News
Premiere of Paweł Łukaszewski's Missa de Maria e Magdala
2011-05-10
The Polish premiere of Paweł Łukaszewski’s Missa de Maria e Magdala took place as the inauguration of the "Gaude Mater" liturgical festival on May 2nd in Częstochowa. The second title of the Mass is Missa Bremgartensis, derived from the Swiss city of Bremgarten, for which it was written. The world premiere took place on 26th of June, 2010 during the service in the parish church of Bremgarten, where the concert premiere also took place the next day. A key role in this project was played by two residents of the city. The first is Fr. Sylwester J. Kwiatkowski, the Polish local parish priest, who created a new Latin text for the mass. The second is the conductor Marco Castellini, head of the local cultural center, who commissioned the work, conducted both performances and also conducted during the liturgical performance of the work at Jasna Góra.In the history of music, masses have frequently been dedicated to saints. Texts directly related to them, however, were found in the variable parts of mass, the so-called Proprium Missae. In Fr. Kwiatkowski’s version, new content also appears in the non-changing parts, the so-called Ordinarium Missae - such as the Kyrie, Gloria and Agnus Dei. This is a highly original approach. The fourteen-part text of the Missa de Maria and the Magdala forms an autonomous literary work entirely based, however, on the traditional pattern of the Roman Catholic rite, intended also for liturgical use.
Paweł Łukaszewski admits that although he has already written two Masses (Missa pro Patria and the Messa per Voci e fiati) he began work on this score with particular fervor. He notes that Fr. Kwiatkowski’s text was a great inspiration, and opened his eye once more to the figure of St Mary Magdalene, who had fascinated him for a long time. Kwiatkowski, a poet and a mystic, from the treasury of ancient tradition recalls the glorious title of Apostola Apostolorum (Apostle To The Apostles), highlighting the fact that it was she who first saw the risen Christ and gave the apostles this news. And although, according to him, the text of the Missa de Maria e Magdala follows the mystical tradition, the piece is not to provide any special spiritual experience, but is intended for the ordinary Christian community.
Inauguration of the Liturgical Festival „Gaude Mater” Częstochowa, Jasnogórska Basilica, 2 May 2011, 1pm
PAWEŁ ŁUKASZEWSKI Missa de Maria a Magdala – Polish premiere
Anna Mikołajczyk-Niewiedział – soprano
Jarosław Bręk – baritone
Jan Bokszczanin – organ
Orchestra of the Częstochowa Philharmonic
Grzegorz Berniak – preparation of the orchestra
Warsaw-Praga Cathedral Choir „Musica Sacra”
Paweł Łukaszewski – preparation of the choir
Marco Castellini (Switzerland) – conductor
Most popular:
It is a musical-literary tale about a quest for identity, truth, and for what makes us human. The new stage work by Aleksander Nowak – which is, at the same time, Radek Rak’s operatic debut – explores the sources of good and evil, fusing reality with mythology and steering towards ‘the left-hand side of the world’. The authors spin a tale about the dual human nature. THE TALE OF THE HEART. FAVOLA IN MUSICA – the album that presents their joint project – will go on sale on 6th October.
Spectacularly successful as Ludomir Różycki’s music was in his lifetime, it is seldom programmed nowadays. All the same, such remarkable art could hardly fall into utter oblivion. It has attracted and fascinated excellent jazz pianist Kuba Stankiewicz, who has translated it into the language of jazz. The effects have been recorded and released on ANAKLASIS label’s most recent album, INSPIRED BY LUDOMIR RÓŻYCKI, which goes on sale as of 28th August.
PWM Edition is entering the execution phase of the revitalisation of its Warsaw department. With the commencement of the renovation and the implementation of the assumptions of the architectural design, the Hire Department and the editorial office of “Ruch Muzyczny” are moving to a temporary headquarters at 19 Wiejska Street, Warsaw.
This is by no means a piece about the centuries-long Polish-German conflict. It is, instead, a tale of impossible love, of tragic conflict between personal happiness and the common good.
PWM Edition resumes cooperation with the Italian publishing house Ricordi, as well as with its international partners forming Universal Music Publishing Classics & Screen. This means that rentals of orchestral materials from the catalogues of all publishing houses belonging to Classics & Screen is carried out in Poland by Dział Zbiorów Nutowych (Sheet Music Department) of PWM.
The most fascinating phenomena in contemporary music; a wide range of genres; outstanding works, excellent composers and performers – are the trademarks of the record label ANAKLASIS, launched by PWM Edition. ANAKLASIS is now celebrating its third birthday. It continues to grow at a dizzying pace and maintains the high artistic standards of its releases.
When asked to attempt a definition of her music, she called it lyrical expressionism. The choice of this term says much about the emotional intensity of Elżbieta Sikora’s music, which may reflect the experience of her two home countries, Poland and France, but is also a consequence of her artistic maturation in an age when two powerful trends – the avant-garde and neo-Classicism – were vying for the palm. Such a label may also result from the artist’s focus on the listener as her target, whom she invariably attempts to surprise, shock, or bewilder.
In cooperation with the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tallinn, we invite you to two concerts and lectures presenting the diversity and beauty of Polish music.
Over 300 performances of works by Polish composers, 114 finalists, a total of 36 repertoire pieces in 6 age categories, 20 winners, 17 jurors, 4 competition locations and one day of master classes. The piano competition for children and teenagers, “ChopinLand Piano Competition,” is behind us – an extraordinary project that took several months, which PWM Edition organized in Japan. Thanks to cooperation with local partners, Polish music could reach hundreds of young pianists and their teachers, creating the ambassadors of Polish music in the Land of the Rising Sun.
