On the final evening, we will literally be transported to a different musical landscape with an onomatopoeic piece by Jennifer Walshe. Sinfonietta Cracovia under the baton of Lilianna Krych will also perform a composition by Jacek Sotomski exploring the boundaries between tradition and modernity in instrumental music. Then we are treated to a musical kaleidoscope with Barbara Kinga Majewska and Spółdzielnia Mieszkaniowa – from the elegies of Pawel Malinowski, through the hyperpop songs of Jacek Sotomski, to the minimalist explorations of Oskar Tomala. Together, we will discover how contemporary composers interpret the reality around us.
6 p.m.
At Sinfonietta Cracovia's next concert under the baton of Lilianna Krych at Sacrum Profanum, we will hear works by Jennifer Walshe and Jacek Sotomski, who has always been fascinated by her work (in his own words: ‘Just Jenny! <3’). Sotomski's Trans-instrumentalism raises questions about the relevance and need for new instrumental music in a world dominated by institutions, technology and off-the-shelf culture. The author used the historical concerto grosso form for this purpose. Perhaps the answers will be provided by Walshe’s passenger – an onomatopoeic, spatial and acousmatic piece in which a story imbued with nostalgia, longing and impressions evoked by nature weaves between the theatre of sound and imagination.
Note by Jacek Sotomski:
Transinstrumentalism is a work that refers to the historical concerto grosso genre. Solo voices are performed by soloists and the computer. Apart from running the algorithm at the beginning of the composition, the computer part does not involve any human intervention. Sinfonietta Cracovia will perform the accompaniment part.
The title of the composition refers to the recently widespread search in art and philosophy that goes beyond prevailing discourses and their updates at the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century. The need for new definitions often leads to movements opting for disconnection from history (but not its negation) and the construction of the future based on entirely new structures. New societies will need new rules of operation. In that case, does historical music still have a raison d'être? Can historical instruments be used beyond performances reconstructing the distant past? How do we find room for new instruments in an over-institutionalised world? In the age of perfectionism and ideal audio/video recordings, virtual reality and technological simulacra, do we still need living people on stage?
Note by Jennifer Walshe:
I grew up on the Irish coast and spent a lot of time in and around the sea. I still feel most like myself when I am drenched by the salty water of the Atlantic. This piece is about white and static, about frost shredded into velvet and about miles to go. Partly about big granite rocks, foam and propellers, and it is finally clear for me. It is no use saying about the sea; nor is it about John Franklin and the search for the Northwest Passage or about driving to Dún Laoghaire to simply watch an arriving ferry. It is not about Patrick O'Brian's novels about Aubrey and Maturin; nor is it about the wind rising by two tons through the rigging, or a trail of phosphorescence left at the sea by a ship of the line, or the ice freezing on the shrouds in the Arctic Sea. It is not about my grandfather, who sailed the North Atlantic in dangerous conditions in an attempt to claim the remote and uninhabited island of Rockall for Ireland. It is not about Seajade, Tjoep or Corsair, the boats on which I have spent many hours of my life, whether hanging on the bow as a small child blinded by the water and speed, or in a harness trying to balance the wind with my teenage body. It is not about storms around Cape Horn, or turquoise waves of water, or dolphins jumping on the bowsprit, or snow falling on icebergs. It is not about slush, or glassy ice and cloudy ice, or snow like a hawk on the waves, or a yellow mist, or the turmoil of oars or ice crystals.
Jennifer Walshe – passenger for string orchestra (2006) 30' [Polish premiere]
Jacek Sotomski – Trans-instrumentalism 1.1 for violin, piano and string orchestra (2022–2024) 14'
Oriana Masternak – violin
Martyna Zakrzewska – piano
Lilianna Krych – conductor
Sinfonietta Cracovia
7 p.m.
Three tracks, different styles, a few stories and even more songs. One by Paweł Malinowski – an elegy over the melting snow and the not-so-white winters. Five modern canzonas by Jack Sotomski in a hyperpop approach, written to lyrics by Weronika Murek. Their stories are inspired by the Internet and everyday life (e.g. the lack of hot dog buns at Żabka) – thus, it will be funny but not always something to laugh at. In between, there is a moment of breath thanks to Oskar Tomala met at Spółdzielnia Muzyczna's Playground open call, after which we agreed that we want his music at their concert at Sacrum Profanum. Tomala's piece is a ‘just intonation’ minimalism seeking a balance between the pulse of the city and the static audiosphere of nature. Barbara Kinga Majewska sings, and Spółdzielnia Muzyczna plays.
Note by Jacek Sotomski:
Hypercanzonas is a cycle of five modern songs whose initial tropes lead to Federico García Lorca's Canciones populares españolas and the music of hyperpop duo 100 gecs. Classical instrumentation (soprano + “pierrot'” line-up) will be enhanced by electronic transformations of the solo voice and all instruments in accordance with the spirit and genre guidelines of hyperpop. The lyrics are written by Weronika Murek, and the canzonas will tell stories such as the lack of hot dog buns at Żabka or a baby jabbering that she needs perfect silence to fall asleep. As usual in my works, the source of many elements in the piece will be the online works of users of various platforms and social media.
Note by Oskar Tomala:
The inspiration for the work under creation comes from the daily practice of deep listening to the audiosphere around me. Noise mixing with the pulsating tones of machinery. The resounding echoes of the city and the static nature.
In the piece being created for Spółdzielnia Muzyczna, I want to include a minimalist sound structure that builds complex interactions of harmonic tones, fundamental to the sounds we perceive. I plan to encapsulate the mystical phenomenon of ‘just intonation’ in the concept of performer’s intuition and the collective listening process and to juxtapose it with the non-periodic textuality of percussion instruments. The composition is an experimental work highlighting the value of the recipient’s experience.
Note by Paweł Malinowski:
In the song I have used excerpts from Thomas Hardy's and Simon Armitage's texts. Both share a reference to the winter landscape; however, it is seen from completely different perspectives. Working on the score in the middle of winter (but actually in the completely artificial aura of early spring), I could not even see the remnants of scraps of white mentioned by Armitage, let alone the dark naturalistic descriptions of the frozen suffering of the Victorian era. As a result, the image of snow became an internal escape from reality for me. Music contains few references to it, with a much more distinct presence of rain, melting and elusiveness. I dedicated the piece to Basia Kinga Majewska and Spółdzielnia Muzyczna. Without their patience, commitment, listening together, conversations and many hours of hard work, it could not have been created.
Paweł Malinowski – a cheerful plaint [chant] for soprano, synthesizer and piano (2024) 7' [world premiere]
Oskar Tomala – new piece* for ensemble (2024) 10' [world premiere]
Paweł Malinowski – ice to weep for voice, instruments and electronic sounds (2023) 15'
Jacek Sotomski (text by Weronika Murek) – Hypercanzonas**, song cycle for soprano, ensemble and electronics (2024) 17' [world premiere]
Barbara Kinga Majewska – soprano
Spółdzielnia Muzyczna contemporary ensemble
* commissioned by Spółdzielnia Muzyczna
** commissioned by Sacrum Profanum
Venue: Małopolski Ogród Sztuki (Małopolska Art Garden), ul. Rajska 12
Availability:
The first piece of the first movement will be performed in darkness and with lots of smoke (dry ice). The music will not be loud, and the atmosphere will require patience and concentration. The second part will feature disturbing content, including bad language. With this in mind, we recommend the concert to adults.
