His first organ teacher was Stanisław Pachlewski. In the years 1922-1926 he received education at the Salesian Organ School in Przemyśl. In the years 1933-1936 he continued his organ studies in the class led by Bogusław Rutkowski and in the class of composition led by Kazimierz Sikorski at the Conservatory in Warsaw.
In the 1930s he was an organist at the Church of the Holy Family in Warsaw. He spent World War II in Warsaw, where he worked as a violinist, accordionist and drummer at the 'Mirage' cafe in Nowy Świat Street as well as in 'Huragan' restaurant in Marszałkowska Street. Moreover, he played regular organ concerts in the Church of the Holy Saviour and, as a pianist, participated in secret concerts taking place in private apartments (among others, at Mirosław Dąbrowski and Piotr Perkowski).
In the years 1945-1970 he served as an organist at the Church of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, while between 1953 and 1970 he also led the Świętokrzyski Choir with which he received the First Prize at the Church Choir Competition organised by the Warsaw Archdiocese.
Between 1946 and 1984 Feliks Rączkowski gave more than 800 performances in churches, concert halls, schools, the Polish Radio and the Polish Television. He toured with recitals and with accompaniment of orchestras; he also provided accompaniment to choirs, soloists and chamber music bands. He performed across Poland, in the majority of European countries (including the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris) and in the United States. His repertoire included organ pieces from the world’s literature, with particular emphasis placed on Polish composers, among others Jan Podbielski, Andrzej Rohaczewski, Piotr Żelechowski, Wincenty Wacław Rychling, Feliks Nowowiejski, Kazimierz Jurdziński, Gustaw Roguski, Tadeusz Paciorkiewicz and Marian Sawa. He made numerous radio and television recordings as well as for record companies, performed, among others, on the historic pipe organs in Leżajsk, Kamień Pomorski and Oliwa.
At the same time, he busied himself with pedagogical work – at the Organ School in Przemyśl (1929-1933, 1936-1937), the Conservatory in Warsaw (from 1937) and, after the war, in The Higher State School of Music in Warsaw, also holding a position of the Associate Dean of the Instrumental Faculty (1958-1968) and Head of the Organ Department (1973-1976). In 1973 he was awarded the title of professor. He educated a group of outstanding organists, among others Andrzej Chorosiński, Mirosław Perz, Augustyn Bloch, Stanisław Moryta, Marian Sawa, Marietta Kruzel-Sosnowska, Urszula Ptaszyńska-Grahm, Maria Terlecka, Jerzy Erdman, Tadeusz Olszewski, Andrzej Siekierski. He also worked at the Karol Kurpiński School of Music in Warsaw and, in the later years of his life, at the Institute of Musicology of the Catholic Theological Academy. He participated in the works of juries of organ competitions in Warsaw, Łowicz, Cracow, Graz and Linz.
He organised and directed organ festivals in Kamień Pomorski, Koszalin and Oliwa. He also initiated summer concerts at the parish church in Kazimierz Dolny. He was a member of the Association of Polish Musicians and the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia.
Feliks Rączkowski was awarded, among others, Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1973), First Grade Award of the Minister of Culture and Art (1976), Papal Distinction 'Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice' (1979), Blessed Brother Albert Award (1980), Władysław Pietrzak Award (1984).
His accomplishments as a composer include organ pieces, choral and a cappella songs, songs for voice and organ as well as numerous arrangements of Polish church songs.
Major compositions:
- for organ:
- Tema con variazioni (1936)
- Ach mój Jezu (Oh, my Jesus) (1939-45)
- Gorzkie żale (Lenten Psalms) (1939-45)
- Suita kolęd (A Suite of Carols)
- Dwa chorały (Two Chorales)
- Bogurodzica (Mother of God)
- Marsz ślubny (Wedding March)
- Marsz żałobny (Funeral March)
- Organ preludes based on church song and Gregorian chorale patterns
- a cappella:
- Apel Jasnogórski (Appeal of Jasna Góra) for solo voice (1984)
- Pani Fatimska (Our Lady of Fatima) for solo voice (1984)
- A tam pod lasem (There, near the forest), a folk melody for mixed choir
- Siedem kolęd (Seven carols) for mixed choir
- Kantaty i toasty imieninowe (Cantatas and Name Day Toasts) for mixed choir
- O Maryjo moja radość (Oh, Mother Mary, my joy) for two voices
- vocal and instrumental:
- Bogurodzica (Mother of God), a mass for mixed choir and organ (1943)
- Ojcze nasz (Lord’s Prayer) for solo voice and organ(1946)
- Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei for solo voice and organ (1947)
- Ave Maria for solo voice and organ (1947)
- Ave Maria for soprano, tenor and organ (1947)
- Ecce Sacerdos for choir and organ
- Tu es Sacerdos for choir and organ
Author: Małgorzata Kosińska, Polish Music Information Centre, Polish Composers’ Union, December 2007.
