Hail, Mary! A Górecki premiere and a newly-commissioned mass are at the heart of The Gesualdo Six’s exploration of Polish music’s very special relationship with the Mother of God.

For many Polish Catholics, the Virgin Mary is revered as the eternal Queen of Poland – and as for any great queen, composers have flocked to write music in her honour. This concert by The Gesualdo Six – part of Joy and Devotion, London’s new annual festival of Polish sacred music – centres on a brand new Mass in honour of the Virgin Mary, specially commissioned from Marek Raczynski, and threaded throughout the programme like beads on a rosary. In between, luminous with emotion, come sacred masterpieces spanning five centuries, including the UK premieres of two stunning choral works by the late Henryk Górecki.

Programme

Górecki – Veni, O mater terrae; O, mater semper alma (UK premieres)
Raczyński – Mass
Gorczycki (1665 – 1734) – Tota pulchra es Maria
Marian Sawa – Salve Regina
Marian Sawa – ‘Te Deum’ – Silesian Fantasy (organ solo)
Marian Sawa – Regina caeli
Aleksandra Chmielewska – Salutatio Angelica
Bartłomiej Pękiel (†1670) – Ave Maria
Michał Schaeffer – Lumiere de Laube (organ solo)
Stanisław Moryto – Preces pro Polonia
Wincenty z Kielczy – Gaude Mater Polonia

Performers

The Gesualdo Six
Owain Park Conductor
Rupert Jeffcoat Organ ​