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Panorama życia kulturalnego Śląska Górnego i Cieszyńskiego w XIX i XX wieku – tradycje, wektory, zróżnicowania

Author(s): Jolanta Szulakowska / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

vIn the present work the author attempted to emphasise both the similarities and the differences which characterise the culture of both Silesian regions, formulating this outline against the background of historical and social changes which began to occur in the 18th century. In reference to the Cieszyn region one should emphasise especially the culture-forming, protestant work ethic and the positivistic social activity (based on the ranks of burghers, courtly culture, the influence of Vienna models, deeper reliance on folk songs, the atmosphere of religious tolerance which lasted many years or the full-scale education and orientation toward individualism. The opposite Upper Silesian borderland mentality of constant preparedness was marked by exclusivity of Catholic origin, a higher degree of conservatism, a lack of opinion-making strata, greater engagement of religious output written under the influence of the Catholic Church or the folk-patriotic contamination of the Romantic idea. The choir movement was more developed there, the infiltrations of the works of Karol Szymanowski were more evident, and the works which was somewhat reminiscent of the works of German Neoromantism were written due to the less developed estate of burghers. Due to a number of similarities and differences one may suggest a dichotomy of cultural images, images which arose in both parts of Silesia, if we make recourse to well-known concepts of Tönnies – the Upper Silesian Gemeinschaft, i.e. the organically united community on the basis of custom, neighbour-related relations of personality and faith, and Gesellschaft, i.e. an arbitrary association, society which functions on the basis of convention, formalised law, stimulating the development of social roles.

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Rozwój folklorystyki na Śląsku Cieszyńskim – pierwsze badania

Author(s): Magdalena Szyndler / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

As early as at the beginning of Śląsk Cieszyński there were conducted first instances of field research devoted to the collection of song repertoire (1819 – the appeal of the Association of the Friends of Music of the Austrian Empire in Vienna – Společnost přáatel hudby rakouskĕho mocnářctvi). This action prompted the reaction of priests, teachers, the supporters of the social movement, which was testimony of their considerable historical – especially regional – awareness. Further area explorations were conducted by both Polish and Czech scholars. Successive collections of songs were compiled (A. Cinciała, B. Hoff, R. Zanibal. P. Stalmach, W. Kisza, A. Hławiczka, K. Hławiczka, J. Tacina, K. Piegza, F. Pustówka, J.S. Bystroń and others), which to this constitute an invaluable source of folk vocal repertoire.

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Krystyna Turek – badacz folkloru i pedagog. Przyczynek jubileuszowy

Author(s): Bogumiła Mika / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The present article is devoted to a well-known researcher of folklore and a teacher – Krystyna Turek. She is one of the people who enrich the musical culture of Górny Śląsk and Śląsk Cieszyński with their life and their scholarly activity. Her research interests are focused on the problems of the musical culture of the Silesian region – they were initiated during her studies in the Katowice-based Academy of Music. In 1973, working under the supervision of prof. dr hab. Adolf Dygacz, Turek began her proper scholarly activity devoted to Silesian folklore studies. In the course of years Turek’s circle of research interests expanded and as a result it covered such areas as: folk vocal and dance-based works of various professions and communities, an analytical overview of the sources of folklore, religious themes in songbased works, the problems of modern thanatology, especially the traditional and the modern customs of the time of death, the cultural heritage of Śląsk, the output of distinguished folklorists and the researchers of folk culture, their life paths and scholarly achievements. Turek is the author of 170 publications, including ten books and over 130 articles.

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Muzyka folklorem Beskidów pisana

Author(s): Danuta Zoń-Ciuk / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

In her article the author presented the figure of Jan Sztwiertnia – a composer, conductor, teacher, who was strictly associated with the Śląsk Cieszyński region. She performed an overview of the creative output motivated by the folklorist passion of the artist, with a particular focus on two compositions intended for a mixed a cappella choir. She also performed a melodic-harmonic, rhythmic and textual analysis of these words and she described the sonic language and the means of artistic expression which were applied. On the basis of folk sources which were found she described the extent to which the artist utilised them in his works. She also provided an insight into the execution-related problems which occurred during the realisation and she demonstrated the means to solve the said problems.

