Minimus Vocal Ensemble releases a new album featuring the premiere composition “Threni”
Minimus Vocal Ensemble presents a new album – a moving journey through centuries
of meditation on suffering and hope. Featuring works by Alonso Lobo, Arvo Pärt,
James MacMillan and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, along with the premiere recording
of “Threni” by Marek Raczyński, this is the fourth release in the fifteen-year
history of the Poznań-based ensemble led by Sławomira Raczyńska. The album has been
released under the patronage of the Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC and TVP Kultura.
The artists undertook the ambitious task of juxtaposing works from different eras and entirely
different styles, all united by themes of mourning, suffering and trust. The structure of the
new album is clearly delineated – three successive parts comprise: Renaissance Lamentations
of Jeremiah, a cappella works by contemporary composers, and the composition “Threni”
by Marek Raczyński, written in 2023, scored for choir, saxophone, double bass
and percussion instruments.
“The text of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, one of the books of the Old Testament, is both
the frame and the key to our entire album,” says Sławomira Raczyńska, artistic
director of the ensemble. “This approach allowed us to juxtapose, within a single release,
the Renaissance polyphony of Alonso Lobo with the contemporary composition by Marek Raczyński
which, despite its modern language and means of expression, references the structure
of Renaissance music.”
In the middle section of the album, Minimus broadened the context of the Lamentations with three
a cappella works: the contemplative music of Arvo Pärt, the harmonically dense song
by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, and the moving prayer by James MacMillan.
“The album Threni is a true journey into the interior of the suffering human being, (…)
a study of the tormented soul,” writes Dr hab. Maria Piotrowska-Bogalecka –
“Through Minimus Vocal Ensemble, Threni Project Choir and Sławomira Raczyńska,
we receive a contemplative, hushed image that invites us to pause, listen and meditate.”
Performers
- Minimus Vocal Ensemble
- Threni Project Choir
- Paweł Gusnar – saxophone
- Szymon Guzowski – double bass
- Bartek Miler – percussion
- Sławomira Raczyńska – conductor / artistic director
Details
- Release date: 31 October 2025
- Catalogue number: RecArt 0069
- Format: CD