A PEARL / PERŁA

Poles are celebrating 650th JUBILEE of the Jagiellonian University.

Polacy obchodzą 650 rocznicę powstania Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.

The Kraków University is the oldest higher education institution in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded on 12 May 1364 by the Polish king Casimir the Great.

Krakowski Uniwersytet jest najstarszą wyższą uczelnią w Polsce i jedną z najstarszych w Europie. Został ufundowany 12 maja 1364 roku przez polskiego króla Kazimierza Wielkiego.

From the foundation charter issued by king Casimir the Great on 12 May 1364:

…Let it be a pearl of the inestimable sciences
so that it may bring forth men outstanding for the maturity of their counsel,
pre-eminent for their virtue, and well qualified in all the branches of knowledge…

Z dokumentu fundacyjnego wystawionego przez króla Kazimierza Wielkiego 12 maja 1364 roku:

…Niechże tam będzie nauk przemożnych perła,
aby wydała męże dojrzałością rady znakomite,
ozdobą cnót świetne i w różnych umiejętnościach wyuczone…

A HISTORICAL MOMENT

Kanonizacja Jana Pawła II 27 kwietnia 2014 roku była historycznym wydarzeniem dla Kościoła Katolickiego, lecz również dla… świata literatury. Zanim Jan Paweł II został papieżem, był nie tylko polskim księdzem o nazwisku Karol Wojtyła, ale i pisarzem. Jako stary papież napisał swój ostatni literacki tekst pt. Tryptyk rzymski.

Karol Wojtyła / Jan Paweł II jest wybitnym, lecz ciągle niedocenianym pisarzem metafizycznym.

Bibliografia Jana Pawla II (okres przedpontyfikalny)
Dramaty: Dawid, Hiob, Jeremiasz, Przed sklepem jubilera, Brat naszego Boga, Promieniowanie ojcostwa.

Poezja: Renesansowy psałterz i wiele innych wierszy.

The canonizations of Pope John Paul II April 27, 2014 was a historic moment for the Catholic Church and for… literary world as well. Until his election as pope John Paul II was not only a Polish priest named Karol Wojtyla but a writer too. As the old pope he has written his last literary text titled Roman Triptych.

Karol Wojtyła / John Paul II is an outstanding but still underestimated metaphysical writer.

Pope John Paul II bibliography (Pre-Pontifical Writings)
Plays: David,Job, Jeremiah,The Jeweller’s Shop,Our God’s Brother, Radiation of Fatherhood.

Poetry: Renaissance Psalter and many other poems.

Please watch it!

From Poland With Love (not only for Great Britain!)

Polish Symphony of Sorrowful Songs in Royal Albert Hall

Wednesday 4 September, 7.30pm

Programme:
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki: Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (60 mins)

Artists:
Ruby Hughes soprano
Jennifer Johnston mezzo-soprano
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä conductor

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Symphony of Sorrowful Songs was inspired  by a prayer inscribed on the wall of cell no. 3 in the basement of the Gestapo headquarters in Zakopane. The signature of Helena Wanda Blazusiakówna, and the words “18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September 1944″ were written under the prayer.

One of the songs  says:

No, Mother, do not weep,
Most chaste Queen of Heaven
Support me always.
“Zdrowas Mario / Ave Maria”

The first performance  of the Symphony with the  great Polish soprano Stefania Woytowicz  and conductor  Ernest Bour took place on 4 April 1977 at the Royal International Festival .

M.H. Górecki (1933-2010)

S. Woytowicz (1922-2005)

Stefania Woytowicz and Jerzy Katlewicz present a part of Symphony of Sorrowful Songs:

Moja piosnka / My song

Moja piosnka II
Do kraju tego, gdzie kruszynę chleba
Podnoszą z ziemi przez uszanowanie
Dla darów Nieba….
Tęskno mi, Panie…

Do kraju tego, gdzie winą jest dużą
Popsować gniazdo na gruszy bocianie,
Bo wszystkim służą…
Tęskno mi, Panie…

Do kraju tego, gdzie pierwsze ukłony
Są, jak odwieczne Chrystusa wyznanie,
„Bądź pochwalony!”
Tęskno mi, Panie… […]

_____________________________________
My Song II
For that land where a scrap of bread is picked up
From the ground out of reverence
For Heaven’s gifts…
I am homesick, Lord!…

For the land where it’s a great travesty
To harm a stork’s nest in a pear tree,
For storks serve us all…
I am homesick, Lord!…

For the land where we greet each other
In the ancient Christian custom:
„May Christ’s name be praised!”
I am homesick, Lord!… […]

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Cyprian Kamil Norwid was born in 1821 near Warsaw.  Largely self-taught, he left Poland at the age of 21, moving widely around Europe, befriended by Chopin among others, before travelling to America. Persistently dogged by financial crises, he was forced to return to Paris in 1854. There he spent the rest of his life, dying in a hostel for Polish insurrection veterans in Ivry in 1883.

