The choir of the Presentation Sisters School in Krakow has been cultivating friendship with the choirs of the Padányi Biró Márton Catholic School in Veszprém for 12 years now. Over the years, they have prayed, sung together, participated in cultural programs and shared their thoughts with each other. This is a heartwarming fact in itself, as the thousand-year-old friendship of these two peoples has withstood the storms of history. It is no coincidence that many historians around the world are studying the basis of this special friendship. Historian Piotr Stefaniak, the host of the evening concert, once stated that in the ancient Polish and Hungarian past, the two countries always fared best when a mixed-ethnicity couple from these two nations sat on the throne.
At the General Assembly of the International Federation of Pueri Cantores in Paris at the end of August, the leaders of the Polish and Hungarian delegations agreed that in the current turbulent European political situation, based on the traditions of this friendship, they would try to organize joint Polish-Hungarian Pueri Cantores choir congresses, so that we could sing and pray together for world peace, so that the leaders of nations would reconcile with each other and with the world, and so that man would be able to see Christ in his neighbor.
The Hungarian students stayed with their Polish friends for a week, during which they got to know the common Polish-Hungarian memorial sites of the city of Krakow and the depth of the roots of Polish religious life.
The choir of the School of the Presentation Sisters in Krakow, the Padány Chamber Choir and the Padány Schola Mixed Choir performed on November 6th. At half past five, a joint concert was held for this purpose in the hall of the Franciscan Monastery of Bl. Jakub Strzemię in Krakow, whose patron was Dr. Tibor Gerencsér, the Consul General of Hungary in Krakow, who had hosted the choirs of the two institutions the day before. They were able to get to know the work of the Consulate General, ask questions about it informally, and were given a taste of the concert material.
The Polish choirmaster, Sister Wanda Putyra, cheerfully remarked in the introduction to the concert that – since their festive attire is so similar, and they speak to each other in English while trying to get to know each other’s mother tongue – she could hardly distinguish her own students from the guests.
As the opening act of the concert, the three choirs performed a folk song adaptation of Lajos Bárdos: Tábortűznél, which our Polish brothers liked so much that they asked it to be one of the common songs.
The hosts, led by Sister Wanda, began the program with three traditional Polish folk song arrangements, then led by Maciej Rutkowski, we listened to Psalm 1 with the melody of the Polish Renaissance composer Wacław z Szamotuł, as well as two Polish songs, the latter accompanied by simple, expressive movement.
Then the Chamber Choir of the Padány Catholic School sang a Gregorian melody about the Virgin Mary, then medieval polyphonic songs led by Erika Hutvágner, then the Mixed Choir of the same institution sang Taizé songs under the direction of Cecília Zsilinszky, and then performed a Frisina work, involving the audience in the singing.
The two Hungarian choirs sang together a version of Berthier’s Ubi Caritas, considered the founding father of the Pueri Cantores movement, and then, under the direction of Erika Hutvágner and accompanied by Cecília Zsilinszky on piano, they performed the Balaton folk songs cycle by Béla Vavrinecz with great success.
The joint closing prayer of the three choirs was Misericordias Domini by the Polish composer Jan Henryk Botor, which has now become the iconic anthem of the Pueri Cantores meetings. Conducted by Maciej Rutkowski, Szilveszter Rostetter accompanied on the organ.
The evening was both a singing prayer and a friendly gathering, sublime entertainment and a sincere prayer for the reconciliation of souls. Dr. Tibor Gerencsér called the concert the most important event in Krakow that day, which was greatly appreciated in the packed auditorium.
The significance of the event for the Pueri Cantores Hungarian Association is not only strengthened by the fact that the Consul General in Krakow was the patron, but it is also interesting that Cecília Zsilinszky is the vice-president of the PCMSz, Erika Hutvágner is the secretary, the organ accompanist Szilveszter Rostetter is the president, and the economic manager, Dr. László Major, was also present.
In the beautiful, Gothic hall of the Franciscan Monastery in Krakow, you could almost feel the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but not in quiet reverence, but in the midst of the noisiest expressions of approval: the entire audience stood up and thanked the participants for the great experience they were able to share.
The concert could be a small gem of a series of joint, larger meetings dreamed up by the leaders of the associations, the aim of which is to show how much power we are capable of releasing with the power of God for the sake of a more beautiful, happier, more peaceful future.
Szilveszter Rostetter
President of the Hungarian Federation of Pueri Cantores
Photos: Laszlo Major