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Ryszarda Gabrysia muzyka „metamuzyczna”

Author(s): Magdalena Dziadek / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The article familiarises the reader with the genesis and the evolution of Ryszard Gabryś’s creative output in the context of the biography of the composer. Attention was directed toward the peculiar cultural context which constituted the basis for the formation of the artistic views of Gabryś, including his consistent fascination by the avant-garde. The main trends of the creative interests of the artist, which covered – apart from “pure” music – poetry, theatre, performance, were confronted with the practical sphere of his activities as a columnist, organiser of musical life and a teacher. In all of these departments Gabryś achieved fulfilment as a person who transcended various divisions and boundaries, a person who challenged conventions. This pursuit also characterises the creative output of the artist, to which one began to apply the term “metamusic”. The premise of the “metamusic” of Gabryś was discussed on the basis of examples of his flagship works which originated from the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the present century.

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Od źródeł do ujścia. Tradycyjny folklor w dobie wpływów, inspiracji i przemian

Author(s): Ewa Cudzich / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

For a dozen or so years, the Polish context has seen the expansion of the group of musicians who draw inspiration from source music, from pure, unprocessed forms, on whose basis they set out musical arrangements with reference to traditional melodies and the rediscovery of early, forgotten texts. Traditional music plays a significant role in the formation of ethnic and national identity. Is such a role also played by processed forms? Is it merely a trend in the multitude of genres of music? The text constitutes an attempt at answering these questions, although I am aware of the polydimensionality of this subject. The modern music scene, strictly associated with ethnic, traditional music, and finally with folk, is a remarkable field of research which is subject to constant transformations, but as the decades elapse, the said field requires a scholarly, ethnomusicological insight. In this context a significant role is played by the “guardians of tradition”, musicians who, on the basis of folk melodies, with an awareness of sources and identity, bravely venture outside stiff frames, defy attempts at classification, in order to create new projects which combine elements of tradition and modern music, creating new arrangements of early songs and melodies. The map of Polish folk music changes each year, new ideas constantly emerge, which make reference to some extent to traditional folk songs and melodies. However, of primary significance is the fact that also the recipient is supposed to receive musical content in a conscious manner; it is also one of the roles of the transmitter of the musical-verbal message that is significant. The source is supposed to remain recognisable, so that at the estuary the entity of the place, culture and ethnicity may be preserved.

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Jak wykreować „podwórkowy klimat”, czyli muzyka Zenona Kowalowskiego do serialu animowanego Reksio

Author(s): Katarzyna Babulewicz / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The Reksio animated series was produced in 1967-1990 in the Animated Cartoon Studio in Bielsko-Biała. The musical setting of sixty four episodes was the work of Zenon Kowalowski (b. 1939), a composer and teacher, the author of music for over short subject and medium subject 150 films, an artist who had professional and family-related associations with Cieszyn. Even though the opening of Reksio constitutes one of the best-known fragments of Polish film music, heretofore the musical setting of the series has not been the object of treatment (apart from a BA thesis and an article of the author). The music of Reksia is distinguished by melodic richness, masterlful creation of humorous situations (which is not that obvious at all in the case of music intended for a children’s film, as it might have seen, assuming the music of the show’s contemporary foreign productions for comparison’s sake). Brilliant instrumentation is one of the highlights of the music. Each of the films received extremely well-thought out musical treatment, music tones in with the visual layer, although its variety is motivated not only by content-related themes, resulting from scripts, which were brilliant in their own right. Among interesting compositorial ideas one may mention e.g. the utilisation of the opening theme of the film as a Leitmotiv of a mountain trek or the illustration of a visit to a museum by music which is reminiscent of a Baroque concerto. The article presents a synthetic description of the musical setting of the entire series, and the conclusions are supplemented by fragments of statements of the composer himself, derived from an interview conducted by the author in 2012.

