From hums quieter than a whisper to monumental walls of sounds, and from small toccatas and preludes to grand oratorios - the organ is truly a versatile instrument! This year’s edition of the Organ Music Days will feature a forgotten piece that will remind everybody of the capabilities of the instrument - the Quo vadis oratorio by Feliks Nowowiejski, illustrating scenes from the novel by Polish Nobel Prize laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz. A recital by Thomas Ospital, associated with the Saint-Eustache church in Paris, will feature his own organ renditions of Mozart's Variations on 'Ah, vous dirai-je Maman’ and Ravel's Couperin's Tombstone (7 December). Lorenzo Ghielmi, a virtuoso focusing on Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, will play contemporary compositions by Pärt alongside works by Bruhns and Buxtehude and Bach's cantatas (performed together with the Kraków Philharmonic Boys' Choir). His performance will culminate with Bach's iconic Toccata and Fugue in D minor (13 December).
5 December 2025, 7:30pm
6 December 2025, 6pm
Ligia: Wioletta Chodowicz – soprano
Praetorian Prefect: Wojtek Gierlach – bass
Priest, Peter: Tomasz Kumięga – baritonr
Michał Białko – organ
Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Piotr Sułkowski – conductor
Feliks Nowowiejski Quo vadis, scenes from Henryk Sienkiewicz’a novel for solo voices, choir, orchestra and organ, Op. 30
7 December 2025, 6pm
Organ recital
Thomas Ospital – organ
Johann Sebastian Bach:
–Prelude and Fugue in C major BWV 547
–Organ Sonata No. 2 in C minor BWV 526
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 12 Variations on the theme “Ah vous dirai-je, Maman” K. 265/300e (arr. T. Ospital)
Maurice Ravel Couperin’s Tomb (arr. T. Ospital)
Camille Saint-Saëns Danse macabre (arr. L. Robilliard)
Thomas Ospital improvisations
13 December 2025, 6pm
Kraków Philharmonic Boys Choir
Lorenzo Ghielmi – organ
Krzysztof Michałek – conductor
Nicolaus Bruhns Prelude in G major
Dieterich Buxtehude Passacaglia in D minor
Johann Sebastian Bach:
–Nun komm der Heyden Heyland BWV 659
–In dulci Jubilo BWV 751
–Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr BWV 663
Arvo Pärt:
–Annum per annum
–Vater unser im Himmelreich
Johann Sebastian Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565
