The Ignacy Jan Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic celebrated the centennial anniversary of Poland’s independence with a concert on June 15 in Bydgoszcz.

The program featured Wojciech Kilar‘s vocal-instrumental works, starting with Angelus (1984), a musical version of the “Angelic Greeting.” The piece was written for the opening ceremony of the renovated altar in the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, and was considered by Kilar to be the first and most important of his religious works.

The vocal-symphonic poem Siwa mgła [Gray Mist] followed, inspired by the Podhale ” nuta wierchowa,” one of the ancient, rare and unusual structures of folk melodies. The piece was commissioned by Andrzej Szwalbe, director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic and dedicated to Andrzej Bachleda.The evening ended with Exodus, which premiered during the “Warsaw Autumn” festival in 1981. Kilar used the words of the song from the biblical Book of Exodus as a theme for the piece.

The works were performed by the Pomeranian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and the Academic Choir of the Casimir the Great University in Bydgoszcz under the baton of maestro Kai Bumann, the artistic director of the Polish Academy of Arts. Solo parts in Angelus were sung by the renowned soloist of the Kraków Opera, Iwona Socha. Adam Kruszewski sang the baritone part in Siwa mgła.

June 15, 2018 | 7:00 p.m.
100 Years of Independence
I. J. Paderewski Pomeranian Philharmonic
Andrzeja Szwalbego 6, 85-080 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Info & Tickets: www.filharmonia.bydgoszcz.pl

[Source: polmic.pl]