CV from http://www.anvilpresspoetry.com/authors.asp?id=28&authors=1&editors=0&translators=0

Norwid was baptized here. This is a village Dąbrówka about 40 km west of Warsaw

Pamiętam / I Remember

13 maja 1981, to dzień który na zawsze wrył się w moją pamięć.

May 13, 1981, was a day that will forever be etched into my memory.

Usiłowanie zabójstwa papieża, Jana Pawła II!

Assassination Attempt on Pope John Paul II!

Papież umarł 2 kwietnia 2005 roku w wieku 84 lat.

He has died April 02, 2005, at the age of 84 .

The first constitution of modern Europe and second in the world …

 

National 3rd of May Holiday

Anniversary of the First Polish Constitution

On May 3, 1791, the Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was adopted. It was the first constitution of modern Europe and second in the world, following the American one. It was a significant achievement of the Polish Enlightenment thinkers.

Only two days after the Constitution had been passed by the Grand Sejm [Polish Parliament] (1788-1792), the 3rd of May was established a national holiday, and subsequently it was suspended for a long time due to the country’s partitioning. It was reinstituted after Poland regained its freedom in 1918. After World War II, in 1946, the communist authorities forbade its public celebration, and attempts of manifestations were suppressed by militiamen. In 1951 the holiday was officially cancelled. Since 1990 the 3rd of May Holiday has again been celebrated as an official statutory holiday in Poland, and a red-letter day. Since 2007 it has also been the national holiday of Lithuania.

Particularly solemn atmosphere can be observed during the major 3rd of May Holiday celebrations before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Piłsudski Square in Warsaw. They involve a military parade, volleys, ceremonious change of guards, laying wreaths. Representatives of the top Polish state authorities, military authorities, clergy, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps, veterans, scouts and thousands of Warsaw residents pay tribute to the accomplishment of eminent Poles.

The 3rd of May Holiday is a joyful occasion. Spring events, concerts, family picnics are held throughout Poland. The streets of the Polish capital city see a great number of people running under the slogan “From the 3rd May Constitution to the European Union”.

From: http://en.poland.gov.pl/National,3rd,of,May,Holiday,10196.html

Kamień / Stone

In an eastern city where I won’t return
there is a winged stone light and huge
lightning strikes this winged stone […]

W mieście kresowym do którego nie wrócę
jest taki skrzydlaty kamień lekki i ogromny
pioruny biją w ten kamień skrzydlaty […]

Zbigniew Herbert

Polish poet

Słońce / The Sun

Słońce

Barwy ze słońca są.  A ono nie ma
Żadnej osobnej barwy, bo ma wszystkie.
I cała ziemia jest niby poemat,
A słońce nad nią przedstawia artystę.

Kto chce malować świat w barwnej postaci,
Niechaj  nie patrzy nigdy prosto w słońce.
Bo pamięć rzeczy, które widział , straci,
Łzy tylko w oczach zostaną piekące.[…]

Czesław Miłosz

The sun

All colors come from the sun. And it does not have
Any particualr color, for it contains them all.
And the whole Earth is like a poem
While the sun above represents the artist.

Whoever wants to paint the variegated world
Let him never look straight up at the sun
Or he will lose the memory of things he has seen.
Only burning tears will stay in his eyes. […]

 Czesław Miłosz  (1911-2004) ranks among the most respected figures in twentieth-century Polish literature, as well as one of the most respected contemporary poets in the world, being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980.

Wejście / An Entrance

[…] Serce moje zmęczyło się
Zachwytem,
Rozpaczą,
Gorliwością,
Nadzieją.

[…] My heart grew weary
From joy,
Despair,
Ardor,
Hope.

[Czeslaw Milosz]