9 Places of Worship in Poland that Make Amazing Concert Halls
Sound has incredible significance during religious services, and every holy sanctuary is designed to offer perfect acoustics. Yet there are some churches and prayer houses that, due to specific conditions, are especially attractive for use as concert venues.
In November 1987, the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published instructions entitled ‘Lex Romae datur’ regarding the organisation of concerts in churches and sacred structures: ‘[…] music and song inspire spiritual ascent’, insist the signers of the document, whilst also noting that churches had become popular venues for the organisation of concerts. The instructions state:
This occurs for various reasons, such as difficulty in finding other appropriate spaces, acoustical needs which church interiors generally fulfil, aesthetic considerations which come into play when an attractive background is desired for the performance of musical works, the custom of performing music in the context in which it were composed, also for purely practical reasons, especially if we’re talking about organ recitals, as organs are usually to be found in churches
Their authors consider the risk of disrupting the sacred space with music which is inappropriate for them, as well as considering the fact that some of the faithful are opposed to such use of their churches. For this reason, the instructions state that concerts can only be held in Roman Catholic churches as long as they to no degree disrupt the conduct of the liturgy and they also limit such concerts to sacral music. The document states:
The principle that a church may only be used for uses that do not demean the sanctity of the space is the criterion that permits the opening of the church doors to sacred or religious music whilst closing them against music of other kinds.
At the same time, the instructions grant local church officials the right to make decisions in individual cases regarding allowing concerts to take place.
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Side organ, church. st. Jana, Gdańsk, the Baltic Sea Cultural Center, photo: Adam Warżawa / PAP
The principles of organising concerts in sacred spaces also apply in sanctuaries of other faiths; the fact is that concerts of sacred music can be organised in any of them without any limitations, only rarely are other types of music permitted there. This limitation makes sense: sacred music sounds best in a church interior, that’s what they were composed for. The idea of bringing music into sacred spaces has a direct connection to the acoustic advantages that they bring to bear. In fact, every church, synagogue, mosque or prayer house is designed so that every sound will sound good, particularly the human voice or instrumental music, because they are a key element of the prayer service.
One tale that testifies to the importance a church interior can have to music lovers is the story of the Gothic Church of St John in Gdańsk. Destroyed in the Second World War, the 14th-century sanctuary was rebuilt over the years up until the 1990s. In 1995, as a result of an agreement reached between the Baltic Cultural Centre and the Gdańsk Archdiocese, the St John Centre was established in the building; it is a cultural centre in which exhibits, productions, displays and, above all, concerts are held. Its exceptional acoustics created by its soaring interior suit any sort of music (and, since the church no longer has any sacral function, any sort of music can be performed there).
While not every concert hall can provide optimal conditions for listening to music –and it sometimes happens that music lovers have complaints about them – music in churches is usually viewed differently. And here the key role is played by acoustics, but architecture, furnishings, details, sculptures and painting also play a role in creating the musical atmosphere of a performance. This is certainly one of the reasons that concerts in churches are so very popular: after all, they offer not only sound and they affect more senses than just hearing alone. Let’s consider some of the sanctuaries which are frequently being used as concert halls in Poland.
The Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Kamień Pomorski
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St. John the Baptist in Kamień Pomorski, photo: M. Czasnojc / Forum
The history of this sanctuary goes back to the 12th century; it was the first stone church in that location and it represented the Romance style (traces of that can still be seen in the presbyterium), but, in the 13th and 14th centuries, the church was reconstructed and converted to the Gothic style. The Church of St John the Baptist in Kamień Pomorski is one of the oldest churches in Western Pomerania and among its most valuable assets is Poland’s only cathedral patio, i.e. a garden surrounded by cloisters, hidden away amongst the mediaeval walls. The musical treasure of the cathedral is the organ, dating from 1669-1672 and made up of 47 voices and 3300 pipes. It is one of the best-known organs of this kind in Poland and it sounds magnificent in the soaring structure of the cathedral – so much so that, each year, hosts of listeners are drawn to Kamień Pomorski to attend the International Organ and Chamber Music Festival, organised here for nearly six decades.
