Inspired by Father Roman Soczewka and dedicated to him, the work was commissioned by the Franciscan Friars’ Monastery of Niepokalanów; the first performance took place on 23 October 1994, the year of solemn celebrations marking the centenary of the birth of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe.
Sent from the Auschwitz concentration camp to his Mother Maria, the letter was written a short time before the author’s martyrdom. It was the composer’s aim to express the prayerful, mystic character of the text by placing a maximum limitation on resources and musical elements, both rhythmical and harmonic. As a result, the work has become understandable and easy to appreciate not only by connoisseurs of contemporary Polish music, but also by the other faithful of the Church. The composition is quiet, but at the same time full of unusual tension, indicative of the atmosphere and mood of the place from which the letter was sent, as well as the pain of the friar witnessing the death of many Poles, anticipating and prepared for his own death. The words are of utmost importance; the music, oscillating around the D minor key, emphasizing the importance of the message (e.g. “because I don’t know, how long I will be here”), is not only an illustration. The work is deeply moving; that lyrical subjectivity is characteristic of Paweł Łukaszewski’s entire religious output. The text is a translation from German of the last letter written by Father Maximilian Maria Kolbe to his Mother on 15 June 1941 from the camp at Auschwitz two months before his death in the hunger bunker. 845 letters have been preserved from St. Maximilian Kolbe’s correspondence, including the letters to his family. [Fr. Roman Soczewka O.F.M. Conv.]
- ISMN: 9790274008789 (M274008789)