Maklakiewicz, J.: Swietokrzyska Mass / Missa tertia in honorem sancti Francisci Confessoris / Polish Mass

Featuring

Henryk Wojnarowski
Krystyna Lewandowska
Janusz Kazanecki
Piotr Wilczynski
Iwona Hossa
Jolanta Rzewuska

Warsaw Philharmonic Choir
Jan Maklakiewicz

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Maklakiewicz's music took a modern turn in 1926, influenced by Karol Szymanowski's music and his studies in Paris, where he encountered the latest European musical trends.

Compositional Technique

The Polish Mass uses a Polish text by Maria Helena Szpyrkówna, replacing the traditional Latin Kyrie with a prayer for peace and national unity.

Compositional Technique

The 'Częstochowska' Mass incorporates Polish folk dance rhythms like mazur, kujawiak, and oberek in its Gloria, and melodies from traditional Polish prayers in its Credo.

Composition History

Many of Maklakiewicz's religious works, including the Świętokrzyska Mass, were inspired by his role as organist and conductor at the St Cross Church in Warsaw, where weekly masses were broadcast by Polish Radio.

Historical Context

The Missa quarta in honorem Beatae Mariae Virginis ('Częstochowska') and the Polish Mass were composed during World War II to offer spiritual comfort and hope for liberation to Poles under Nazi occupation.

Composer Biography

Jan Maklakiewicz, an outstanding Polish composer of the first half of the 20th century, studied composition at the Warsaw Conservatory and in Paris with Paul Dukas.