Tomasz Szadek

Tomasz Szadek (1550 – 1612) was a Polish composer, singer, and cleric of the late Renaissance. He was a representative of the late style of the Franco-Flemish school in Poland.[1]

Gustave Reese gives a birthdate of 1550, but no location.[2] Little is known about his activities prior to his appointment to the royal chapel in Kraków, other than that he had received a baccalaureate degree sometime before his arrival in 1569. He became a curate at the cathedral in the early 1570s, where he also heard confessions. He joined the Capella Rorantistarum, a group of male singers for the Sigismund Chapel of the Wawel Cathedral, and remained with them until 1578.[1] Towards the end of his life, the association of cathedral vicars put him on trial, accusing him of poor performance in administrative duties and having an immoral lifestyle.[3]

Szadek's surviving music was all written for the male voices of his choir. It is in a style equivalent to the work of the late Franco-Flemish school. Of his writing Reese observes that he "shows talent for melodic line, but his polyphonic technique is unresourceful."[2] Much of his writing is homophonic. One of his two masses is based on a chanson by Thomas Crecquillon – Pis ne me peult venir, and is of the parody type. The other is also a parody mass, and based on a Christmas carol.[1]