IN DIVERSITY TO GOD

ANNA PRZEWOŹNIK

Everybody has got their own style, their music taste. Everybody has also got their own history. Artists – musicians, vocalists, composers. They were inspired by Decalogue, teaching of St. John Paul II and life with Christ. The effect – 10 commandments, 12 songs

Ten simple words

It has been over 3 thousand years since nothing changed or nobody has cancelled them. Ten simple, commonly known and acknowledged principles. Ten commandments. Today at the times of the truth crisis, they must be particularly reminded.

Therefore, just – after long preparations and attempts – prominent Polish and foreign artists (from Syria, the USA, Zambia, Nicaragua, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Italy, Ukraine) created an unusual music album ‘Decalogue’. Those who took part in the project remind that Decalogue is still the source of life and happiness. Each of the artists chose one of the commandments which is appealing to them the most. Later they recorded their own impression on it.

On the CD – beside 10 songs referring to Decalogue – there are also 2 extra songs: ‘Decalogue Prologue’ and ending the whole list of songs – ‘Commandment of Love’. ‘Decalogue Prologue’ comes from a single of the same title, which was a trailer and the first element of the described project (we write about it in ‘Sunday for the Youth’ no 23/2015 and no 5/2015).

The highest quality

One can mention only a few surnames: Michał Lorenc, Michale Patrick (Paddy) Kelly, Tony Melendez, Andrzej Lampert, Józef Skrzek, Fr. Stan Fortuna, Levi Sakala, Piotr Łukaszewicz, Dariusz ‘Maleo’ Malejonek, Al Bano Carrisi – and it is already obvious that we are dealing with a work of the highest quality. And to complement the group – the Orchestra of the Polish Philharmonics Sopot, under the baton of by Wojciech Rajski and the Polish Choir under the baton of by Jan Łukaszewski. Recordings were made in a music studio of Sławomir Mroczek Custom34.

The initiators of the project are: a composer and a music producer Marcin Pospieszalski and Radek Grabowski – an entrepreneur, music producer who emphasizes that those artists are people who wanted to show the truth of the God’s word!

From the need of heart

Every song is a separate history, written by an artist’s life. – We have a lot of interesting musicians – says Grabowski. So, there are Adeb Chamoun, with difficult experiences of the military conflict in Syria (the tenth commandment), or Levi Sakala, with a touching picture of sexually abused girls from Zambia.

On 12 October 2016 producers and musicians gave the first copy of the album ‘Decalogue’ to the Holy Father Francis.

The album is a venture undertaken together with the Papal Association ‘Help to the Church in Need’. Beside promoting values, which are brought by the commandments, the project ‘Decalogue’ is aimed at supporting particular actions in the sphere of humanitarian and pastoral help. Each of the songs is ‘a patron’ of one of works of the Papal Association ‘Help to the Church in Need’. Purchase of the CD or tickets for promotion concerts will also support projects realized in various places in the world, such as: purchase of food for families in Aleppo and rebuilding houses in Damascus in Syria, help for sexually abused girls in Livingstone in Zambia; building a well in Sudan and other assisting projects. Fr. Prof. Waldemar Cisło – a director of the Polish session of the Papal Association ‘Help to the Church in Need’ emphasizes: - We remember about the fact that faith without deeds is dead. Thanks to a lighter form of communication we want to reach to those who doubt, who are on the margin, who are insulted, who may be in a conflict with God. We want to show that this God who is the beauty, the good, wants to reach to the man, wants to inspire him with the beauty of music. Maybe through one or another song He will reach to a young heart. We are following the message of the last popes about Decalogue that the human dignity can be restored only by such values on which Europe was built. We want to bring this message to everybody that the continent without any values is not a continent.

Also a polar explorer and a traveler Marek Kamiński participated in the action ’Decalogue’– both in his everyday life and in a very symbolic journey to the sources of giving commandments to the man by God. On 1 March this year Kamiński is starting a 10-day hike on the Holy Land. In a gesture of showing his will of everyday renewing his alliance with God, he is going to bring two stony tablets with commandments onto the Sinai Mount. Next, every day he will visit one of biblical places in which God met with the man: on Hebron, on the Mount of Blessings, on the Tabor Mount…Hiking of Marek is to remind about the significance of commandments in the human life, necessity of following them, so that there would be peace in the world. This calling for peace is taking on a particular dimension on the earth, on which Marek is going to hike. In addition, it will be strengthened with prayer at one of the altars of the work ’12 Stars’ – an initiative Communita Regina della Pace (Association of the Queen of Peace) which appeared within the idea of programming adoration prayer to the Holy Sacrament in the intention of peace in human hearts and all over the world. It has not been a long time since this altar was made in the chapel of the fourth station of the Cross Road in Jerusalem. At present the ‘Triptych of Jerusalem’ – the first one of the altars of ’12 Stars’, realized by Drapikowski Studio, is in the Chapel of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem.

