Truthfulness.

From personal grief to common dissent. These emotions will resonate in the Jagiellonian Library, a place marked by the ritual of reading in silence and war history. The Polish Radio Choir will lead us through the mystery of death, memory and rebirth, to finally reproach ourselves for the truth and freedom of speech.

The modernist building of the Jagiellonian Library was built between 1931 and 1939. Before readers could sit under a huge skylight, war broke out. During the occupation, the collections were moved here, the library was renamed the Staatsbibliothek Krakau, and Poles were banned from official access. During the concert, the skylight will already be dark. The audience will take their seats at the original tables, illuminated by individual lamps, and the space of silent reading will be filled with voices, texts and meanings.

The program begins with a study of a very personal loss. In Coda, Rytis Mažulis mourns his deceased wife: ordered canons disintegrate into chaotic prayer. Caterina Schembri tries in Ode to Psyche to connect the infinite idea of the soul with the shattering statue of the forgotten goddess, and it is BE Rita Mačiliūnaitė who introduces the focus of Buddhist mantras.

In Because I could not stop for DeathJürg Frey weaves a peaceful journey into eternity with the image of a grass that dies and grows back every year. From this point on, the perspective shifts from private experience to community responsibility. The composition Truth.Kazimieras Krulikovskis, selected in the Vox Juventutis competition, asks about the line between truth and lies in the era of information wars. Final Come to the Edge! Cecilie Ore juxtaposes excerpts from Pussy Riot's Moscow trial with statements about free speech. The composition dedicated to opponents of the Putin regime after the Russian invasion of Ukraine acquires an even stronger anti-authoritarian significance.

The choir will change position: it will sound frontally, from the balcony, gallery and stairs, as well as between the listeners. The written words will “come out” from books and scores to surround the audience and turn into moving testimony.

The concert is co-organized by the Polish Radio Choir — Lusławice.

SACRUM PROFANUM Festival and Irish-based composer Caterina Schembri met through NMDX, an international networking and exchange programme run by CMC in collaboration with New Music Dublin and with the support of Culture Ireland and IMRO. #NMDXConnects.

Availability:

The concert will last about 70—80 minutes and will take place without interruption. The audience will sit on chairs at the original reading room tables. During the event, you can leave and re-enter the hall.

The choir will sing acoustically, without amplification. Artists will change locations and may appear on balconies, galleries, stairs, and in between the audience. So the sound will come from different sides, sometimes from a short distance.

The program addresses the themes of death, mourning, war, political repression, imprisonment, and the curtailment of free speech. The final track uses, among other things, excerpts from statements from the Moscow trial of the group Pussy Riot.

There will be no natural light in the room. Artificial lighting and table lamps will be used. It is planned to provide translations of the sung lyrics.

The building is accessible to people with mobility disabilities (elevator, wide entrances, no thresholds, accessible toilet).

The entrance to the Jagiellonian Library is located at 3 Oleandry Street, it is accessible for wheelchair users. There is a lift available. For those travelling in wheelchairs, please inform KBF Accessibility Coordinator in advance: Barbara Zać, barbara.zajac@kbf.krakow.pl, tel: 604 483 402.

Assistance is available for people with visual disabilities*. You can enter the building with an assistance dog and a guide dog.

The parking space for people with disabilities (the so-called envelope) is located in front of the entrance to the building, at Oleandry Street.