Free concerts, meetings, workshops and discussions all form part of the programme of this year’s Sacrum Profanum Festival, kicking off on 26 September. We bring you the full programme of accompanying events. Please note: entry to all accompanying events is free!

Last year, Sacrum Profanum featured highly popular concerts, meetings and workshops for the first time. And this year will be no different: alongside three free concerts and six events prepared jointly with “Glissando” and “Fragile” magazines, the festival hosts three literary meetings introducing the participants to contemporary Romanian culture and literature.

Admission to the Efter/ Soley/ AsiKIDS (30th Sept., 12:00 a.m., Cricoteka), Femenine (30th Sept., 1 p.m., Museum of Municipal Engineering) and Meditations (1st Oct., 1 p.m., ICE Kraków) is free of charge. Free, obligatory passes are available via Evena.pl.

26 September (Tuesday), 5pm / Cricoteka
Images of Romania
Romania remains rather alien to Poles; the country seems to overflow with contradictions, difficult history, post-Soviet wraiths and an unusual, distinctive culture. How many facets are there to Romania? Which ones are we familiar with? Bogumił Luft, former Polish Ambassador to Romania, journalist and author of a moving reportage Romanians Chasing Happy Ends describing the three decades of his diplomatic career, talks about the fascinating land bridging the East and the West.
Discussion: Bogumił Luft
Moderator: Ziemowit Szczerek

27 September (Wednesday), 6pm / Cricoteka
Romanian literature for beginner and intermediate readers
Joanna Kornas-Warwas, translator of authors including Max Blecher, Mircea Cărtărescu, Dana Lungu, Ioan Es. Pop and Varujan Vosganian, presents a very short introduction to Romanian literature, both in the original and in translation. Wojciech Bonowicz, poet, critic and publicist, asks what we should be reading and in what order, and what skills we need in our adventures with Romanian literature.
Discussion: Joanna Kornas-Warwas
Moderator: Wojciech Bonowicz

28 September (Wednesday), 2.30pm / Cricoteka
Composers' opus. Workshop meeting with Jennifer Walche / Hosted by "Glissando"
“New Discipline is a way of creating – both composing and preparing for performance. In this context is not used to designate an artistic discipline; it’s used to designate a disciplined, rigorous approach to making and critiquing compositions where physical, theatrical and visual elements are as important as the sonic,” writes the author and performer of “Everything is Important” in her manifesto New Discipline. Meeting held in English.

28 September (Thursday), 4.30pm / Cricoteka
Discussion: A Fresh Take on Minimalism / Hosted by “Glissando”
The spirit of Minimalism returns again and again. One of the most fascinating trends of recent years is the exploration of roots, boundaries and mutations of historic Minimalism. Its geography shifts, and we are paying closer attention to circles and scenes which had hitherto remained in the shadows. Are we still talking about Minimalism, or is Minimalisms more accurate? We take a closer look at the genre and its influence on contemporary music, structured and improvised, in new and independent music circles. With issues #31 Sound Art and #32 Recording of “Glissando” in the background.
Participants: Oren Ambarachi, Adriana Borowska, Frédéric Blondy, Paulina Owczarek
Moderator: Antoni Michnik

28 September (Thursday), 6pm / Cricoteka
A Short History of Little Paris
Please note: The meeting is held in Polish and Romanian
Filip Florian is already familiar to Polish readers, mainly through his Little Fingers and The Baiut Alley Lads, co-written with his brother Matei. His latest novel to be published in Poland is The Days of the King. Set in the 1860s, it is a beautifully crafted tale, not – as the title might suggest – of Prince Carol, ruler of the Romanian United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, but of the capital of the arising Romanian state. The period was undoubtedly Bucharest’s golden age, and even though it did not last long, it left an indelible, still clearly visible mark.
Discussion: Filip Florian
Moderator: Łukasz Wojtusik, Radosława Janowska-Lascar

29 September (Friday), 5pm / Ludowa Café
Discussion: Emotions / Hosted by “Fragile”
Is music all about emotion? It may seem that the centuries-old struggle between sentiment and reason is dominated by emotions, although the intellectual adversary is far from capitulating and keeps bringing forward strong arguments. Or perhaps the conflict between intellect and emotion in music is unnecessary or even plain false?
Participants: Anna Chęćka-Gotkowicz (music aesthete), Julia Kaleńska-Rodzaj (music psychologist), Rafał Mazur (improviser)
Moderator: Tomasz Gregorczyk

30 September (Saturday), 10.30am / Ogniwo Cooperative
Performers as composers. Michał Górczyński and workshops from “Scores of the Everyday” / Hosted by “Glissando”
“It was supposed to be lunch, and instead it’s elevenses. We need plenty of eights and ever-so-delicate articulation in performance. And there’s a matter of a bun, a single stalk of chives and questions of normality which doesn’t exist…” Could this be an excerpt from “Scores of the Everyday”? Why not! Join us for daily workshops in saving the sound of the everyday and the impossible, filled with unpredictable sound actions and reactions. Just don’t expect seriousness! Workshops on the forthcoming issue #32 Saving the sound.

30 September (Saturday), 3pm / Cricoteka
Discussion: Politics / Hosted by “Fragile”
Is music a suitable tool of political contests? Perhaps it’s always a carrier of defined ideas, even if its creators distance themselves from social engagement? In other words, is there as much music in politics as there is politics (even if it’s hidden) in music?
Participants: Dariusz Brzostek, Michał Libera
Moderator: Marcin Barski

1 October (Sunday), 11am / ICE Kraków – Kinnarps Coworking Garden
Discussion: Meditation / Hosted by “Fragile”
Can meditation ever be linked with music in Western culture? Can we use meditation techniques in relation to sounds? How would we go about this? How would such perception of music differ from a model of intellectual perception? Can gaining a better understanding of other cultures help us?
Participants: Małgorzata Kęsicka (replacing Pauline Oliveros), Stanisław Radoń (cognitive sciences, neurology, psychotherapy), Rafał Mazur,
Moderator: Tomasz Gregorczyk