Various Artists - Symfonia Wielkopolska 1918 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Another album in the Anthology of Polish A Cappella Music series was being created on the eve of the first anniversary of Juliusz Luciuk's death. This time, the 'Collegium Cantorum' Choir of the Czestochowa Philharmonic reached for the internationally unique work Vesperae in assumptione Beatae Mariae Virginis - Vespers on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. While researching the output of the Czestochowa-Cracow composer one can sense his individual style, based on a few indefeasible pillars. One of them is profound respect for tradition, with particular emphasis on the Gregorian chant, both in terms of the melodic solutions of the monody and the entire culture and performance conditions surrounding the chant. Other pillars of his work are the quest for colour in harmony and the peculiar simplicity of emotions reflecting the composer's personality. The Vespers presented on this album can be considered the quintessence of the style of Juliusz Luciuk, an artist who was particularly passionate about sacred music.

Album Tracks 1. I. Adagio - Allegro Molto 2. II. Largo 3. III. Scherzo. Molto Vivace 4. IV. Allegro Con Fuoco 5. No. 2 Andantino in D Flat 6. No. 1 Nocturnal Route 7. No. 3 at the Old Castle

Milda and Nijola, forgotten works by Stanislaw Moniuszko, whose content is based on Lithuanian mythological motifs, are a unique continuation of the cantata style and form in the Polish music. They are extremely successful pieces, and the shortness of their popularity can be probably explained only with the words of the author of the libretto of Milda, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. If our critics were able to recognise Mr. Moniuszko's talent, we would not envy Germans songs by Schubert and Mendelssohn Bartholdy (...), better than Mr. Moniuszko only because they were lucky to be born and gain fame abroad. It seems unbelievable that these cantatas have not yet been available on album. In this context, the double- album of the Poznan Philharmonic is an invaluable contribution to restoring Moniuszko to his rightful place in the forefront of 19th-century European composers, not only operatic.