Workshops: White singing. Mourning songs

For centuries, singing has accompanied people in the most important moments of life — including those related to farewell, loss and passing away. It was a way of expressing emotions that could not always be expressed in words, while at the same time building a sense of community and mutual support. At the Westerplatte Cultural Center we invite you to a unique white singing workshop, during which we will turn to traditional mourning songs.

In the past, death was an experience lived together. With the dead, they watched, prayed and sang songs telling of farewell to the world, the fragility of human life and the inevitability of passing away. Singing had an important function at the time — helping to tame loss, giving space to express despair, grief, sadness, anger or powerlessness. It was also a form of support for loved ones who did not have to face difficult emotions in solitude.

During the workshop we will try to rediscover this tradition, treating singing not only as a form of musical expression, but also a way to stop, reflect and contact with one's own emotions. The meeting will be an opportunity to learn old mourning songs, sing together and work with breath and voice. Through breathing exercises, free sound extraction and relaxation of tensions in the body, participants will be able to experience singing as a natural form of expression. There will also be space to reflect on the passing and reflect on how the awareness of the transience of life affects the experience of everyday life.

The workshops are an invitation to meet tradition, but also with oneself — without haste, judgment and the need to have previous vocal experience.

Host: Anna Długosz — teacher of traditional singing, author of projects related to traditional music since 2014. She is originally a Czarna Góralka from Piwniczna Zdrój. Singing traditions are cultivated in her family.

Paid admission: PLN 50. Enrollments apply.