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Missa Requiem Damiana Stachowicza w aspekcie związków słowno-muzycznych

Author(s): Maciej JOCHYMCZYK / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Missa Requiem by father Damian Stachowicz (1658—1699) is one of the first interpretationsof the texts of a funeral service in seconda practica in the Polish music (probably theoldest one). The composition was created before 1693 whereas the information about itsperformance can be found in a description of funeral celebrations of WojciechSiewierkiewicz, the first prior of the Piarist college in Łowicz who died on 14th September1693.In his Requiem, Stachowicz interpreted both ordinarium missae — Kyrie, Sanctus, Agnus Deiparts as well as some of proprium — introitus, sequentia (apart from stanza no 5, 6, 12, 13 and16) and offertorium. He avoided graduale, tractus and communio. He also left out Christie andthe second Kyrie. The musical form remains tightly connected with the construction of a verbaltext. In its shape, Requiem is marked with similarities with the assumptions of dispositio —a rhetorical arrangement of the musical material, the model for which constituted the orator’sspeech.The work by Stachowicz contains many rhetorical-musical figures. They concern bothmelody, contrapunctal layer and the appropriate usage of pauses. The composer also makesuse of the illustrative effects deriving from the application of distant keys which, unequallytempered, sounded out of tune. Some of the parts of Requiem contain more rhetorical devicesthan the other. Obviously, the frequency of their usage depends on the quality of theverbal text. The fragments which influenced the composer in the strongest way constitutethe stanzas of Dies irae beginning with Quantus tremor, Quid sum miser, Rex tremendae,Recordare and Lacrimosa, as well as parts of Domine Jesu and Agnus Dei II.Stachowicz employs the majority of figures of the common music language, leaving no“meaningful” words without the proper musical illustration. It proves that the composer orientateshimself well in the current conventions especially as the Polish repertoire does notinclude the interpretations of a funeral service which he could follow as an example.

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Działalność i repertuar kapeli muzycznej w Rakowie Opatowskim w świetle źródeł archiwalnych

Author(s): Aleksandra Patalas / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The library of Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne in Sandomierz preserves a precious collectionof musicalias deriving from around the first half of the 18th century, which remainedafter the parish church chapel in Raków Opatowski. The article presents both a generalcharacteristic of the collection and history of the musical ensemble it is connected with. Thefate of the chapel in Raków is tightly connected with the history of the city, especially, the religiousevents which took place in the 17th and 18th centuries. The foundation of the cappellaand its activity inscribed in counterreformation activity of „Kraków church”, aiming at the introductionof Catholicism in the former infidel centre, development of the cult of Mary andenrichment of liturgy on the centenary of the foundation of the parish in Raków. A grand basilica,replacing an Arian congregation was raised in Raków between 1640 and 1645. In 1712a singing college of mansions started to act there. Next, in a more undefined period of time,an organist and cantor were hired in the parish. In 1740 Józef Cyprian Langi, a parish priest,breathed a music chapel to life, defining its composition, duties and privileges. The evidenceof a fairly short activity of the ensemble is a collection of about 95 music manuscripts, containing,in its large part, anonymous compositions. Among 14 composers are Polish names,such as Gorczycki, Kobierkowicz, Maxylewicz, Sieprawski, Stachowicz, Staromieyski, as wellas Lechleitner, Hasse, Rathgeber and Ruth connected with Poland in one way or another.The value of the collection consists in, among other things, unique works, such as, for example,Conductus funebris or Completorium by Gorczycki.

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Sylwetka kompozytorska Justa Caspara na tle muzyki u pijarów

Author(s): Marcin Konik / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The state of research on the Polish religious music in the 18th century remains unsatisfactoryto a great extent. In order to get a relatively full image of the history of music (includingthe works of Polish authors and those working in Poland), it is necesarry to designthe research aiming at retrieving the authors whose names are not known even to experts.One of such composers is Just Caspar (1717—1760), a member of the PR monastery from theCzech Republic who spent most of his life in Poland. For the time being, the only informationconcerning Just Caspar comes from Libri suffragorium, i.e. the books containing notesmade after the death of monks as well as on the occasion of services conducted for theirsouls. Thanks to such recordings, it is known that father Just from the nuptials of the HolyMary was born on 28th January 1717 in the Prusian archidiocese as Franciszek Caspar. Hewent to the monastery, being 22, in 1737 and died in Warsaw on 26th February 1660.Caspar was regarded as an outstanding composer. The compositions known to the Polish researcherswere Missa Pastorica, Litania de Beata Hilaris as well as an interpretation of thehymn entitled Dixit Dominus, stored in the form of manuscriptsin Jasna Góra. Thanks to theresearch conducted at the territory of Slovakia, it was possible to find the so far unknowncompositions of father Just. Currently, 19 compositions by Caspar are relieved.The main aim of the article is to show the necessity of conducting more specific studieson the Polish music from the time of the first half of the 18th century. What is also importantin this context is the indication of the model source material, the analysis of which couldchange an unsatisfactory state of knowledge on the subject of the history of music of thetime-period in question.

