Warsaw | Secular Spirit in Religious Music

The Polish Radio Choir will present works by Gioacchino Rossini and Karol Szymanowski on 8 March 2020 at 8:00 p.m. at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio in Warsaw.

The Litany to the Virgin Mary, Op.59 by Karol Szymanowski is based on two stanzas from the Litany by the inter-war poet Jerzy Liebert of the Skamander group. In formal terms, the composition is a two-part cantata for solo soprano, female choir and symphony orchestra. It is also one of the last works originating from the so-called "national" period in Szymonowski's work. As he wrote in a letter to Zofia Kochańska, "this is perhaps my deepest, most focused thing." And indeed this focus and personal, sometimes intimate tone can be heard from the beginning of the composition.

For centuries, the greatest composers used the text of the traditional medieval Stabat Mater sequence, from Palestrina, through Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Dvořák, Verdi, and Szymanowski, to Penderecki or Pärt. Gioacchino Rossini' Stabat Mater is one of the most valuable pieces of religious music. The work, consisting of ten parts, is intended for a quartet of soloists, mixed choir and symphony orchestra, and testifies to the mastery of counterpoint art.

The upcoming concert will feature Ewa Tracz – soprano, Anna Borucka – mezzo-soran, Andrzej Lampert – tenor, Jarosław Bręk – bass-baritone. The artists will be accompanied by the Polish Radio Choir, Katowice City Singers 'Camerata Silesia' and the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw conducted by Michał Klauza.

Information on tickets at: https://chorpolskiegoradia.pl/event/karol-szymanowski-litania-do-marii-panny-op-5/