The concert of the NFM Girls' Choir, the NFM Boys' Choir and the Rondo Vocal Ensemble conducted by Małgorzata Podzielny features works very diverse in moods and representing various eras and styles. What these works have in common is the fascination with the world of nature, which has inspired generations of composers and performers for centuries. Admiration and reflection combined with a touch of humour are intertwined in the songs prepared by young performers, and this topic is certainly close to their hearts.

The concert will open with a cheerful, lyrical Sanctus by Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk, a composer, pianist and conductor working for the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. Religious themes are also addressed in the radiant, warm work For the Beauty of the Earth by the contemporary English composer John Rutter, who specialises in writing choral music. The concert repertoire also includes two anonymous songs representing the Negro spirituals tradition, i.e. songs of black enslaved people – these are Kumbaya My Lord and Babylon’s Falling. Hej, bystra woda is an arrangement of a vivacious highlander folk song. The last work, whose authorship has not been confirmed, is the Latin antiphon Media vita, which will be heard at the NFM in a version from the hymnal of the Benedictine nuns of Sandomierz from 1721. Duetto buffo di due Gatti is a comic piece by Gioacchino Rossini, in which the Italian composer of the Romantic era imitates the meowing of two cats. Vois sur ton chemin – the work of Bruno Coulais – comes from the 2004 film Les choristes, which tells the story of a teacher who works in a reformatory in the provinces and introduces his pupils to choral music. W gaiku zielonym is a stylised folk song for a children’s choir – it was written by Józef Świder with lyrics by Maria Czerkawska. Gloria is an arrangement of a liturgical hymn by the composer and choral conductor Piotr Jańczak. The works of two more artists will introduce a slightly more serious atmosphere. Selig sind die Toten is a meditative composition by Heinrich Schütz, considered by historians to be one of the greatest 17th-century artists. Requiem aeternam and Lux Aeterna are solemn, thoughtful pieces from Missa brevis pro defunctis by Stanisław Moryta. This organist and composer was associated with the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music for many years in Warsaw, he also served as the rector of this university. The author of the next piece – The Lamb, – is the English composer John Tavener, known mainly for creating religious music. At the end of the evening, two pieces inspired by the music of the Kurpie region will be sung. The first is the cheerful, lively Jakem ja trzeł from the series Songs from Kurpie by Kazimierz Sikorski, and the second is the slightly mysterious Lecioły zórazie from Four Songs from Kurpie by the contemporary conductor and composer Jan Krutul.