Szczecin Philharmonic Big Band Festively

Singing Christmas carols is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful traditions of Christmas. This year, thanks to the Szczecin Philharmonic Big Band, we will stay in the magical atmosphere of Christmas melodies a bit longer, taking you on a unique journey filled with the most beautiful Christmas carols and pastorals.

Each region of the world has its own traditional Christmas carols; many have foreign-language equivalents and translations. The best example is "Silent Night", written in 1818, translated into over three hundred languages and dialects. On the other hand, the oldest surviving Polish Christmas carol, "Zdrów bądź, królu anielski" (Be Healthy, Angelic King), dates back to 1424. Timeless, traditional melodies sung since childhood become an inspiration to create new unique versions, and repeated every year, they remain with us and are passed on to the next generations.

The Szczecin Philharmonic Big Band has selected for you carols and pastorals known and performed in various configurations around the world. It is a mixture of a diverse Christmas repertoire, passion for music and incredible energy derived from the traditions of American big bands. The musicians invited vocalists from Szczecin: Patrycja Kowalska, Magdalena Wilento, Michał Grobelny and Konrad Słoka to collaborate on the album, and the arrangements were taken care of by Jakub Kraszewski and Tomasz Licak. In this way, traditional pieces gained the characteristic lightness of sound characteristic of entertainment orchestras. Artists playing the roles of contemporary carollers connect generations in a non-obvious way and encourage family meetings to the rhythm of big-band sound. The music shared with us by the Szczecin Philharmonic Big Band is an ideal proposition for everyone who is looking for a different look at Christmas traditions.

The ensemble, which consists of 16 musicians, was founded in September 2017 on the initiative of Igor Pushkar, a trombonist in our orchestra. Apart from the well-known musicians of the Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the band includes excellent colleagues from the music community in Szczecin and Poznań.