The participants of the journey, beside the polar explorer, are going to be the members of the project ‘Decalogue’ – Darek Malejonek and Michał Lorenc, as well as an initiator of the project Radek Grabowski and Fr. Prof. Waldermar Cisło.

A gateway to God

The CD will be available in Christian bookshops, big supermarket networks and on a website. Its publisher is the Polish Radio. Artists and producers announce that the event will be accompanied by concerts, the first ones planned at the mid of this year. Each of artists wants to face the challenge and realize the concert in the countries from where they are. Tony Melendez in Nicaragua, Paddy Kelly – in Ireland, Fr. Stan Fortuna – in the USA.

– I think that this proposition is very interesting and stylistically varied. After all, it includes elements of classical, reggae and rock music. There are a lot of forms of communication here that every listener will find something for themselves. Each artist is trying to show his gateway to God and infect others with it - says Radek Grabowski, adding: - Musicians show the commandments not as human restrictions but rather as something which gives us unusual creative possibilities in experiencing freedom. God in Decalogue does not set restrictions – He makes a promise to us, that when we connect our life with Him, it will bring us happiness.

* * *

Andrzej Lampert

An opera singer on stages in Poland and abroad. The song ‘O Dio Ti cerco’ (The First Commandment) – You shall have no other gods before Me.
My song is a beautiful composition of Michał Lorenc in the arrangement by Marcin Pospieszalski. Psalm 63 was used in it – ‘My God, I am looking for you’, which I perform in Italian. At the times when principles and norms cease to oblige, reminding what our civilization is based on, from where we gained a lot and have still been gaining for ages, is an excellent task for us. Proclaiming this news anew. Music is a universal connector, a carrier which will probably get to a bigger number of hearts and I hope that it will move them.

Paddy Kelly

A member of the previous pop group The Kelly Family. The song ‘Holy’ (The Second Commandment) - You shall not take the name of your God in vain.
My experience showed that if we entrust everything to God, He gives us much more. Because it is like with Abraham. When you devote what is the most important for you, a relationship appears between you and God. And God is everything to me.
When I was invited to this music project by Radek Grabowski, I had already had a song for him. The text of the song comes from the Gospel of St. Lucas – Magnificat. In the Gospel Mary says: ‘Holy is his name’. She praised God, which made a great sense to me. Because we keep more prohibitions in our minds: You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, but we rarely ponder on the name of God. We should ask ourselves, how often we talk with God – do we talk as often as with people when we text messages to one another?

Dariusz ‘Maleo’ Malejonek

The song ‘In my Father’s house’ (The ninth commandment) – You shall not covet your neughbour’s wife
This is one of the basic fundaments for all people and if somebody thinks that it is possible to build a new wonderful world without Decalogue, it is surely a concept which is completely utopian and unreal. Attempts of replacing Decalogue with something different have always caused a sea of blood and suffering of people. In my song I show that it is a blessing to have pure heart. Without a pure heart it is impossible to meet this commandment. I am married and have children, so this commandment is for me. In the music world there are a lot of divorced couples. One can see a strong attack of the evil on marriage. The fact that I love my wife, that I am in love with her all the time – is a great gift from God, a prize for this faithfulness.

JÓZEF SKRZEK
His song ‘Observa diem Sabbati’ (The Third Commandment) - Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

TONY MELENDEZ
His song ‘Honour your father and your mother’ (The Fourth Commandment)

PIOTR ŁUKASZEWSKI
His song ‘You shall not kill’ (The Fifth Commandment)

LEVI SAKALA
His song ‘Aikona’ (The Sixth Commandment) – You shall not commit adultery

LUXTORPEDA
The song ‘Seventh’ (The Seventh Commandment) – You shall not steal

FR STAN FORTUNA
His song ‘8’ (The Eighth Commandment) - You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

ADEB CHAMOUN
His song ‘When brothers dwell in peace’ (The Tenth Commandment) - or anything that is your neighbor's.

AA

„Niedziela” 07/2017

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl