7-10th November, various times, St James’s Picadilly

Jump straight to the Festival Programme on the St James’s Piccadilly Webpage & Ticket Booking HERE

London’s beloved Joy & Devotion festival is back this year, running from 7-10 November 2024, celebrating the profound beauty of Polish sacred music. For the first time, the festival takes place in the atmospheric St James’s Piccadilly, a 17th-century Wren church known for its incredible acoustics. This year’s expanded programme features four prestigious UK choirs, including SANSARA, The Choir of King’s College London, Holst Singers, and The Sixteen, each making their festival debut.

The event is supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and continues under the artistic direction of Paweł Łukaszewski. Audiences can expect a rich mix of choral works, spanning centuries, along with a special public lecture on contemporary Polish sacred music at King’s College London.

Highlights

• 7 Nov: SANSARA opens the festival with works by Juliusz Łuciuk and Bartosz Kowalski-Banasewicz.
• 8 Nov: The Choir of King’s College London presents Corona Mariae by Sławomir Czarnecki.
• 9 Nov: Holst Singers perform advent music by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki and Paweł Łukaszewski.
• 10 Nov: The Sixteen will close the festival with 16th and 17th-century polyphonic masterpieces from the Polish royal court.

For the first time, festival-goers can attend a public lecture on 8 November featuring discussions on contemporary Polish sacred music, led by Joseph Fort, Paweł Łukaszewski, and David Wordsworth.

This year’s festival promises an unforgettable exploration of Polish choral traditions through the centuries, and with such a diverse offering, it’s not one to miss for music lovers. Full event listings and ticket details are available on the festival’s official website.

‘Joy & Devotion’ Festival – SJP

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Olga Wysocka, Director of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, said:

“Sacred choral music is foundational to Polish culture and its beauty resonates through time. We are thrilled to increase the scope of the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival this year to include four choirs and a lecture on contemporary Polish sacred music, celebrating the unique art form in more ways than ever before.”

Paweł Łukaszewski, Artistic Director of the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival, said:

“It continues to be an honour to direct the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival of Polish sacred music in London. The concert programmes have been curated to reflect a broad swathe of Polish choral music through the centuries, rendered in the finest imaginable performances by these outstanding British choirs. We’re excited that St James’s Piccadilly is hosting this year’s festival for the first time.”

The festival opens with the acclaimed choir, SANSARA, led by Guest Conductor Ellie Slorach [7 Nov]. With a programme centring on the extraordinary range of Polish sacred music produced over the last century, the concert features Missa gratiarum actione by Juliusz Łuciuk (1927-2020) whose music is famous for its neoclassicism. Also on the programme is Lacrimosa by Bartosz Kowalski-Banasewicz (b. 1977), in amongst many other 21st-century Polish choral treasures.

The second festival concert features a collection of contemporary Polish hymns by Sławomir Czarnecki (b. 1949) performed by The Choir of King’s College London, conducted by Joseph Fort [8 Nov]. Czarnecki’s music is celebrated as some of the finest modern Poland has to offer, the composer having won numerous international competitions for his work. The concert also includes Gaude Mater Polonia by the 13th-century composer, Wincenty of Kielcza, and Four Impressions for Organ by Jan Fotek (b. 1928).

Holst Singers, conducted by Stephen Layton [9 Nov], perform a programme of advent music contrasting gems of the baroque era with contemporary music, featuring music by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (1665-1734), Aleksander Jan Szopa (b. 1997) and festival director, Paweł Łukaszewski (b. 1968). Gorczycki’s prolific output has earned him the title of the ‘Polish Handel’; the concert programme includes his Missa Rorate scored for two sets of four voices, the combination of which creates an ethereal sound. Two organ works by Aleksander Jan Szopa feature, along with Łukaszewski’s O Antiphones.

Known for its exhilarating and excellent performances all over the world, The Sixteen round off this year’s ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival with court music from the 16th and 17th centuries, conducted by Eamonn Dougan [10 Nov]. The programme features more music by Gorczycki as well as by Bartłomiej Pękiel (1601-1670), Marcin Mielczewski (1600-1651) and various Italian composers including Palestrina (1525-1594).

For the first time at the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival, there will be a lecture on contemporary Polish sacred music, which takes place at King’s College London [8 Nov]. This includes a discussion panel with festival director Paweł Łukaszewski and musicians Joseph Fort and David Wordsworth.

The esteemed Scottish organist, Rupert Jeffcoat, returns to the ‘Joy & Devotion’ festival. He performs solo at three of the choral concerts and at a lunchtime concert [9 Nov].

Programme

7 November 2024 | 19:30 | St James’s Piccadilly
Renewed Tonality
SANSARA
Ellie Slorach – conductor
Rupert Jeffcoat – organ

Tickets: Renewed Tonality – SJP

8 November 2024 | 10:00-13:30 | King’s College London
Lecture and discussion panel on contemporary Polish sacred music
Joseph Fort
David Wordsworth
Paweł Łukaszewski

8 November 2024 | 19:30 | St James’s Piccadilly
Corona Mariae
The Choir of King’s College London
Joseph Fort – conductor
Rupert Jeffcoat – organ

Tickets: Corona Mariae – SJP

9 November 2024 | 13:10 | St James’s Piccadilly – FREE Lunchtime Concert
Rupert Jeffcoat – organ

FREE Tickets: Rupert Jeffcoat (organ) – SJP

9 November 2024 | 19:30 | St James’s Piccadilly
Advent Music: Gorczycki & Łukaszewski
Holst Singers
Stephen Layton – conductor
Rupert Jeffcoat – organ

Tickets: Advent Music: Gorczycki & Łukaszewski – SJP

10 November 2024 | 18:30 | St James’s Piccadilly
Heavenly Harmonies: Polyphony from the maestri of the 16th- & 17th-century Polish Royal Court
The Sixteen

Tickets: Heavenly Harmonies – SJP