Where the Italians sing charmingly. The musical patronage of Władysław IV Vasa in 17th-century sources

The article presents a Polish monarch of the House of Vasa, Władysław (Ladislaus) IV, as a patron of music. The author analyses his influence on Polish culture, shows the most important musicians and composers employed by the king, and the music present at the Polish court – everything according to vivid passages taken from the primary sources. While his father and predecessor Zygmunt III liked to sing in the presence of family and friends, Władysław IV preferred to listen to others performing. He employed dozens of musicians – not only Polish, but also famous Italian artists such as Marco Scacchi, Margherita Basile-Cattaneo or Baldassare Ferri. During his reign, a musical novelty appeared in Poland – the opera (dramma per musica). At the time, Poland was one of the most prolific opera centres in Europe, staging 10 original drammi in the years 1635-48 (more than in Florence, Ferrara or Bologna). Futhermore, the before-mentioned chapel master (maestro di capella) Marco Scacchi was a well-known music theorist. Cognition of this extraordinary chapter of Polish musical culture (which had not regained such significance before the 18th or 19th century) can and should be done according to numerous primary sources (i.e. journal of Jan Hagenaw or Adam Jarzębski’s poem Gościniec), which not only present a factual material, but also depict a distinct and interesting image of the epoch