MEDITATIONS FOR HARPSICHORD – Polish Premiere
Meditations for Harpsichord by Katarzyna Kowalik is an interdisciplinary project that brings together music, mindfulness and contemporary creativity.
On 24 October 2026 at 23:00 at Hashtag Lab in Warsaw, as part of the “Concert for the Change of Time” series, new works by Anna Maria Huszcza, Andrzej Karałow, Rolf Hind, Nicola LeFanu, John Palmer and Janet Oates will receive their Polish premieres, alongside music by Louis Couperin and Johann Jakob Froberger. The concert will also mark the Polish premiere of the album Meditations for Harpsichord, released by Prima Facie Records, and the book Meditations for Harpsichord, published by Vision Edition.
The programme combines the sound of the harpsichord with Tibetan singing bowls, gongs and electronics, opening up new possibilities for an instrument with a centuries-old tradition and creating a contemporary space where music and meditation meet - an exceptional setting for attentive listening, stillness and reflection. Early music encounter contemporary composition, and a traditional instrument is paired with an entirely new sonic language.
The Polish premiere will have a multi-sensory character. In collaboration with Intibag, sensory objects will be placed in the concert space for the audience to use while listening. Through their form, weight and gentle pressure, these objects allow direct contact with the body and stimulation of deep pressure sensation. Listeners can nestle into them, wrap themselves in them or lie on them, experiencing the music in a different dimension.
The project is realised as part of an artistic scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (2026). It has also received support from the Hinrichsen Foundation, The Marchus Trust, the Vaughan Williams Foundation, the Gemma Classical Music Trust, as well as private sponsors and partner organisations. Polish premiere of the Meditations for Harpsichord is under the patronage of the Fundacja British Council.
Programme:
Louis Couperin – Prélude non mesuré (in the style of Froberger)
Nicola LeFanu – Fantasia for Katarzyna
Anna Maria Huszcza – Intertwined Silence
John Palmer – Akasha
Andrzej Karałow – Beyond stillness, murmuring voices
Janet Oates – Flow
Rolf Hind – …comme un clavecin mêlé de gong…
Johann Jakob Froberger – Méditation sur ma mort future
Katarzyna Kowalik – harpsichord, Tibetan singing bowls, gongs
Find out more about the project at www.meditationsforharpsichord.com