Jakub Polak (c. 1545 - c. 1605), also known as Jakub Reys (Reis, de Rais, de Reiz, de Restz, de Retz, du Retz) and Jacques le Polonois, was a Polish

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

nist and composer. He was notable for his service as court lutenist to Henry III of Poland and France."The Oxford Companion to Music" Scholes,P Oxford,OUP,1955 p823 Initially Polak served as one of the court musicians at

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, and after Henry III fled Poland, Polak joined him in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1574. He was an author of several lute compositions, most notably preludies, fantasies, dances and several

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

s. During his lifetime he was renowned for his lute improvisations.

References

External links

Polak's ''Praeludium'' in .mid format

1540s births 1600s deaths Polish composers Polish lutenists Polish male classical composers Renaissance composers {{Poland-composer-stub