Ralph Allwood’s Rodolfus Choir unlocks a treasure-house of Polish sacred music in this ravishing final concert of the 2022 Joy and Devotion festival.
Drawn from Britain’s very finest young choral singers, The Rodolfus Choir is a choir with a striking difference; an ensemble, in the words of Gramophone, that “ rises above the technical challenges to convey a sense of radiance and elation that is indelibly memorable”. As part of Joy and Devotion, London’s new annual festival of Polish sacred music, Rodolfus’s founder and trainer Ralph Allwood takes these handpicked vocalists on a journey into the soul of a nation: chants, anthems, organ solos and fervent prayers. This is music of burning passion and ecstatic beauty, spanning nearly a millennium of endurance, courage and unquenchable faith.
Programme
Bogurodzica (13th-14th century)
Marian Sawa – Chorale Prelude ‘Adoro te devote’ (organ solo)
Grzegorz Gorczycki – O Rex Gloriae; Sepulto Domino
Mikołaj Zieleński – Beata es Virgo Maria
Mikołaj z Krakowa (Nicolaus Cracoviensis) – Salve * (organ solo)
Mikołaj Zieleński – O gloriosa Domina; Benedicamus Deum Coeli
Tabulatura Jana z Lublina – Rex (organ solo)
Roxanna Panufnik – All shall be well*
Marian Sawa – Popule meus
Jan Krutul – Ave verum corpus; Missa brevis
Mikołaj z Krakowa (Nicolaus Cracoviensis) – Ave Jerarchia (organ solo)
Stanisław Moryto – Three Psalms
Performers
Rodolfus Choir
Ralph Allwood Conductor
Rupert Jeffcoat Organ