Warsaw | Special Choral Music Concert on the 100th birth anniversary of Pope John Paul II

The Warsaw Philharmonic Choir accompanied by the musicians of the Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra will be offering an interesting and original vista of the music of the 20th and 21st centuries during a special concert on 4 November 2020 at 7.00 p.m. to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope John Paul II.

The concert will open with the solemn Coronation Te Deum by William Walton, heard for the first time during Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in 1953. The programme also features an important event on this year’s musical calendar – the world premiere of Paweł Łukaszewski’s Mass, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pope John Paul II. Łukaszewski, whose works have often been performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir, is one of the most outstanding and recognized Polish authors of choral and church music. Underpinning his musical idiom is a profound simplicity, a rich vein of tradition, masterfully structured form and an immersion in the sacred, all of which promises to make this extraordinary musical experience.

Norbert Palej is a composer whose works are not often heard in the concert halls in Poland. Born in 1977 in Poland and raised in Germany, Palej cut his teeth on composing in the United States. He is currently based in Canada, where he teaches composing at the University of Toronto. His work Weronika for solo violin, chamber orchestra and reciting voice will serve as an instrumental interlude for the evening. Lili Boulanger, the younger sister of the famous Nadia, was a talented composer whose career was cut short by her premature passing at the tender age of 24. Psalm No. 24 (together with two other psalms) penned in 1916, two years before her untimely death, is an evocative and poignant testimony to a budding talent that never had a chance to come into full bloom.

Live online streaming on YouTube.

More information at: http://filharmonia.pl/