Archcathedral Basilica of the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Bernard in Gdańsk-Oliwa
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Oliwa Cathedral in Gdańsk, photo: Tuomas A. Lehtinen / Getty Images
The organs of Oliwa are not only known to fans of sacral music – this masterpiece of Baroque art captivates more than just music lovers. The bulk of this extraordinarily complex multilayered instrument was built over several decades in the mid-18th century – the work went on so long because it was being done by the Cistercian monks who lived in the Oliwa monastery under the direction of organist Jan Wilhelm Wulff. The instrument which he designed and built has 83 voices and 510 pipes, of which the smallest are only a few centimetres long, while the longest are as much as ten metres long. The Oliwa organ was built out of linden, oak and fir wood and tin. Though it was rebuilt in later centuries, the organ maintained the extraordinary form it had been given by the organmaster Wulff. The Oliwa instrument not only has a magnificent sound, it also has moving sculptural decorations, including angels playing trumpets, trombones and bells, and a rotating sun and stars. One of Europe’s oldest International Festivals of Organ Music is held here every year.
The Parish Church of St John the Baptist & St Bartholomew in Kazimierz Dolny
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St. John the Baptist and St. Bartłomiej, Kazimierz Dolny, photo: Robert Neumann / Forum
Participation in concerts taking place in churches provides a special opportunity to please not only one’s ears, but also one’s eyes, as many such concerts take place against the background of particularly valued and simply beautiful landmark structures. One such example is the parish church in one of Poland’s most scenic towns – Kazimierz Dolny. Built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, this church is today one of the foremost examples of late Renaissance architecture; its characteristic elements include decorative helmets on both façades as well as an impressive, decorative ceiling covered in geometrical patterns in stucco featuring circles, squares, hearts and rosettes. It’s not only music lovers here who appreciate the organ built in 1620, one of the oldest of this type of instrument that still exists in Poland. The Kazimierz church is often a concert venue, including the annual Kazimierz Organ Festival.
The Church of the Apostles St Peter & Paul in Nysa
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Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Nysa, photo: Jacek Halicki / Wikimedia.org
The Church of Peter & Paul in Nysa is counted amongst the most valuable Baroque architectural landmarks in Silesia. This single-nave sanctuary with its rows of chapels and galleries along its edges and its two-tower western façade was built in the first decade of the 18th century. The church is known for its uniquely rich stucco decorations and the trompe l’oeil murals on its ceiling. It’s no surprise that its impressive, original interior often serves as a venue for Baroque music concerts, for which its period-appropriate interior provides a perfect home. In 2021, the Nysa church hosted one of the concerts of the Wratislavia Cantans festival.
The Church of Peace in Świdnica
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Church of Peace in Świdnica, photo: Agencja Wyborcza
This Evangelical-Augsburg Church of the Holy Trinity, known as the Church of Peace, built in the years 1656-1657, is the largest wooden Baroque church in Europe and its extraordinary structure was recognised in 2001 when it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. What makes this landmark unique is not only its wattle and daub construction, but also its Baroque decorations, murals and paintings and its interior design – its altars, sculptured pulpit, baptismal font and organ – which have remained intact to the present day. The first instrument in the church was built in the 1660s, but the Świdnica organ was, however, later rebuilt and continuously added to. The organ we see today actually dates back to the early years of the 20th century and it was constructed by the greatly respected firm Schlag & Söhne. It is a so-called symphonic organ: it recreates the sound of an entire orchestra. It is to this day the ‘hero’ of many concerts and organ music festivals taking place in the church. Those include, among others, the Christian Schlag International Organ Music Festival, the Świdnica Bach Festival, and the Schlag Symphonic Organ series.
