Karol Szymanowski’s (1882 – 1937) magnificent oratorio, “Stabat Mater,” will be performed Wednesday, April 16 at 8 PM at St. Ignatius Loyola Church (980 Park Avenue, 83 / 84 Streets, Manhattan). Kent Tritle will lead the Choir and Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola and soloists in this great work, one of Szymanowski’s towering achievements and one of the outstanding choral works of the twentieth century.
Although it ranks with Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms” and Faure’s “Requiem,” the “Stabat Mater” is rarely performed; the most recent hearing in New York was nearly 20 years ago, and this is a rare chance to hear this wonderful composition. Tickets are $35. Preferred seating is $45, students / seniors $25.
The concert includes Camille Saint-Saen’s monumental “Organ Symphony” (Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78) and Joseph Jpngens “Hymn for Organ and Orchestra.” At 7 PM, renowned organ virtuoso Ken Cowan, Assistant Professor of Organ at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, performs a pre-concert organ recital featuring music by Widor, Ducasse, Saint-Saí«ns and Dupre.
Additional information is available at Sacred Music in Sacred Spaces, by E-mail, or by telephone at (212) 288-2520.
From writer and poet John Guzlowski’s Lighting and Ashes blog: KATYN: The Forest of the Dead
April is the month when many of the killings at Katyn Forest took place during World War II. Poles try to remember this every year, and I’ve been thinking about Katyn recently. I’ve been thinking about Katyn and my father.
When I was a child, he told me a lot of stories about what happened in the war, about things that happened to my mother’s family and his family and to Poland. One of the stories that he came back to repeatedly was about what happened in the Katyn Forest near the Russian town of Smolensk in 1940…
I recommend you read the rest of his story and his new poem, Katyn.
Happy Dyngus Day to all my readers. The photo above is from today’s festivities in Poland. The photo below is from a similar celebration in Hungary – HíºsvéthétfŁ‘.
For more information about the celebration of Dyngus Day check out the Buffalo’s Dyngus Day website.
From the IHT: Canada lifts visa requirments for Poland and three other Eastern European countries
TORONTO: Canada is lifting visa requirements for travelers from Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary.
Canadian Immigration Minister Diane Finley said Saturday the visa-free status for the four countries takes effect immediately.
About 33,000 Poles came to Canada on short-term visas in 2007.
Poland welcomed the move. Warsaw lifted visa requirements for Canadians in 2004, when Poland joined the European Union.
Warsaw would like the United States to introduce a similar policy.
As would I. Of course being a staunch ally never stopped the U.S. from stepping on Poland. Yalta and all you know… Poland is slowly waking up to that fact and is pulling out of Iraq. Hopefully they do the same with the ABM installation the Bush Administration is touting, either that or force Washington to pay dearly for what they want – in advance.
Since the fall of communism in Poland, a new tradition has emerged. On February 10th of each year, people all over the country place a lit candle in their window to commemorate the first of four waves of deportations (in 1940) of approximately 2 million Poles. Polish soldiers, intellectuals, educators, doctors, professionals, clergy members, anyone who might raise their voice in opposition to Soviet communism was deported to Siberia. Some made it as far as Katyn, where they were slaughtered by the Russians. Others were worked to death in slave labor camps, in Archangel and in Siberia – the very same type of slave labor camps the German Nazis created a few years later.
Tonight light a candle in their memory, and in the memory of all those who suffered through these deportations and the resultant genocide committed by the Russians against the Polish people, as well as others from the Baltic countries, who were prepared to stand in the way of totalitarianism.
The Light of the Candle – by Hania Kaczanowska
A cold, frosty window against the darkness of the night
A lonely candle burns with a small flickering light
A small boy watches the flame with curious eyes
Babciu, you lit this candle, can you tell me why?I lit this candle to remember someone I never knew
Somebody I just heard about when I was as little as you.
This is for my grandparents who never got the chance to see
Their homeland again and a new world with just me.They lived in a time when their Polish freedoms were taken
On a cold February winter night, all humanity forsaken.
I only knew them from the many stories that were told
How they struggled to survive with hunger and bitter cold.They never had the chance to get back what they knew
Their lives were destroyed and there was nothing they could do
Their last steps on earth were struggling to return
And I try to remember this as the memory candle burns.I missed the warm hugs they might have given me
If they had just been given another chance to see
But in my heart I always felt their love stream thru
And from my heart I give Babunia and Dziadek to you.They were warriors of faith and loved their land
Their fate was unnecessary and hard to understand
They were proud people, gentle and strong
Trapped in a world where so much went wrong.When the 10th of February comes, remember this light
And the story I will tell you about them tonite.
May the candle burn bright and their memory survive
As their spirit touches us as if they were here and alive.When I light the candle it is because I hope they will see
That their story will be passed on down to you, thru me
I can feel their smiles from the warmth of the flame
I hope the lit candle will always make you feel the same.
Happy Candlemas Day – the traditional end of the Christmas season.
This weekend we will bless candles – the traditional Gromniczna or Thunder Candle. The candle is kept in the homes of faithful Catholics and is used to ward off danger from storms and other threats. It is also used when the Holy Eucharist is brought to the home for distribution to the ill and home bound.
O Lord, Jesus Christ, Who wast presented by Thy parents in the temple, and Whom the venerable Simeon, illuminated by the light of Thy Spirit, recognized as his Savior, took into his arms and blessed: vouchsafe graciously to grant, that following the holy example of Simeon, we may always recognize Thee as our light and life, that we may always love Thee and follow Thee toward our way to salvation and eternal happiness. Who with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.
In the past week we learned that Louis de Cazenave, France’s second last surviving World War I veteran passed away on Sunday, January 20th.
Now we learn that Germany’s last World War I veteran predeceased France’s second last veteran by nearly 20 days. The BBC reports in Germany’s ‘last’ WWI veteran dies that Erich Kaestner died January 1st.
I just found it to be an interesting juxtaposition.
Wikipedia has an interesting page on the deaths of World War I veterans. It indicates that the last German survivor also predeceased the second last remaining Polish veteran, Stanisław Wycech who died on January 12th. Other surviving veterans are listed here.
In any event, may they all rest in peace.
From Gazeta Wyborcza via China View: Seriously calculated: mail slower than snails
A serious calculation has led to a couclusion that a postal delivery is even slower than snails in Poland, according to local Daily Gazeta Wyborcza Thursday.
An IT worker, after receiving a letter on Jan. 3 that was sent on Dec. 20 as priority mail, calculated that a snail would have made it even faster to his home than the letter.
The daily said Michal Szybalski calculated that it took 294 hours for the letter to arrive at his home.
He also said the distance between his home and the sender was 11.1 kilometers.
Given the distance and the time, the speed of the letter was 0.03775 kilometers per hour.
Szybalski calculated that a garden snail travels at around 0.048 kilometers per hour.
When I send things to Poland, typically gifts and supplies to teachers, I try to use Express Mail. An Express Mail package mailed before Christmas took about the same amount of time. Funny thing, the U.S. Postal Service’s website was advising me that the package was over the Atlantic for the majority of that time. Slooooow plane to Poland.
Kacper, a 16 year old web designer from Poland, living in Sweden, has linked up to my Gadu-Gadu WordPress plugin. Dziękuje Kacper.
An updated version will be posted to the WordPress plugins directory in the next few days.