Sacrum — Wagner, Panufnik, Verdi | Shemet | Choir and Symphony Orchestra

Performers: Yaroslav Shemet — conductor

Jarosław Wolanin — conducting the choir

Silesian Philharmonic Choir

Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra

Program: Richard Wagner — Overture Poland

Andrzej Panufnik — Sinfonia Sacra

Giuseppe Verdi — Four sacred pieces

Sacrum can be expressed in music through religious prayer, spiritual contemplation, but also through community, history and national memory. The concert program will combine three musical perspectives on the idea of sacrum — Richard Wagner's Polonia Overture inspired by Polish history, Andrzej Panufnik's monumental Sinfonia Sacra based on the melody of the Mother of God, and Giuseppe Verdi's Quattro pezzi sacri full of concentration and mystical tension. It will be led by Yaroslav Shemet.

Richard Wagner's overture Polonia is one of the composer's least known works and is a unique trace of his interest in Polish history and culture. Wagner composed the piece in 1836 under the influence of meetings with Polish emigrants after the November Uprising. The central element of the composition became the theme of the song Tra Polska nie perished, which the composer processes and develops in the spirit of a romantic concert overture. Already here you can hear Wagner's characteristic monumental momentum and love for the intense sound of the orchestra.

A special place in the program will be occupied by Andrzej Panufnik's Sinfonia Sacra — one of the most important works of Polish symphony of the 20th century. The composer created the piece in 1963 on the occasion of the millennium of the baptism of Poland, basing its musical material on the oldest Polish religious hymn Bogrodzica. Panufnik combined modern musical language with deeply symbolic construction, creating a work of exceptional emotional and spiritual strength. Monumental climaxes and elaborate parts of wind instruments contrast here with fragments of focus and meditative silence.

The programme will be completed by Giuseppe Verdi's Quattro pezzi sacri — the composer's last great work, written at the end of his life. The four sacred works were created independently of each other, but together they form Verdi's extraordinary musical testament. Here the composer combined the mastery of operatic expression with deep spirituality and subtle choral work. A special place is occupied by the monumental Te Deum — full of dramatic contrasts and emotional intensity, one of the most moving finals in Verdi's entire oeuvre.

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