The Evangelical-Augsburg Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw
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Evangelical-Augsburg Church of the Holy Trinity, Małachowski Square, Warsaw, photo: Jędrzej Nowicki / Agencja Wyborcza
One can see that, as a rule, churches that offer perfect conditions for concerts are also exceptional in their architecture. That is certainly the case with the Evangelical-Augsburg Holy Trinity Church on Małachowskiego Square in Warsaw. Built in 1777-1779 according to a design by Szymon Bogumił Zug, an architect who, in his work, preferred Classical forms which he deemed ideal. That is why he laid out this evangelical church in a circular shape (with a 34-metre diameter) and crowned his dome with a tall light tower. Reaching a height of 58 metres, it was, at the time of its construction, the tallest structure in Warsaw. Zug gave the rotunda four symmetrical porticos of which one, surrounded by columns, served as the main entrance to the church. Surrounded by galleries with two levels, the interior of the sanctuary is often the site of sacral and classical music concerts and, since 2016, the building on Małachowskiego Square has become one of the so-called ‘Chopin sites’, locations in Warsaw associated with the composer. Fryderyk in his youth sang here in the church choir and, in 1825, he played a concert for Tsar Alexander.
The White Stork Synagogue in Wrocław
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The White Stork Synagogue, Wrocław, photo: Bartłomiej Kudowicz / Forum
The White Stork Synagogue in Wrocław was built in the years 1827-1829. It was designed by the respected architect, known for his use of historical styles that were very much in vogue at the time, Carl Ferdinand Langhans. He was also responsible for, among other projects, the Neo-Renaissance Alte Palais at Unter den Linden 9 in Berlin, the Neo-Classical home of the City Theatre of Wrocław (now the Wrocław Opera), the Neo-Renaissance City Theatre of Legnica, and the Neo-Romance Church of St Ursula & the 11,000 Virgins in Wrocław. The façade of the White Stork Synagogue was designed in the Classic style, proof of which can be seen in its monumental façade crowned with a triangular tympanum supported by columns with Corinthian-Oriental capitals. The one-room interior – laid out in a nearly square pattern – is in daily use by the Wrocław Jewish Community, but, since 2005, it has also served as the Jewish Culture & Education Centre administered by the Bente Kahan Foundation. In this fashion, this precious landmark has been brought back from the ruins and it serves both religious and cultural purposes. Concerts are often held here, including weekly Havdalah concerts at the conclusion of the Sabbath featuring klezmer music, liturgical music, cantors’ recitals and a summer festival which has been taking place annually since 2007 during which the works of Jewish composers are performed in a very wide variety of genres and musical styles.
The Holy Trinity Cathedral in Hajnówka
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Holy Trinity Cathedral in Hajnówka, photo: Wojciech Kryński / Forum
In September 2021 in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Hajnówka, the 40th edition of the Days of Orthodox Church Music Festival was held. Each year, this highly-respected festival brings together lovers of sacral music, and the Hajnówka Cathedral is the main stage for all the concerts. The cathedral was built in the years 1974-1992 according to a design by architect Aleksander Grygorowicz and the architect acknowledges that the form of the church was inspired by a concept developed by Jerzy Nowosielski. This spacious structure (it can hold up to 5000 faithful) has an unusual organic form with intersecting, gently curved walls with shell roofs. It is one of very few and one of the most intriguing examples of modern Orthodox church architecture in Poland.
The Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw
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Temple of Divine Providence, Warsaw, photo: Łukasz Szczepański / Reporter / East News
The builders and designers of Gothic, Baroque or Classical churches gain the knowledge of how to structure a church interior so that it will provide the perfect acoustic conditions from the experience of their forebears: the ancient Greeks already knew how to build a theatre so that the human voice could be heard equally well at any point in the building. Today’s architects are further assisted by up-to-date technology and the availability of modern materials. Whilst the interior of Warsaw’s Temple of Divine Providence remains unfinished, its designers made a great effort to see to it that the enormous, single-nave interior space would also serve as a high-quality concert venue. This is why the inside of its huge dome had to be coated with a sound-suppressing combination of mineral wool and copper mesh. ‘We are creating the ideal conditions not only for all symphonic instruments and the organ, but also for soloists and choirs, oratorios and all concerts,’ engineer Ewa Więckowska-Kosmala, the co-author of the Temple’s acoustic adaptation said.
Originally written in Polish, translated into English by Yale Reisner, Oct 2021