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Pieśni nabożne Franciszka Karpińskiego — Pieśń poranna i Pieśń wieczorna — świadectwo ponadczasowej żywotności

Author(s): Antoni Reginek / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Pieśni nabożne by Franciszek Karpiński, the main representative of sentimentalism in thePolish literature, constitutes a significant collection of the poet, edited for the religious andeducational purposes. It was published for the first time in Supraśl in 1792 and later on wasreissued for many times. The series in question consists of 49 works, including 29 hymnsand 20 psalms. The poet skillfully composed the works according to particular periods ofthe Lithurgic year.The article shows first of all the place of the series entitled Pieśni nabożne in the literaryoutput of the poet, and characterises two hymns closer, i.e. Pieśń poranna and Pieśń wieczorna,constituting the frames of the whole collection and being constantly popular.Also, partially, the examples of reception of the works in question in hymn collectionsand oral tradition, as well as their presence in foreign language translations were presented.The article constitutes encouragement for a closer familiarization with religious works byKarpiński, and reading the phenomenon of ageless vitality of his Pieśni nabożne.

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Litanie ostrobramskie Stanisława Moniuszki — utwory zapomniane?

Author(s): Magdalena Chrenkoff / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Church music constituted a separate though important trend for Stanisław Moniuszkocontinued throughout his whole in his works. Litanie ostrobramskie, considered to be themost outstanding religious works Moniuszko created, appeared in the so called “Vilnius period”(1840—1858). Litania ostrobramska do Najświętszej Marii Panny, often performed in thesanctuary in Vilnius, was worked out by Moniuszko four times (I F-dur, 1843; II F-dur, 1849;III e-moll, before 1854, IV C-dur, 1855), giving it an artistic setting in the form ofmulti-partial works on solo voices and mixed choir accompanied with a full symphonic orchestra.The usage of litany imposes, to a certain extent, the way of its musical interpretation,i. e. it begins and ends with the phrases from the mass (Kyrie eleison — Christe audi nosand Agnus Dei) suggests a symmetric perspective of a music presentation, its subsequentcalls and repetitive phrase of ora pro nobis in the main part of the litany demand an antiphonalperspective somehow rewritten into voices, and the nature of prayer indicated the type ofmusical expression. The composer, to diversify a monotonous repetition of a supplicative refrain(miserere nobis, ora pro nobis) changed the nature of a musical interpretation, as well asa disposition of voices, and, additionally, gave the instruments individual parts avoiding“solo shows”.Nowadays, Stanisław Moniuszko is known, first of all, for his operas and songs. His religiousmusic remains scarcely known and is rarely performed. Meanwhile, the author paida lot of attention to Litanie ostrobramskie. In his letter to Feliks Zawadzki, Moniuszko confessed:“I love this music more than anything else”.Church music constituted a separate though important trend for Stanisław Moniuszkocontinued throughout his whole in his works. Litanie ostrobramskie, considered to be themost outstanding religious works Moniuszko created, appeared in the so called “Vilnius period”(1840—1858). Litania ostrobramska do Najświętszej Marii Panny, often performed in thesanctuary in Vilnius, was worked out by Moniuszko four times (I F-dur, 1843; II F-dur, 1849;III e-moll, before 1854, IV C-dur, 1855), giving it an artistic setting in the form ofmulti-partial works on solo voices and mixed choir accompanied with a full symphonic orchestra.The usage of litany imposes, to a certain extent, the way of its musical interpretation,i. e. it begins and ends with the phrases from the mass (Kyrie eleison — Christe audi nosand Agnus Dei) suggests a symmetric perspective of a music presentation, its subsequentcalls and repetitive phrase of ora pro nobis in the main part of the litany demand an antiphonalperspective somehow rewritten into voices, and the nature of prayer indicated the type ofmusical expression. The composer, to diversify a monotonous repetition of a supplicative refrain(miserere nobis, ora pro nobis) changed the nature of a musical interpretation, as well asa disposition of voices, and, additionally, gave the instruments individual parts avoiding“solo shows”.Nowadays, Stanisław Moniuszko is known, first of all, for his operas and songs. His religiousmusic remains scarcely known and is rarely performed. Meanwhile, the author paida lot of attention to Litanie ostrobramskie. In his letter to Feliks Zawadzki, Moniuszko confessed:“I love this music more than anything else”.

