While walking the streets of Rome, we are stopped every step by breaths of history. Numerous remains of ancient buildings testify to the former greatness of the Eternal City – a majestic witness to the events described by Henryk Sienkiewicz in his 1896 novel Quo vadis. Against the background of the twilight of the empire and the bloody birth of Christianity, he placed one of the most famous love themes in the history of Polish literature, telling the story of the relationship between Ligia, who came from a barbarian tribe, and the patrician Marcus Vinicius.

As is well known, all roads lead to Rome, and one of them to the Italian capital at the beginning of the 20th century came the composer Felix Nowowiejski. While absorbing the charming atmosphere of la dolce vita, he simultaneously followed the traces of the Roman Empire’s past. In 1903, he composed “dramatic scenes” in the Eternal City to a libretto by German writer Antonie Jüngst, based on a book by Sienkiewicz. Thus was born the monumental oratorio Quo vadis for solo voices, choir, orchestra and organ. Leaving aside the love theme of Ligia and Vinicius, Jüngst and Nowowiejski focused on the conflict between Christians and pagans, conceived in terms of the eternal struggle between good and evil. The work consists of five parts, describing the fire of Rome, the Roman Forum, the famous catacombs, the oldest Roman road Via Appia and the ruins of the Colosseum.

The premiere of Quo vadis took place in 1907 in Usti nad Labem. Two years later in Amsterdam, the composer presented the work to the public in a new version and was spectacularly successful with it. After the concert, he was honored with a gilded laurel wreath as a token of his appreciation, and also received a ring from Queen Wilhelmina. If someone had asked Nowowiejski at the time where he was going – quo vadis? – the one with a clear conscience could answer that… to celebrate triumphs on world stages. Despite the demanding cast, the Polish composer’s oratorio, popular in the interwar period, was often performed in Europe and abroad.

PROGRAMME:

Feliks Nowowiejski (1877–1946)
Quo vadis, scenes based on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz for solo voices, choir, orchestra and organ op. 30 (1907)

PERFORMERS:

Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir

Piotr Sułkowski
conductor

Wojciech Gierlach
baritone

Wioletta Chodorowicz
soprano

Janusz Wierzgacz
choir preparation