Viola Organista: Monologues & Dialogues Sławomir Zubrzycki & Lilianna Stawarz

• Athanasius Kircher (1602 - 1680): Modo Hypodorico:
• 1 Kircher: Modo Hypodorico 02:27
• John Dowland (1563 - 1626): Lachrimae Antiquae:
• 2 Dowland: Lachrimae Antiquae 03:03
• Marin Marais (1656 -1728): La Rêveuse:
• 3 Marais: La Rêveuse 04:39
• Rondeau le Bijou:
• 4 Marais: Rondeau le Bijou 04:55
• Les folies d'Espagne:
• 5 Marais: Les folies d'Espagne 16:26
• Jan Podbielski: Praeludium in D Minor:
• 6 Podbielski: Praeludium in D Minor 01:34
• George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759): 12 Fantasias and 4 Pieces for Keyboard:
• 7 Handel: 12 Fantasias and 4 Pieces for Keyboard: No. 16, Carillon 02:47
• Johann Christian Bach (1735 - 1782): Sonata No. 5 in G Major for 2 Keyboards, W.A 21:
• 8 Bach: Sonata No. 5 in G Major for 2 Keyboards, W.A 21: I. Allegro 07:21
• 9 Bach: Sonata No. 5 in G Major for 2 Keyboards, W.A 21: II. Tempo di minuetto 04:38
• Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055:
• 10 Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055: I. Allegro 04:31
• 11 Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055: II. Larghetto 06:01
• 12 Bach: Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055: III. Allegro ma non tanto 04:13
• Total Runtime 01:02:35

Info for Viola Organista: Monologues & Dialogues

Polish pianist, claviolinist, composer, and instrument builder Sławomir Zubrzycki announces the release of his new album ‘Viola Organista: Monologues & Dialogues’, a landmark recording that brings to life one of the most enigmatic inventions in the history of music: the viola organista, a long-forgotten bowed keyboard instrument originally sketched by Leonardo da Vinci. Produced by Nils Frahm and featuring works by Dowland, Marais, J.S. Bach, and others.

Da Vinci’s cryptic drawings from the Codice Atlantico depict a keyboard instrument whose strings are bowed by a continuous wheel system. The viola organista is not an imitation of the organ, nor a surrogate for the viola da gamba. Its sound hovers in a liminal sonic zone: a bridge between the tactile intimacy of string instruments and the structural elegance of keyboards. The instrument was never built by Leonardo, but the idea proved curiously immortal, inspiring some 200 iterations over the centuries under names such as Geigenwerk, Bogenklavier, Lyrichord, and Clavier-gamba.

Only in 2013, after years of historical research and planning, did Zubrzycki succeed in building a fully functional viola organista. Unlike conventional instrument makers, who follow centuries-old traditions, Zubrzycki built his first version with little more than Renaissance sketches and a fierce belief in artistic autonomy. “If you’re a violin or piano maker, you follow the laws of violin or piano making. But I needed to be somewhere in between. I had to follow my own imagination.”

That same imagination guided Zubrzycki from the practical task of restoring his student piano in 1980s Kraków to building the clavichord, a similarly overlooked instrument, in the 1990s. As of today, he has completed three viola organistas, each one unique, adorned with visual emblems inspired by Florentine grotesques, Leonardo’s sepia-toned sketches, and papyrus-like textures.

His journey has now culminated in a collaboration with visionary producer Nils Frahm at LEITER’s Funkhaus studio in Berlin, a recording space rich in both historical resonance and sonic subtlety. “Nils doesn’t rush,” says Zubrzycki. “There’s time for everything. He listens deeply. This instrument needs that kind of space.” The result is ‘Viola Organista: Monologues & Dialogues’, an album as rare and compelling as the instrument itself.

The repertoire spans an ambitious cross-section of music from the 17th to 18th centuries, selected by Zubrzycki and Frahm to explore the full expressive and technical range of the viola organista. Highlights include Athanasius Kircher’s ‘Modo Hypodorico,’ written in the melancholic Hypodorian mode; John Dowland’s haunting ‘Lachrimae Antiquae;’ and Marin Marais’ lyrical ‘La Rêveuse’ and dazzling ‘Les folies d’Espagne.’ Works by Handel, Johann Christian Bach, and a mysterious Polish composer, Jan Podbielski, expand the sonic palette. The album closes with two prominent works: Johann Christian Bach’s ‘Sonata in G Major for 2 Keyboards’ and Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Harpsichord Concerto No. 4 in A Major,’ performed with renowned Polish harpsichordist Lilianna Stawarz. Her long-time artistic partnership with Zubrzycki brings warmth, precision, and spontaneity to this lively musical dialogue. These pieces reveal the viola organista not merely as a historical curiosity, but as a living, breathing instrument capable of complex expression.