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Dionizos, Agni, Swaróg — wielokulturowy krąg inspiracji w twórczości Ludomira Michała Rogowskiego

Author(s): Ewa Wojtowicz / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Rich and diversified works by L.M. Rogowski (1881—1954) derive from his fascinationwith a spiritual tradition of several cultural circles. The first of them was the Greek mythology,especially, the figure of Dionysus, referred to in a symphonic picture Cortège de Dionysos(1919). The Greek god of wine and fertile powers of nature also played an important role inesthetic viewpoints held by Rogowski who, in his works, aimed at the realization ofa Nietzschean ideal of a “Dionysus’s art”. Next, it was the inspiration of Hindu mythology inthe series of Fantasmagorie on a female voice and small symphonic orchestra (1920). The titlescontain the names of the characters from the pantheons of Indian gods: Kriszna, Genesa,Kama and Agni. Their musical characteristic consists in the usage of, above all, scales beyondthe dur-moll system, i.e. the Persian Zirefkend scale and the whole tone one. Finally,Rogowski reached the selected motives from the Slavic mythology and basing on them, createdballets such as Kupała (1926), Korowaj (1938) and Wizje pogańskie on a mixed choirand small symphonic orchestra (1951). Looking for the music means appropriate for theworks in question, in 1936 Kassern introduced the so called “Slavic” scale, however, his conceptionof “Slavness”, both in the context of music material and ideas, includes the elementsderived from the culture of India and Persia.

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Cztery motety kopernikowskie na chór mieszany a cappella Tadeusza Kasserna

Author(s): Violetta Kostka / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The most famous religious works by Tadeusz Kassern (1904—1957) are Cztery motetykopernikowskie on a mixed choir from 1937. Their main feature is a reference to Renaissancetraditions, which can be seen both in the text and music. The basis of these works constitutestexts from a religious poem by Mikołaj Kopernik entitled Septem sidera from 1950, herein the Polish translation by Jan Kasprowicz. In the music layer, melody, developing via longphrases and relying on, above all, big and small secunds, is prominent. The beginning motifof Bogurodzica appears among a wide array of other motives. Harmony is built mainly of consonanceco-sounds, i. e. tertial accords in the main forms, sporadically intertwined by dissonanceco-sounds. Motety are developed by means of many voices, reaching voice 5. They arebased on three types of counterpoint: syntactic imitations, nota contra notam counterpointand free counterpoint. Some of the fragments are characterised by iconic reflections similarto madrigalisms, as well as music symbols similar to rhetorical figures. Although Kassern undoubtedlyaimed at creating a Neo-Renaissance style, he did not reject some of the contemporarycomposing solutions in his works. It is underlined by a varied rhythmics, a detailedinterpretation of a poetical text, an arch form and introduction of motets into the constructionof a cyclical nature.

