert duration: 1 hour
Odrodzenie czyli złoty wiek. Renaissance music at the royal court
The programme focuses on instrumental dance music from the Jagiellonian court, as well as compositions of Polish character from foreign musical sources. The repertoire includes compositions by Valentin Bakfark, Diomedes Cato and anonymous composers from collections such as the Vietoris Codex and the Tabulatura Jana z Lublina. Part of this repertoire was recorded for the album 800 lat Cystersów w Mogile (800 Years of the Cistercians in Mogiła).
Instrumental concert. The concert may be combined with workshops for children on historical dances and instruments.
Concert duration: 1 hour
Members
Concerts
2025
6.06 – „W blasku korony króla. Obchody millenium królestwa polskiego” (with choir Cantores Carvatiani), Galeria sztuki Dwór Karwacjanów, Gorlice
12.04 – „Ecce Homo. Muzyczne rozważania wielkopostne” (with Anonymus), Kościół Niepokalanego Serca NMP, Sieniawa
6.04 – „Jezusa Judasz przedał. Koncert pieśni wielkopostnych” (with Anonymus), Kościół pw. św. Bartłomieja Apostoła, Kraków
16.02 – „Akademia muzycznego smaku. Na królewskim dworze”, Filharmonia Śląska im. H. M. Góreckiego
6.01 – „Koncert kolęd staropolskich”, Opactwo Benedyktynów w Tyńcu, Kraków
2024
10.12 – koncert w ramach „Sympozjum praw człowieka Akademii Sprawiedliwych”, MCK, Kraków
20.10 – „Spod strzechy do dworu. Folkloryzmy w tańcach dworskich”, Aula Collegium Novum, Kraków
1.06 – koncert w ramach XX Festiwalu Kultury Słowiańskiej i Cysterskiej (z chórem Bazyliki oo. Cystersów), Ląd nad Wartą
4.02 – „Wieczór Wawelski” (z męskim kwartetem wokalnym Triplum), Zamek Królewski na Wawelu, Kraków
24.01 – „Święta po sarmacku. Koncert kolęd staropolskich” (z męskim kwartetem wokalnym Triplum i Anniką Mikołajko Osman), MDK Dom Harcerza, Kraków
14.01 – „Święta po sarmacku. Koncert kolęd staropolskich” (z męskim kwartetem wokalnym Triplum i Anniką Mikołajko Osman), Rektorat pw. Bożego Miłosierdzia, Kraków
2023
16.04 – Koncert premierowy albumu 800 lat Cystersów w Mogile (z chórem Bazyliki oo. Cystersów), Bazylika Cystersów w Mogile, Kraków
2022
26.06 – „Od przeszłości do teraźniejszości”, koncert w ramach IX Jarmarku Nowomiejskiego, Nowe Miasto
15.05 – „Missa Paschalis i inne utwory muzyki religijnej”, Kościół pw. Bożego Miłosierdzia, Kraków
2.02 – „Made in Poland”, koncert połączony z warsztatami dla dzieci, MDK Dom Harcerza, Kraków
2021
5.09 – „ARCHI i przyjaciele – 10 lat”, debiutancki koncert zespołu, Zalew Nowohucki, Kraków