7 – 10 November 2024 | St James’s Piccadilly
‘Joy & Devotion’, London’s celebrated annual festival of Polish sacred music, returns for its fourth edition in November 2024.
Supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, a Polish cultural organisation which seeks to share the abundance of Polish culture with international audiences, the festival presents centuries of beautiful music performed by some of the finest UK choirs.
For the first time, the 2024 festival takes place in the exquisite setting of St James’s Piccadilly – the sonorous 17th-century church designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and well known as an important venue for high-quality classical music. This year the festival expands to include four choirs – SANSARA, The Choir of King’s College London, Holst Singers and The Sixteen – all making their festival debuts. Also for the first time, the festival includes a public lecture about contemporary Polish sacred music at King’s College London [8 Nov]. The eminent Polish composer Paweł Łukaszewski (b. 1968) continues as Artistic Director, and Rupert Jeffcoat returns as resident organist.
Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, said:
“Sacred choral music is foundational to Polish culture and its beauty resonates through time. We are thrilled to increase the scope of the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival this year to include four choirs and a lecture on contemporary Polish sacred music, celebrating the unique art form in more ways than ever before.”
Paweł Łukaszewski, Artistic Director of the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival, said:
“It continues to be an honour to direct the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival of Polish sacred music in London. The concert programmes have been curated to reflect a broad swathe of Polish choral music through the centuries, rendered in the finest imaginable performances by these outstanding British choirs. We’re excited that St James’s Piccadilly is hosting this year’s festival for the first time.”
The festival opens with the acclaimed choir, SANSARA, led by Guest Conductor Ellie Slorach [7 Nov]. With a programme centring on the extraordinary range of Polish sacred music produced over the last century, the concert features Missa gratiarum actione by Juliusz Łuciuk (1927-2020) whose music is famous for its neoclassicism. Also on the programme is Lacrimosa by Bartosz Kowalski-Banasewicz (b. 1977), in amongst many other 21st-century Polish choral treasures.
The second festival concert features a collection of contemporary Polish hymns by Sławomir Czarnecki (b. 1949) performed by The Choir of King’s College London, conducted by Joseph Fort [8 Nov]. Czarnecki’s music is celebrated as some of the finest modern Poland has to offer, the composer having won numerous international competitions for his work. The concert also includes Gaude Mater Polonia by the 13th-century composer, Wincenty of Kielcza, and Four Impressions for Organ by Jan Fotek (b. 1928).
Holst Singers, conducted by Stephen Layton [9 Nov], perform a programme of advent music contrasting gems of the baroque era with contemporary music, featuring music by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (1665-1734), Aleksander Jan Szopa (b. 1997) and festival director, Paweł Łukaszewski (b. 1968). Gorczycki’s prolific output has earned him the title of the ‘Polish Handel’; the concert programme includes his Missa Rorate scored for two sets of four voices, the combination of which creates an ethereal sound. Two organ works by Aleksander Jan Szopa feature, along with Łukaszewski’s O Antiphones.
Known for its exhilarating and excellent performances all over the world, The Sixteen round off this year’s ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival with court music from the 16th and 17th centuries, conducted by Eamonn Dougan [10 Nov]. The programme features more music by Gorczycki as well as by Bartłomiej Pękiel (1601-1670), Marcin Mielczewski (1600-1651) and various Italian composers including Palestrina (1525-1594).
For the first time at the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival, there will be a lecture on contemporary Polish sacred music, which takes place at King’s College London [8 Nov]. This includes a discussion panel with festival director Paweł Łukaszewski and musicians Joseph Fort and David Wordsworth.
The esteemed Scottish organist, Rupert Jeffcoat, returns to the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival. He performs solo at three of the choral concerts and at a lunchtime concert [9 Nov].