A Musical Respite from War

Ukrainian singers participate in a liturgical singing workshop in Poland with support from the Order

By Mateusz Ziomber

Sept. 26, 2023

Man composing a chour — Rafał Maciejewski conducts singers taking part in the Dominican Liturgical Center’s music workshop at the Basilica of the Holy Trinity in Kraków, Poland, in July. (Courtesy of the Dominican Liturgical Center)

Each year, the Dominican Liturgical Center in Kraków, Poland, organizes an “Extraordinary Music Workshop,” a one-of-a-kind singing course deeply immersed in prayer and liturgy.

The initiative has gained international recognition since it began in 2013, attracting participants from Western Europe and the United States. This year’s workshop, which took place July 3-9, welcomed a special group of singers: 10 musicians from Ukraine, who traveled to Poland and took part in the course thanks to financial support from the Knights of Columbus.

Spending a week learning Gregorian chant, polyphony and Eastern chant in a beautiful Gothic basilica in historic Kraków was more than a cultural opportunity for these Ukrainian musicians — it was an experience of faith, hope and solidarity.

“For me, it is not just material humanitarian aid; it is spiritual support,” said Olvia Yemets, a singer who traveled to Kraków from Dnipro. “Here I feel my heart healing, because this is an opportunity to live a calm, peaceful life for at least a week, without air raids or explosions at night.”

“The music we perform here, the liturgy we celebrate, and the adoration we hold in the presence of the Eucharistic Jesus are, above all, a cure for all the craziness and meaninglessness of the war that they experience,” said Father Tomasz Samulnik, a Polish Dominican who accompanied the Ukrainian participants as their chaplain.

Most members of the Ukrainian group had sung together previously at workshops organized by Father Samulnik and other Dominicans in Kyiv. Reflecting Ukrainian society, the musicians represented several different Christian traditions — Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Greek Catholic, even Eastern Orthodox — but they all shared a passion for liturgical singing.

For many, this was their first opportunity to study Roman Catholic liturgical music extensively.

“In Ukraine, we don’t have a chance to learn Gregorian chant,” said Yemets, who is Roman Catholic. “We have a strong intention to bring this chant to our parishes and sing it there.”

Svitlana Humeniuk, a lecturer at the National Music Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv, hoped the workshop would help her bring Western chant to an even wider audience. “I’m interested in the methodological aspects of working with people who have no previous training so I can expand the circle of those interested in chant,” she said.

The Ukrainians joined about 400 singers from a dozen countries, among them Denmark, Switzerland, Great Britain, Mexico, Argentina, the Philippines and Australia. In addition to chant and choir instruction in Kraków’s 13th-century Basilica of the Holy Trinity, the program included tours of the city, talks, Mass and praying of the Liturgy of the Hours, and group meals. These opportunities to spend time with other people of faith were especially meaningful to the singers from Ukraine.

“We really appreciate that the Knights of Columbus care about supporting people spiritually and morally in this way,” explained Olga Levchuk, a participant from Lviv. “This is really important — to feel solidarity.”

The ongoing war in their home country has given them new perspective on the importance of faith and music, Humeniuk said.

“Probably the biggest lesson from this war is that things that seem to be strong and enduring, houses or stone walls, don’t withstand an attack,” she explained. “But faith and music — these are the things that are actually more solid, more powerful and enduring. And they give us the strength to go on.”

To learn more about the Order’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund^® and associated efforts, visit kofc.org/ukraine.

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MATEUSZ ZIOMBER writes from Kraków, Poland.