48th Tyniec Organ Recitals

Sunday, July 10, 2022, 4:00 PM

  • Sunday, July 10, 2022, 4:00 PM
  • Sunday, July 17, 2022, 4:00 PM
  • Sunday, July 24, 2022, 4:00 PM
  • Sunday, July 31, 2022, 4:00 PM
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The Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec captivates with its history going back a millennium, beautiful setting on the banks of the Vistula and, in the summer months, music. For the 48th time, the Tyniec Organ Recitals – under the musical direction of Piotr Czarakcziew – showcase the musical abilities of the abbey’s instrument.

The list of the organ virtuosos includes: Witold Zalewski, Krzysztof Musiał, Ewelina Bachul and Tadeusz Barylski. Their solo performances will be rounded off by works played in duos with other instrumentalists: Leszek "HeFi" Wiśniowski (flute), Jan Czyżewski (viola), Amelia Lewandowska-Wojtuch (flute) and Wojciech Wojtuch (guitar) as well as Jan Kalinowski (cello). The programme comprises among other works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Feliks Nowowiejski, Ferenc Liszt, César Franck and Louis Vierne.

10 July 2022, 4pm
Witold Zalewski
– organ
Leszek „HeFi” Wiśniowski
– flute
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 538, Chorale from Cantata No. 147
Leszek Wiśniowski (b. 1965) Dialectic, B-A-C-H/C-A-G-E
César Franck (1822-1890) Chorale in A minor No. 3
Louis Vierne (1870-1937) Carillon de Westminster Op. 54 No. 6 

17 July 2022, 4pm
Krzysztof Musiał
– organ
Jan Czyżewski
– viola
Louis Vierne (1870-1937) Organ Symphony No. 2 Op. 20
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) Fanstasia in E minor No. 9
Pietro Locatelli (1695-1764) Cappriccio in D major Op. 3 No. 23 “Il Labirinto armonico”
Ferenc Liszt (1811-1886) Fantasia and Fugue on the Theme of Chorale “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam”

24 July 2022, 4pm
Ewelina Bachul
– organ
Amelia Lewandowska-Wojtuch
– flute
Wojciech Wojtuch
– guitr
Mieczysław Surzyński (1866-1924) Improvisations on the Theme of “Święty Boże” Op. 38
Feliks Nowowiejski (1877-1946) Prelude: Adoremus Op. 31 No. 2
Adam Hławiczka (1908-1995) Wierzyć mię Panie ucz
Jan Nepomucen Bobrowicz (1805-1881) Six Waltzes and a Polonaise Op. 11 for flute and guitar
Zbigniew Bargielski (b. 1935) Notturno for flute and guitar (1986) – premiere
Konstanty Gorski (1859-1924) Organ Fantasia in F minor

31 July 2022, 4pm
Tadeusz Barylski
– organ
Jan Kalinowski
– cello
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Fantasia super “Komm, Heiliger Geit” BWV 651
Tadeusz Barylski (b. 1989) Improvisations “Jasna Góra Fantasia”
César Franck (1822-1890) Fantasia in A major
Flor Peeters (1903-1986) Concert Piece Op. 52 a

Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec

ul. Benedyktyńska 37

Tyniec used to be a day’s journey from Kraków, today we reach it in less than an hour on a bus or on a bike, taking a beautiful cycle path. The charm and tranquillity of the place attract throngs of tourists and pilgrims alike. Amidst this silence and reflective prayer, the monks follow the motto of St Benedict: ora et labora

Situated on a limestone promontory, the monastery looks more like a mediaeval fortress than a church. Little wonder: right from the start, the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec doubled as a fortress. It is highly likely that the area was inhabited by the Celts a thousand years before the Order of St Benedict arrived in the place. The first monks came here in the mid-11th century. Tyniec enjoyed plenty of favours from local rulers, many of whom were kings of Poland, and there are many arguments to support the claim that it was a medieval economic power. One of them is the nickname given to the abbot: “the abbot of a hundred villages”.

Although the church received stout fortifications in the 13th century, they could not save it from destruction: it was burnt down when the Tatars invaded the Polish lands. Its heyday came in the 15th and 16th centuries. In later years, the monastery was thoroughly rebuilt, and had the characteristic façade with two towers added. In 1816, that is during the era when Poland was partitioned, the Austrians dissolved the Order, and the Benedictines were forced to leave the Abbey. From that time on Tyniec changed hands many times, falling more and more into ruin. No one seemed to care for its fate until the Archbishop of Kraków, Prince Adam Stefan Sapieha, brought back the Benedictine Order from Belgium in 1939. One final time when the abbey acted as a fortress was in 1945, when much like in Monte Cassino, in southern Italy, which was defended by German forces against the Allies, the monastery likewise was held against the Red Army.

The only road into the Abbey leads through “the castle”, that is the 16th-century building of the abbot’s quarters. In the spacious courtyard behind it, the bygone abbots used to welcome eminent guests. The monastic complex includes a library that until the restoration completed in 2008 used to be known as the Great Ruin. Today it houses the Benedictine Institute of Culture. In its exhibition space, you can admire historical artefacts: fragments of Romanesque and Gothic stonework, and elements of the arcades of the original cloister. The Church of St Peter and St Paul situated within the monastery is a three-aisled basilica with baroque furnishing. Entering, spare a moment to look at the elaborate iron latch in the shape of a fish: one of the symbols of Christ.

St Peter and St Paul’s Church:

  • gothic chancel,
  • rococo high altar of black marble,
  • baroque pulpit in the shape of a boat,
  • 16-century murals presenting The Magi.

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