The Father Professor Włodzimierz Sedlak Foundation invites you to "Missa Pro Pace" – a concert for soprano, baritone, mixed choir, saxophone, accordion, organ and brass band which will be held on 15 August 2021 at 8.30 p.m. in the Church of Annunciation of the Lord in Żarnowiec and on 18 August 2021 at 7.00 p.m. in the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jastarnia. The event is dedicated to the memory of Fr. Krzysztof Stachowski – the parish priest in Żarnowiec, who died on 5 February 2021.
The title "Missa pro pace" (Mass for peace) refers to the first sentence of the book of Cistercian manuscripts from the 15th century, owned by the treasury of the Benedictine Abbey in Żarnowiec. This source material inspired the composer Adam Diesner to arrange sacred melodies for modern instruments. An attempt was made to establish a dialogue between the past and the future, but also between the artists and the audience. The concert consists of elements of the ordinary of the mass: Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Graduale, Alleluia, Credo, Offertorium, Sanctus, Agnus Dei and Communio. The experiment adds musical improvisation, interaction with the audience and juxtaposes Latin with the Kashubian language.
During the transcription and studies on the "Żarnowiecki Gradual", a gap in the text was discovered in the Gloria part, which was the reason to incorporate into the arrangement contemporary tropes in Kashubian – a prayer for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the period of the pandemic by Tomasz Fopke. The idea of the authors was also to symbolically show the dialogue of the Creator and creation at the heart of the composition, in the Credo part.
Adam Diesner's arrangements will be performed by the Lutnia Choir from Luzin, the Fisherman's Brass Band from Jastarnia and soloists – including Tomasz Fopke himself – conducted by Zofia Guz.
The project was co-financed under the "Music" programme, carried out by the National Institute of Music and Dance, and from the resources of the Krokowa Commune.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
More information: www.fundacjasedlaka.pl