‘The Covenant’ to be played at opening of Temple of Divine Providence
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
11.11.2016 08:00
The oratorio “Przymierze” (The Covenant) by Polish composer Michał Lorenc is to be performed on Friday evening at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, as part of celebrations marking the opening of the church.
Photo: Jesse Kruger/Flickr.com
This will be the first public performance of the work by Lorenc, which has already been released on CD in a recording made in London’s Abbey Road studios by the London Symphony Orchestra under Lee Reynolds.
In Warsaw, the same conductor will direct the Orchestra of the Beethoven Academy in Kraków, the Cappella Corate Varsaviana and Polish soloists.
“The Covenant” is a 40-minute piece in five movements, the first, and longest of which, is a setting of a 15th-century text about the Mother of God which is attributed to the Blessed Ladislaus of Gielniów and kept in manuscript form at the Holy Cross monastery in the Holy Cross Mountains in Poland.
The final movement is a setting of a fragment of the Book of Isaac: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.”
Michał Lorenc, 61, has gained an international reputation primarily as the composer of film soundtracks, working closely with directors from Poland, the United States, Britain and the Czech Republic.
He also writes incidental music for the theatre and TV drama.
Top Polish politicians on Friday attended the opening ceremony of Warsaw’s Temple of Divine Providence, launching celebrations of the 98th anniversary of Poland regaining independence. (mk/pk)