Word-music relationships in Litaniae in D by Jacek Szczurowski

The purpose of this paper is to present and to analyse Litaniae in D by Jacek Szczurowski – a Polish composer, cleric, conductor, and teacher. His work, previously unknown and unpublished, has been preserved in a unique musical manuscript from the collection of the Piarists, now stored at the State Archives in Modra, near Bratislava. This article includes information about the composer, the state of research on his works and a description of the litaniae as a genre in general. Litaniae in D by Jacek Szczurowski is a work which deserves wider attention from musicologists. The composer divided his Litaniae into nine parts: Kyrie eleison, Pater de caelis, Mater Christi, Virgo prudentissima, Speculum iustitiae, Rosa mystica, Salus infirmorum, Regina Angelorum, Agnus Dei and each of these parts has its own character compatible with the lyrics. The piece uses the basic and typical techniques of those times, thanks to its interesting concept is distinguished by the form and the development of the words. Szczurowski combined music and lyrics of litaniae in a great manner, e.g. by repetition of important words (for example miserere), the way Szczurowski uses rests is also significant, as they separate syllables and imitate crying. The most important thing, however, is that he uses rhetoric, and this shows that he was not an average composer