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Three premières of Paweł Łukaszewski's compositions.
2014-10-13
In October as many as three compositions by Paweł Łukaszewski will be performed for the first time: Laudate Dominum was first performed (October 11, Wroclaw) and Litany de Sanctis Martyribus (October 11, Slubice). Requiem in a version for chamber orchestra will be held on the 31th of October 2014 in Krakow.
Paweł Łukaszewski composed Laudate Dominum in 2009 on commission from the Cathedral Girls' Choir “Puellae Orantes” - this group performed the work for the first time with the accompaniment of the DAFȎ Quartet conducted by the composer in Tarnów (19.09.2010). There are a few versions of this composition: for female or mixed choir and for strings or organ. In the version for female choir with an accompaniment of organ it was recorded by the “Musica Sacra” Choir and Łukasz Farcinkiewicz, conducted by Paweł Łukaszewski; this album won the Fryderyk Music Award in 2011. The version for mixed choir had its première at the World Music Days in Wrocław on the 11th of October 2014.
On that very same day in Słubice Litania de Sanctis Martyribus, commissioned by the violinist – Mariusz Monczak and the Musica Viva Association from Montreal, was performed for the first time. The version to the text in the Polish language was titled Litania do Męczenników Międzyrzeckich [Litany to the Martyrs of Międzyrzecze] and was withdrawn by the composer. The work was performed eight times in the Gorzów Diocese in 2003. The current and the only official version was created to a text in Latin thanks to the great help of Prof. Sylwester Dworacki, who revised it. Paweł Łukaszewski added wind instruments and modified slightly the soloist's part, which may also be performed by a cello player.
The author of Litania do Męczenników Międzyrzeckich is Rev. Andrzej Czechowicz, the parish priest of St John the Baptist parish in Międzyrzecze (d.1969), who contributed to the reactivation of the cult of the Five Martyr Brothers [Pięciu Braci Męczenników] in Międzyrzecze. He also translated into Polish the antiphons from the Officia propria dioecesium Poloniae breviary under the date of the 12th of November. These texts, beside the author's own work, comprise the text of the petitions of the litany to a large degree. There are twenty six petitions in the litany. The first six are to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The next is directed at Mary and then St Adalbert of Prague, whose death marks the threshold of Christianity in our land. The following parts of the litany are addressed to the individual Martyr Brothers who gave witness to their loyalty to Christ: Benedykt, Jan, Izaak, Mateusz and Krystyn; and three petitions directed at all Five Martyrs. The litany finishes with a call to Jesus, the Lamb of God, a short responsory: “May the saints bask in glory. May they enjoy their place of rest” and an invocation to God, who “blessed the sowing of the faith in the Polish nation” with the blood of the Five saintly Brothers.
On the 31st of October in Kraków the Orchestra and Choir of the Kraków Philharmonic, directed by Michał Dworzyński and conducted by Teresa Majka-Pacanek, with the following soloists: Maria Boberska (soprano), Ewa Marciniec (alto), Aleksander Kunas (tenor) and Jarosław Bręk (bass) will première a chamber version of Requiem – an opus whose version for symphony orchestra was enthusiastically received by the audience during its first performance in Presteigne in August of this year.
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