Fauré, Grzeszczak & Whitbourn: Masses Łódź Philharmonic Choir & Dawid Ber

• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924): Messe basse:
• 1 Messe basse: I. Kyrie eleison 02:12
• 2 Messe basse: II. Sanctus 02:10
• 3 Messe basse: III. Benedictus 02:24
• 4 Messe basse: Iv. Agnus Dei 02:50
• Krzysztof Grzeszczak (b. 1965): Tongeren Mass:
• 5 Tongeren Mass: I. Kyrie 04:40
• 6 Tongeren Mass: II. Gloria 06:49
• 7 Tongeren Mass: III. Sanctus 04:16
• 8 Tongeren Mass: IV. Agnus Dei 05:48
• James Whitbourn (b. 1963): Son of God Mass:
• 9 Son of God Mass: I. Introit 01:03
• 10 Son of God Mass: II. Kyrie 03:40
• 11 Son of God Mass: III. Kyrie Meditation 02:51
• 12 Son of God Mass: IV. Gloria 03:02
• 13 Son of God Mass: V. Lava me 05:08
• 14 Son of God Mass: VI. Sanctus & Benedictus 02:29
• 15 Son of God Mass: VII. Pax Domini 02:50
• 16 Son of God Mass: VIII. Agnus Dei 02:13
• 17 Son of God Mass: IX. Amen 02:06
• Total Runtime 56:31

Info for Fauré, Grzeszczak & Whitbourn: Masses

The Lodz Philharmonic Choir and conductor Dawid Ber perform sacred choral works by Faure, Whitbourn and Grzeszczak. The album contains three, completely stylistically different, rarely performed masses.

The work of Gabriel Faure, one of the most significant composers for the development of the French music at the turn of the 20th century, is not easily classified under a specific artistic trend. On the one hand, the pieces he wrote in the early stages of his activity are quite closely linked to the majorminor system, on the other hand (it is particularly noticeable in relation to piano works), the artist had already been using a number of original harmonic means, aesthetically announcing the musical Impressionism.

Krzysztof Grzeszczak was born on 17 September 1965 in Makow Mazowiecki. In 1987–1989, he studied organ under Feliks Raczkowski and harmony and counterpoint under Franciszek Wesolowski. In 1993, he graduated from theological studies in Warsaw at the Academy of Catholic Theology (currently the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University).

James Whitbourn was born in 1963 in Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent, Great Britain. Initially, he pursued his education at The Skinners' School, but after receiving a scholarship he moved to Magdalen College in Oxford, where he graduated. Whitbourn quickly became popular in his country thanks to the cooperation with the BBC channel, for which he prepared a number of television programmes.

Marta Boberska, soprano
Chór Filharmonii Łódzkiej
Dawid Ber, conductor
Paweł Gusnar, saxopohone
Magdalena Szymańska, soprano
Krzysztof Urbaniak, organ

Dawid Ber
graduated in Music Theory in the class of Professor Franciszek Wesołowski and completed the Vocal and Vocal-Instrumental Ensemble Direction Program at the Academy of Music in Łódź (1998).

In 2000 he completed with honours the Post-graduate Choirmaster Study Program at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. In 2005 he earned his Ph.D. title in conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw.

In 1995-1999 he was engaged full time in the Artur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic Choir. In 1996-1998 he taught and conducted at the Henryk Wieniawski General Primary and Secondary Music School in Łódź. He has continued teaching since 1998 at the Stanisław Moniuszko Music School Complex in Łódź. He was also a teacher at High school no. 6 in Łódź, the State Primary and Secondary Music School in Piotrków Trybunalski and in the Private Secondary Music School at the Polish Music Institute.

In 2004–2011 Ber was the vice-principal in the Stanisław Moniuszko State Music School Complex in Łódź. Since 2008 he has been employed at the Faculty of Artistic Education at the Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź, where he is an assistant lecturer in the conducting class.

He has led the mixed choir of the Christian Baptist Church in Łódź without interruption since 1992. In 1996 he established and went on to lead for eight years the “Alla Camera” Vocal Ensemble. Also in 1996 he became the artistic director and conductor of the “Lutnia” Singers’ Association in Zgierz, which he continues to lead to date. In 2002–2005 he led the Teachers’ Choir in Łódź.

He is the conductor of the “Vivid Singers” Chamber Choir since 2005. In the 2010/2011 season he worked together with the Mixed Choir of the Artur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic. In 2011 he took over the post of choir master of the Łódź Philharmonic Choir.

Together with his choirs Ber received a number of awards and distinctions at numerous festivals and competitions in Poland and abroad. He conducted many concerts in Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Italy and Lithuania.

Booklet for Fauré, Grzeszczak & Whitbourn: Masses