Ladies and Gentlemen,
In less than a month, on the 24th of September, within the walls of the Church of the Holy Cross, which still bears witness to the Baroque era, we will hear Johann Gottlob Harrer’s MASS IN D MAJOR. Rich in form and extraordinarily solemn, this composition, written by a composer associated with the court of King Augustus III, will inaugurate the 4TH FESTIVAL IN TEMPORE REGUM FESTIVAL. MUSIC IN THE TIME OF KINGS. Seven autumn evenings will be filled with works of remarkable refinement and diversity. Music that, during the reigns of Polish monarchs, became a source of religious exaltation, courtly entertainment, and the means of building highly coveted prestige will once again resound in Warsaw.
During the concert INVICTISSIMO AC POTENTISSIMO REGI POLONIAE, the vocal ensemble Punctum Consort under the direction of Karol Knapiński will evoke the musical soundscape of the liturgy of Poland’s “Golden Age.” The next item on the festival program will be the oratorio SANCTUS PETRUS ET SANCTA MARIA MAGDALENA by Johann Adolf Hasse – one of the most celebrated composers active at the court of Augustus III of Saxony. After several years, the great reformer of dance Jean-Georges Noverre will return to the stage of the Royal Theatre – thanks to the ballet NOVERRE EN ACTION. Chamber music will also be featured. In the spectacular spaces of the Palace on the Isle, the Cracow Recorder Consort will perform the program MUSICK FOR THESE DISTRACTED TYMES, while the outstanding harpsichordist Marcin Świątkiewicz will present the recital IN A WORLD OF FANTASY. The festival will culminate in Johann Christoph Schmidt’s theatrical divertimento LATONA IN DELO – a work whose libretto was inspired, among others, by King Augustus II’s romance with Urszula Lubomirska. This will be the first performance of the work in Warsaw since the Saxon era.
