Wawel Cathedral painted with organ music — Witold Zalewski concert

@

On 30 November 2026 at 6:30pm in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Helping the Faithful in Oświęcim there will be a concert by Witold Zalewski promoting the CD entitled “Wawel Cathedral with organ music painted”, released on the 80th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Karol Wojtyła.

The concert will be attended by the Parish of Our Lady of Helping the Faithful in Oświęcim and the Oświęcim Cultural Centre.

free admission

“I am giving you a CD with a book entitled “Wawel Cathedral painted with organ music”, on the 80th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Karol Wojtyła — Holy Father John Paul II.

The program of the album includes Polish organ music, which for many years has been a special area of my interests and research. These works, often presented by me in the Wawel Cathedral and in many renowned places in the world, show Polish organ culture against the background of the turbulent history of our country at the turn of the 20th century.

The visit of the cathedral will begin from the Zygmuntowska Chapel listening to the Advent Marian melody. Then, together with Pastor W. Rychling, we will move into Christmas time, finding a Christmas nativity scene in the church. The Toccata of the aforementioned Wawel organist will then lead us to the Black Cross of St. Hedwig, before which we will listen to the prelude “Jesus Christ, Lord kind”.

The next stage of our journey will be the main altar, in front of which the traditional service of “Bitter Sorrows” is held during Lent. We will embark on a resurrection procession to the sounds of the melody “Merry day has come for us today”. With the composition of F. Nowowiejski, we will end the Easter period with the Confession of St. Stanislaus, where every Sunday at 8.30 am a liturgy is celebrated in Latin.

Listening to the Fantasia of K. Gorski, we will go down to the underground of the cathedral. We will slow down a bit in the crypt of St. Leonard to commemorate the first Primitive Mass of the Great Polish Pope.

From the royal tombs we will wander to the chapel with the relics of the Holy Father John Paul II to give thanks for His Totus Tuus.

The musical story about the Wawel Cathedral is crowned with a Fantasy on the hymn “God Something Poland” by J. Gawlas, preceded by M. Surzyński's virtuosic and emotional Toccata in F minor.

The recording of the sound layer was made on the organs located in the church of St. Peter the Apostle in Wadowice — a temple built as a vow of gratitude for the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to the See of Peter and for his miraculous salvation after the assassination on St. Peter's Square.

/dr hab. Witold Zalewski, professor UPJPII, titular organist of the Wawel Cathedral/

photo: Jeremi Dobrzański

Witold Zalewski is one of the most recognized Polish organists, educator and esteemed author of ecclesiastical songs. In the years 1995-2026 he served as the first organist of the Wawel Royal Cathedral, being the guardian of the musical tradition of one of the most important places in the history of Poland.

He graduated from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow, in the class of Professor Jan Jargonium.

As a soloist, he conducts international concert activities, regularly representing the Polish organ school at the most important international festivals. His masterful recitals were admired by audiences in such prestigious places of the world as St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan in New York, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, St. Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney, the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space. Together with his daughter Hanna — also an organist — he performed at World Youth Days in Panama and in New York, Chicago, Edinburgh, Toronto and Gdansk-Oliwa.

In the history of the Polish Church, he became a witness and active participant in important religious events. During the historical pilgrimages of the Holy Father John Paul II to his homeland, he performed the honorary function of organist during the liturgies celebrated by the Pope in the Wawel Cathedral, the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki and in the Kraków Błonie. For his long and dedicated service to sacred music, he was awarded in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI with the distinction of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.

In addition to concert and liturgical activities, Witold Zalewski has a significant academic and organizational achievements. In 2016-2020 he headed the Intercollegiate Institute of Church Music in Krakow. Currently, he shares his knowledge and rich experience with students, working as a university professor at the Institute of Church Music of the Pontifical John Paul II University in Krakow. For more than two decades, between 1998 and 2020, he also served his expertise as a member of the Committee of Church Music of the Metropolitan Curia in Krakow.

He is also an esteemed author of publications of a practical and didactic nature. In 1997, the Polish Music Publishing House (PWM) published his author's “Śpiewnik pesni elnych”. He is also a co-editor and co-author of many other sheet music publications, including “Śpiewnik Wawelski”.

He is a co-organizer of many organ events in southern Poland with the participation of outstanding virtuosos from all over the world. In 2026, together with the Krakow Philharmonic, he initiated the 1st International Organ Festival “The Trail of St. John Paul II — Patron Saint of Małopolska”, of which he is the artistic director.

Witold Zalewski is the artistic director of the Summer Organ Concerts organized by the Oświęcim Cultural Centre and the Parish of St. Maximilian the Martyr in Oświęcim, the thirtieth edition of which took place in 2026.

/source: booklet CD “Wawel Cathedral with organ music painted”/

Parish of Our Lady of the Help of the Faithful in Oświęcim and the Oświęcim Cultural Center