With the number of playable viola organistas growing, so too does the repertoire and potential for artistic exploration. Its singular voice caught the attention of Icelandic artist Björk, who invited Zubrzycki to collaborate on ‘Vulnicura Strings’, an album reimagined for voice, viola organista, and string quartet. In fact, Zubrzycki’s aim is not to produce museum pieces, but playable instruments for modern musicians. “This isn’t about me. It’s about the instrument. I want others to take it further.” Collaborators like Nils Frahm, whose own interest in timbral nuance and ambient acoustics lends the album its distinctive edge, are key to this future.

‘Viola Organista: Monologues & Dialogues’ is an audacious act of cultural memory, resurrecting not just an instrument, but a mindset: one in which invention, art, and emotion are bound together in harmonious mechanics.

Sławomir Zubrzycki, plays the viola organista (all tracks)
Lilianna Stawarz, plays the harpsichord (tracks 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Sławomir Zubrzycki
pianist, claviolinist, composer, and constructor of musical instruments, born and living in Cracow.

In 2009 Zubrzycki came across the traces of a real rarity – the keyboard-bowed instrument designed by Leonardo da Vinci, but which had almost been unknown and forgotten. Fascinated by the facts from the past, in the years 2009 – 2012 Zubrzycki created his own version of Leonardo da Vinci’s design and brought to life an instrument with a unique sound and ready to concert.

The premiere recitals of viola organista (on 18 October 2013 in Cracow, during the International Royal Cracow Piano Festival, and on 21 October at Conrad Festival) were a spectacular artistic success and received a lot of publicity in the media. The video report from the viola’s first concert has been watched by more than 3 million people on YouTube. The news about the construction of viola organista was presented by the most popular media all over the world, including BBC, The Telegraph, France 24, Deutsche Radio Kultur, Corriere della Sera, MSN, Oman Daily Observer, Hindustan Times, Taipei Times.

His European tours in 2014-2020 (over 90 recitals in 19 countries) included recitals at Stockholm Early Music Festival, Mänttä Music Festival, Wratislavia Cantans, Ghent Festival of Flanders, Kotor Art Festival, Polish Music Days in Turkey, Ohrid Summer Festival, Milano Classica, Gaudete! Festival Internazionale di Musica Antica in Vercelli, Bucharest Early Music Festival, Summer Festival of Early Music in Prague, Kristupo Festivaliai in Vilnius, Copernicus Festival and Polish Music Festival in Cracow, European Renaissance Music Festival Clos Luce in Amboise, Les Nuits de Septembre in Liege, Days of Early Music in Bratislava, Kromer Biecz Festival, Recital at da Vinci exhibition at Kalmar Castle, Sweden, Musikfestspiele Saar, Germany, Festival van Vlaanderen Kempen, MIM, Bozar, Belgium, festivals in Treviso, Valvasone, Abbiategrasso, Vigevano, Pavia – Italy, Flautus Festival Sion – Switzerland, Stavanger Konzerhaus – Norway, Budapest, Székesfehérvár, Veszprém – Hungary, Bratyslava – Slovakia, Zagreb – Croatia, concerts Leonardo 500; w Metz, Reims – Francja, Geneva University – Switzerland.

In 2015 two albums of viola organista were released. Solo album, “Viola organista – The da Vinci sound” is unique in many ways: it is not only the first-ever recording of “da Vinci’s instrument” recital, but also the first Polish music project funded by music lovers from all over the world by a global crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. The album contains eight Baroque works (including the only work composed for the keyboard-bow instrument, Sonata for Bogenklavier by C. Ph. E. Bach) and, as a bonus, the music by the Leonardo da Vinci – who placed his music work on the painting “Portrait of a musician”.

To the second production Zubrzycki was invited by Icelandic singer Bjork, who released an acoustic version of her latest album “Vulnicura”, for voice, viola organista and string quartet.

In 1988 Sławomir Zubrzycki graduated from the Academy of Music in Cracow, where he studied piano in Professor Tadeusz Żmudziński’s class, and modern music in Professor Adam Kaczyński’s class. Having received a grant from The Fulbright Program, he continued to study piano at The Boston Conservatory of Music under the supervision of Janice Weber in 1990-91. The pianist also developed his artistic skills by participating in master classes taught by: Victor Merzhanov, Michael Lewin, Jerome Lowenthal, Włodzimierz Obidowicz, Johann Sonnleitner (harpsichord).

