CAROL CONCERT | Chorus-Mastowsko!

Performers: Agnieszka Kaczmarek-Bialik — harp

Joanna Glenc — conductor

Silesian Philharmonic Choir

Program: Benjamin Britten — A Ceremony of Carols Op. 28

Christmas carols (edited by Jack Glenc)

For centuries, Christmas has inspired composers to create music full of light, joy and reverence. During the next concert from the series Choir — Masterfully! The Silesian Philharmonic Choir under the direction of Joanna Glenc will present a program that will bring together one of the most important choral works of the 20th century and contemporary elaborations of Polish Christmas carols.

The focal point of the evening will be Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols — a composition that since its inception has delighted listeners around the world with extraordinary freshness, subtlety and festive brilliance. The work was composed in 1942 during the composer's trip from America to England. Drawing on medieval English Christmas texts, Britten has created a cycle full of contrasts — from joyful songs praising the birth of Christ to passages full of focus and reflection.

A special role in the work is played by the harp, the part of which is not only an accompaniment, but an equivalent element of the musical narrative. The delicate, flickering sound of the instrument creates, together with the choir, a unique sound space, giving the composition a character full of lightness, brilliance and poetic imagination. It was the unusual combination of chorus and harp that made A Ceremony of Carols one of the most recognizable Christmas songs of the 20th century.

The second part of the program will be filled with carols in the elaboration of Jack Glenc. The melodies familiar and close to the next generations will sound in new arrangements, showing the richness of the choral sound and the diversity of emotions contained in the Polish Christmas tradition. From solemn and uplifting to full of warmth and joy, Christmas carols remain one of the most important elements of Christmas musical heritage.

The concert will be an opportunity to meet the music that has accompanied the experience of Christmas for centuries. Combining Benjamin Britten's masterpiece with contemporary Polish carols will allow us to look at the Christmas tradition from different perspectives, while preserving its most important values — community, beauty and the joy of singing together.

CONCERT INFORMANT