THE LIRA ENSEMBLE’S POPULAR
CONCERT TO HONOR THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH
NOW AVAILABLE HERE
The highly respected Lira Ensemble, which specializes in Polish music, song and dance, presented a concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Polish pope on-line, for free, on the Polish Jesuit YOUTUBE Channel on May 14th – the eve of his birthday. The very popular St. John Paul II was born May 18,1920.
This very well received event, features the Lira Singers and the Lira Chamber Chorus performing sacred music, music written to texts by St. John Paul II, music dedicated to him, as well as folk songs from his beloved Krakow (Cracow) region in southern Poland. It offers listeners an opportunity to hear ancient Polish music, music by master Polish composer Stanislaw Moniuszko, and late 20th century music by composers revered in Poland, but unknown in the United States, such as Irena Pfeiffer, Juliusz Luciuk, Jozef Swider, as well as Chicago composer Marek Rachelski.
The Lira Singers and Lira Chamber Chorus are conducted by Paul Dijkstra and Philip Seward who were co-conductors of the Lira Ensemble in 2003 when the works to be heard in this concert were recorded at WFMT, Chicago’s Classical Radio Station, as part of the station’s month-long programming honoring the 25th anniversary of the papacy of John Paul II.
The one-hour concert is available on-line with either an English or Polish narration. The Polish narration is by the Reverend Pawel Kosinski of the Polish Jesuits of Chicago who helped in the creation of the May 14th broadcast. The narration in English is by Lucyna Migala, Lira’s artistic director and general manager.
The Lira Ensemble is very grateful to the Polish Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago which made possible this concert to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of St. John Paul II.
Lira hopes to be performing “live” in the Chicago area soon, once the COVID-19 pandemic permits concerts to be presented. Meanwhile, music lovers are invited to hear the Lira Singers and Lira Chamber Chorus in this very unusual and beautiful concert:
LISTEN NOW:
Please remember the concert is AUDIO ONLY, there is no visual.
