The 40-minute choral composition is entitled Psalm. Scored for unaccompanied mixed choir, it is a set of eight variations on the theme of the Ukrainian folk song Oj, zza hory kam'yanoyi.
The work was commissioned by the Warsaw-based Adam Mickiewicz Institute two years ago, but its premiere has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir directed by Bartosz Michałowski.
The concert is set to be attended by the composer, who arrived in Warsaw from Berlin, where he went after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Born in 1937 in Kyiv, Silvestrov is among Ukraine’s most renowned composers. His works have been performed by some of the world’s leading orchestras and soloists as well as at major festivals, including the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music.
After a period of avant-garde experiments in the 1960s, Silvestrov’s music became neo-romantic in character and mood.
On the eve of the concert, Silvestrov was made an honorary member of the Polish Composers' Union.
In addition to Silvestrov’s work, the programme of Tuesday’s choral concert includes Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning and Paul Hindemith’s Apparebit repentina die.
(mk/gs)