In 1987, he won a Prize at the Polish Piano Art Festival in Słupsk. Sławomir Zubrzycki has been giving concerts both as a soloist – performing with Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra, Capella Cracoviensis, Toruń Chamber Orchestra, Imperial College London Sinfonietta – and as a chamber musician with Olga Szwajgier’s Quartet (as one of its members), Gwendolyn Bradley, Jadwiga Gadulanka, Andrzej Hiolski, in Poland, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Ukraine and USA. He has made several recordings for Polskie Nagrania (Polish recording company), Polish Radio and Television. As a presenter, composer and musical director he has collaborated with Polish Televison on production of educational programs, such as Wszystko gra (It’s All Music To My Ears – a series of lectures on musical instruments for TVP 1 and TVP Polonia) and Sesame Street (Polish version for TVP 2). He has taken part in several festivals, including: Poznań Spring of Music, Music in Old Cracow, Audio-Art in Cracow, Fest der Kontinente in Berlin, Visiting Artist Series in Berklee College of Music in Boston, The Colours of Poland, Warsaw Cross Culture Festival, Turning Sounds in Cologne and Warsaw, Edinburgh Theatre Festival. He specializes in performing contemporary music, ranging from dodecaphony to instrumental theatre, improvisation and performance art. He was a lecturer at Summer Academy of Contemporary Music – Avantgarde Tirol in Austria (2005, 2007). He teaches his own piano class at the Frederic Chopin State Secondary Music School in Cracow.

Currently, Zubrzycki’s artistic activity focuses on viola organista. The Artist’s concert plans for next months include several concerts during European early music and classical music festivals.

Lilianna Stawarz
A harpsichordist and teacher. In 1998 she graduated with honours from the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, harpsichord class of Władysław Kłosiewicz, and in 1990 she obtained a diploma of Conservatoire National de Region de Rueil-Malmaison, class of Huguette Dreyfus.

In the period of 2012–2016, she held the functions of Vice-Dean of the Department of Instrumental and Educational Studies in Białystok and co-ordinator of Concert Bureau.

Since the academic year 2016/2017, she has headed the Inter-Department Unit of Early Music at the FCUM. For over 20 years, she was a member of an early music ensemble Il Tempo, specializing in instrumental and vocal and instrumental music from early baroque to classicism. Together with the ensemble she made numerous radio and 5 CD recordings and participated in numerous concerts and important early music festivals in Poland and abroad, e.g. in Bruges, Brussels, Utrecht, Moscow, New York, New Brunswick, Rome and Berlin.

In the period of 1991–2017, she was connected with the Warsaw Chamber Opera, both as a harpsichordist/chamber musician, and a conductor. Playing harpsichord and positive, she conducted instrumental, as well as vocal and instrumental works, such as: St. Mark Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach, a cycle of concertos “Songs and Arias – works by 18th-century Polish Composers”, pieces by Antoni Milwid and Marcin Żebrowski, Opera Omnia by Marcin Mielczewski, and operas: Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, Tetide in Sciro by Domenico Scarlatti (CD from the performance), Rinaldo by Georg Friedrich Händel, (as an assistant of Władysław Kłosiewicz). As artistic manager she also recorded six CDs with instrumental and vocal and instrumental music of the 17th century – Opera Omnia by Mielczewski, and a CD with works by Damian Stachowicz, Polish baroque composer.

In the period of 2015–2017, she held the function of artistic manager of Opera/Baroque at the Warsaw Chamber Opera.

She is a co-creator of the Baroque Operas Festival Dramma Per Musica and chairwoman of the Baroque Art Lovers’ Association.

In 2003, her first solo album with works by Carl Philippe Emanuel Bach was released (by CD Accord), in 2007 — a double DC album with Harpsichord Suites HWV 426–433 by Georg Friedrich Händel was released by the Pro Musica Camerata Foundation, and in 2012 her third solo album with The Inventions and Sinfonias by Johann Sebastian Bach was released by the Polish Radio.

She is soon going to release an album with 12 Polonaises and Fantasies by W.Fr. Bach and Harpsichord Concertos by W.A. Mozart KV 107 — in D Major, E‑flat Major, G Major and Harpsichord Concerto in D Major by J. Haydn Hob. XVII:11 with the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra (Polish Radio). She has also recorded harpsichord concerto by Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz with the Polish Radio Orchestra.

This album contains no booklet.