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Pieśń Boże, coś Polskę w funkcji cytatu w polskiej muzyce artystycznej XX wieku

Author(s): Bogumiła Mika / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

A religious and patriotic hymn Boże, coś Polskę belongs to the repertoire of the mostpopular 20th century hymns. Composed to the text by Alojzy Feliński, between 1860—1919,it performed the function of the national anthem. In the form of the quotation, it revivedmany a time, in the 20th century artistic output, almost always performing a symbolic functionand connoting patriotic messages.The article presents a long history of the hymn Boże coś Polskę and its various contentand melodic variants. Next, it concentrates on the quotations from the hymn which are presentin the repertoire of the 20th century music. It takes two mass compositions using thequotation from Boże, coś Polskę into account, i.e. Missa “Gaude Mater” in honoremResurectionic (!) Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (1920) — on a 4-voice male choir and organs opus12 by Wacław Lachman and Missa Patriam liberam Benedic Domine (1947) on a 4-voicemixed choir and organs 10 opus by priest Michał Krawczyk. Further on, it discusses the usageof the quotation coming from Te Deum, a hymn by Krzysztof Penderecki, composed in1980 on the occasion of the Polish Pope selection, in Symfonia polska from 1982 byKrzysztof Meyer and two other works by Zygmunt Krauze, i.e. Tableau vivant on a chamberorchestra from 1982 and Blanc-rouge on two orchestres from 1985. In each case, the role ofthe quotation in the course of the composition was emphasised, as well as its function in thework and significance for the reception of music.

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Między dziękczynieniem a błaganiem. Te Deum Romana Palestra, Te Deum Krzysztofa Pendereckiego

Author(s): Kinga Kiwała / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The subject-matter of this article constitutes an interpretation of a verbal-musical relationof two hymns of praise Te Deum laudamus by Roman Palester and Krzysztof Penderecki. Bothcompositions are dedicated to John Paul II the Pope. The analysis of the works in question ispreceded by an introduction presenting their origin and biographical context. A separatepart was devoted to a liturgical text of the hymn: its history, content and structure. An analyticalpart shows how and to what an extent the structure of a verbal text determines theform of the works under discussion on the one hand, and which elements of the hymn contentsignificantly influence the shape of their musical layer on the other. Also, the phenomenonof the adherence of both works to the tradition of Italian religious music was dealt with,as well as the problem of “tension” between tradition and modernity which characterise bothcompositions, though in a different way, resulting from differences in attitudes expressed byRoman Palester and Krzysztof Penderecki.

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Karlheinz Stockhausen a sfera sacrum

Author(s): Agnieszka Draus / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

Karlheinz Stockhausen is, without a doubt, the most outstanding composer in Germanythese days. A artist has written over 350 works, minor and major ones, vocal and instrumentalones, covering various forms and genres. He is associated mainly with an avant-gardeschool in Darmstadt, experiments within organization of a music material, sound, formalcontinuum and note record. However, the latest works devoted to Stockhausen portray it ina different way. They emphasise the importance of messages in these works, their extramusicinspirations, religious content, conception of the ritualisation of the course as well asspecial experiences accompanying their performance and reception. Stockhausen himself,more and more often, describes his works as spiritual music (geistliche Musik), sharing withit in an unusual way, i.e. co-celebrating its mysticism. The very process, as well as the phenomenonof life sacralization Stockhausen experiences, inspire him to search for the relationsbetween his works and a mysterious sphere of the sacred. The article presents selectedworks which reflect the features of the sacred. On the one hand, these are the universal features;both unambiguous (e.g. a religious theme) and ambiguous (e.g. triggering numinoticexperiences). On the other hand, the very features are individual, for example, from thepoint of view of the content or music. In the former case, it is visible in a combination of thesphere of the most important values with the sphere of the surrounding macro-cosmos andman’s internal micro-cosmos, introduction of texts in different languages in order to makethe message as clear as possible. In the latter, it can be seen in a vocal cast, referring to traditionalsinging practices of all religions and an instrumental cast, often beyond conventions,i.e. apart from traditional means of extracting sounds, it introduces acoustic and onomatopoeicsounds, different types of noise and electronic sounds.

