Missa Etcetera
thu 10 sep 2026 22:00 hrs
Today’s programme is dedicated to Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko.
Stanisław Moniuszko was one of the most significant Polish composers of the 19th century. He was born in a village in the Minsk region, which until 1793 was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. His mother taught him how to play the piano, until the family moved to Warsaw in 1827 and Stanisław became the pupil of August Freyer. The family moved back to Minsk in 1830 and it was in 1834 that Stanisław was sent to Berlin to continue his musical studies at the Singakademie, which is where he discovered his love of opera. He would encounter several works by Weber, Lortzing, Marschner, and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, among others—Bach and Handel included. His time at the academy also marks the beginning of his composing career. He settled in Vilnius after graduation, where he worked as a music teacher, organist at St John’s Church, and a concert organiser, which included concerts featuring his own works. His very first opera, Halka, was well received. He would move back to Warsaw and became director of the Music Theatre in 1858, followed six years later by the directorship of the Music Institute.
Moniuszko is best known as a composer of music for the stage—operas, operettas, incidental music, and ballets—but has also made a name for himself as a composer of songs. His sacred music, however, is virtually unknown and rarely performed. This part of his oeuvre is not particularly extensive, but still includes at least seven Masses, as well as individual movements and smaller works for choir or solo voices.
We’ll start today’s playlist off with three shorter works. The first two were originally composed to be accompanied by organ. However, in the recording conducted by Andrzej Szadejko, we’ll hear these works in versions with orchestral accompaniment, made by Moniuszko’s pupil Zygmunt Noskowski. The third work, Requiem aeternam, isn’t a Requiem Mass, but a cantata religiosa, as Moniuszko called it; the text consists of a short excerpt from the Requiem.
The Litaniae Ostrobramskie—the Ostra Brama Litanies—make up the centrepiece of this programme. The title refers to the historical city gate of Vilnius, meaning ‘Gate of Dawn’. The gate is famous for its chapel, which houses a painting of the Virgin Mary that is venerated by Catholic believers. The three Litanies were composed during Moniuszko’s time in Vilnius, between 1843 and 1855. They are technically demanding, which is remarkable given the limited resources available to Moniuszko in Vilnius. In these works, solo passages alternate with choral sections, while the orchestral writing reflects a development from the Classical style towards the symphonic style of the 19th century.
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872)
Sub tuum praesidium (orch. Zygmunt Noskowski)
Ecce lignum crucis (orch. Zygmunt Noskowski)
Requiem aeternam
Litania Ostrobramska I
Litania Ostrobramska II
Litania Ostrobramska III
Ingrida Gápová (soprano), Marion Eckstein (alto), Sebastian Mach (tenor), Maximilian Argmann (bass)
Gellert Ensemble, Goldberg Baroque Ensemble, conducted by Andrzej Szadejko
(CD: Requiem Aeternam – Sacred Symphonic Music, MDG 902-2278-6, 2023)
Additional track:
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847)
Fugue in E minor
Rudolf Innig (organ)
(CD: Sämtliche Orgelwerke, MD+G L 4487-90, 1994)
Pictured: Stanisław Moniuszko (Wikipedia)
