Music in Old Lviv. Voices from the Manuscripts

Performers:

• Yelyzaveta Budnik, piano (Poland)
• Wiktor Liyak, organ (Poland)

Programme:

• Johann Sebastian Bach. Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565

From the handwritten collection of Benedictine Sister Jadwiga Dygulska, transcribed and arranged by Wiktor Zygmunt Liyak. World premiere performance.

• Allemande “Amabilis” in C major, No. 1
• Aria in C major, No. 10
• Allegro in C major, No. 14
• Prelude in F minor, No. 17
• Aria in B-flat major, No. 22
• Prelude in B-flat major, No. 77
• Aria in D minor, No. 44
• Andante in E-flat major, No. 97
• Johann Sebastian Bach. Sonata No. 2 in C minor, BWV 526
  • Vivace
  • Largo
  • Allegro
• Karol Kurpiński. Polonaise in F minor
• Frédéric Chopin. Mazurkas, Op. 17
• Johann Sebastian Bach. Chorale Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 662
• Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély. Concert Bolero, Op. 166

A concert with organ in an intimate foyer is no oxymoron, but rather an opportunity made possible by a sampled instrument. Having survived a series of relocations, the organ — one of the city’s historic instruments, once belonging to the Dominican Cathedral and now housed at the Philharmonic — had, unfortunately, lost its voice. Thanks to the efforts of people committed to preserving it, the sound of the organ has been restored, while twenty-first-century technology allows it to be heard in the small foyer, where even among strangers it is easy to feel part of a circle of friends brought together by music.

A symbol of restoration and a deeply respectful attitude towards our own history is also a precious relic of Polish organ music — the collection of Benedictine Sister Jadwiga Dygulska. It contains around 80 sacred works, offering a glimpse into what Polish organ music was like three centuries ago. For the first time at the Philharmonic, excerpts from the collection will be performed in a transcription and arrangement by the concert’s soloist, organist Wiktor Zygmunt Liyak.

The Polish thread of the programme continues with selected works by some of the finest masters of the Classical and Romantic eras: Karol Kurpiński and Frédéric Chopin. French organ music is represented by Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély and his virtuosic Concert Bolero.

Johann Sebastian Bach will, of course, also be heard this evening. The musicians will pay due tribute to the Baroque genius with the chorale Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr (“To God Alone Be Glory on High”), as well as the Sonata in C minor for organ, in which Bach sought to achieve the expressive qualities of an orchestra.

The musicians will also perform the legendary Toccata and Fugue in D minor, which will open the event with due solemnity.