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Inspiracje tradycją liturgiczną Wschodu i Zachodu w twórczości Arvo Pärta

Author(s): Kazimierz Płoskoń / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The term “liturgy”, in a Christian tradition of both the East and the West, in its mostgeneral interpretation, means official prayers and celebrations conducted by a congregationin the sacred place on behalf of the Church. Both traditions differ as to their liturgical formsand ways of experiencing the message encapsulated in it.Traditional liturgical texts, irrespective of their origins, return to their primary function,i. e. start to express the transcendental again with a discrete help of he music thanks to ArvoPärt’s music “free asceticism”.Arvo Pärt, asked about inspirations accompanying the process of composing Te Deum,says: “I wanted to create the atmosphere of indefiniteness. Te Deum searches for transcendence,something lost a long time ago or not yet explored”.On the basis of a unique technique of tintinnabuli, Pärt makes an attempt to build an artisticand spiritual unity, respecting separateness. Two big liturgical traditions, that of theEast and the West, come closer in Arvo Pärt’s music. It is not an artificial combination and itdoes not cross out the specificity of either of them. Arvo Pärt, searching for common roots offaith in one Christian God, shows an artistic path of a dialogue and ultimate agreement beyonddivisions.

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Nabożeństwa majowe przy kapliczkach i krzyżach przydrożnych

Author(s): Jacek Jackowski / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

May is the time of beautiful Marian services, the aim of which is a common performanceof Litania loterańska and Marian songs, sung not only in churches, but also by road crossesand chapels. The tradition of folk Marian prayers, commonly referred to as “May services”, isslowly disappearing, though, it is one of few forms of folk piety Church officially recommendsand advocates.In Western Church, the first evidence of May being devoted to the Mother of God comesfrom the end of the 16th century. May prayers, whose cradle was probably Italy, were popularisedat the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in western Europe, i. e. in Spain, France, Germanyand Austria. In 1815, Pius VII the Pope accepted the prayer in question and providedit with indulgence. May prayer was instilled in Poland by Jesuits in the 19th century, in thebeginning in the environment of schools and teenagers in Gallicia, and subsequently, it becamepopular in many churches, not only monastic ones.In a temple, the May prayer is celebrated in front of the exposition of the Blessed Sacramentwith the priest’s engagement. The whole prayer is usually sung. Singing constitutes itsmain element. It is Litania loterańska after which the Marian song follows as well as considerationsreferring to the Marian theology.Countries situated far from parish churches have strengthened the tradition of the so called“May prayers” conducted by the congregation by the cross or chapel where the veryprayer is usually performed without the priest’s presence. It is difficult to say why May prayershave gained such a big popularity among people. The assumption is that “May prayers”replaced old folk traditions of a secular nature connected with spring celebration, and assimilatedby church imposing new Christian symbolic meanings on them. On the other hand,popularity of the prayers under discussion could be ascribed to a strong involvement of manorhouses. May prayers constitute the expression of folk piety, and although they are deprivedof liturgical celebrations, they emanate with fierce and sincere prayer.

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Jana Długosza Teoria muzyki w liczbach

Author(s): Stanisław SJ Ziemiański / Language(s): Polish Publication Year: 0

The article presents the work by Jan Długosz, Jesuit (1901—1981), left out in the form ofthe manuscript, 137 A5 pages (apart from pages 117—124). In his deliberations, J. Długoszstarts from a Pitagorian mathematical scale, composed of seven intervals. He uses it in orderto investigate the ultimate basis of music. More specifically, he makes use of the theory of se-quences and combinations. In this way, Długosz wants to find an objective basis for subjec-tive feelings. He claims that it is just the latter that contains intervals, and bigger intervalsare created by means of composing the smaller ones. This composition is expressed in themultiplication of number relations. Długosz conducted a kind of interval calculation creatingthe whole table of its constituents: quints, thirds, seconds and halftones. Next, he introducesthe method of a mathematical discovery of top and down consonances. Using number rela-tions, he constructs all possible scales within an octave. He admits that each minor scale isa contraposition of a given major scale. Except for that, he differentiates complex frommixed scales. The former cover both major and minor features. Further on, he ponders overthe problem of tempered scales. In Chapter VII, he discusses unison and pause scales. Allthese considerations are theoretical in nature. Though, they allow for an explanation of men-tal feelings: cheerful and cheerless moods, as well as the phenomenon of pentatonics, com-mon to many folk cultures.

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