Józef Świder – przyjaciel śpiewaków i muzyków, współtwórca świetności amatorskiego ruchu chóralnego i orkiestrowego
Józef Świder – a friend of songsters and musicians, the co-creator of the splendour of the amateur choir and orchestral movement

Author(s): Andrzej Wójcik
Subject(s): Music
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Józef Świder; composer; social activist;choirs;
Summary/Abstract: Józef Świder – an honorary member of the Silesian Association of Choirs and Orchestras, was honoured by the Laureateship of the Century presented by the Association of the Silesian Associations of Songsters… In the private notes of the 1990s he wondered: “Will there be my legacy in this movement?”. In 1968–1974 in the then Silesian branch of the Polish Association of Choirs and Orchestras he performed the function of an artistic director. The protocols of the Association, the “Śpiewak Śląski” periodical and the Warsaw-based “Życie Muzyczne” (originally “Życie Śpiewacze”) preserved distinct marks of this activity. A significant role in the development of the contacts of the young musician with choirs was played by the church choir of the St. Anne parish in his native town of Czechowice. It was there that Świder established the Stanisław Moniuszko choir in 1955. These early musical experiences account for the permanence of the warm and reciprocated relation of the composer with the songster movement. The popularisation of his figure and his output is supported by various initiatives (the Józef Świder International Festival of Music in Cieszyn, the Polish-wide “Cantus” Choral Festival in Katowice). Thus, the academic and the amateur songster movement celebrates the memory of the artist, teacher and social activist, the creator of works which are performed in great international events and during friendly meetings of the enthusiasts of songs.

• Details
• Contents