III International Review of Caroling Choirs – Terespol 1998

On February 1, 1998, after hearing 17 bands participating in the 3rd International Review of Caroling Choirs – Terespol 1998, the jury decided to award the following awards and distinctions:

• In the category of folklore ensembles:
  – The first place was obtained by the Ukrainian Children’s Song band, Ranok” from Bielsk Podlaski under the direction of Elzbieta Tomczuk.
  – The 2nd prize in this category was awarded to the Folk band, Rodyna from Dubiazyn.
  – 3rd prize not awarded.
  – The “Wesole Nutki” team from Zablocia under the direction of Jadwiga Oleszczuk was awarded .
• Among the rural parish choirs:
  – The 1st prize won the Choir of the Orthodox Parish of Kobyliany under the direction of Piotr Lastowski.
  – II prizes in this category were not awarded.
  – Two 3rd prizes were awarded: the parish choir of the Monastery of St.Onufry in Jableczna under the direction of Fr. Hieromonk Jerzy Siewiereniuk and the Choir of the Orthodox Parish in Dobratycze under dyr. Wiera Waszczuk.
• Among the urban teams featured in the 3rd review:
  – I prize not awarded.
  – The equivalent two second places were in the participation: the Choir of the Cathedral Parish in Chelm under dyr. of Andrzej Chamratowicz and the Choir of the Orthodox Parish in Siemiatycze under the direction of Helena Szczygol.
  – 3rd place received the Choir of the Orthodox Parish in Terespol under dyr. of Miroslaw Koroway.
  – The jury also decided to award the Choir of the Orthodox Parish of Biala Podlaska under the direction of Jan Antoniuk.
• Another category was particularly heavily filled – youth choirs:
  – 1st place was sung by the Choir of the Przemysl-Nowy Sacz Diocese under dyr. of Marianna Jara
  – The 2nd prize went to Hainowka, to the youth choir of the Cathedral of Holy Trinity,led by Marek Maciuka
  – 3rd place was awarded to the Choir of Academic Ministry in Lublin under dyr. of Julita Wolosiuk.
• In the category of secular choirs, almost all awards were collected by ensembles led by the late Henryk Rozporski.
  – 1st place was not awarded.
  – Two 2nd prizes went to the Pss Spolem Choir and Echo Podlasia from Biala Podlaska.
  – 3rd place was sung by the choir “Granica” from Terespol
• In the category of foreign choirs:
  – indisputably won the Choir of the Female Monastery in Rivne, Ukraine under the direction of Ihumenia Michaila (Zajac) For an extremely emotional and moody performance, not only did christmas carols win the 1st prize.
• For the first time, the audience was also able to choose their favorite bands. On Saturday, January 31, the choir of the Orthodox parish in Terespol was most liked, and on Sunday, February 1, folk group “WesoleNutki” from Zablocie.
• The judges also awarded their prizes to conductors. In their opinion, the choirs were most efficiently led by Piotr Lastowski from Kobylan and Henryk Rozporski from Biala Podlaska.

The 3rd Review was the most celebrated of the time to date. The two-day schedule allowed choirs to tour the region and enrich the sunday liturgies in many churches in the region with their beautiful singing. The huge interest of the audience in Terespol caroling forced the organizers to change places. From the second review, it was decided to move the performances from the small auditorium of the Municipal Cultural Center to the gymnasium of Primary School No. 1. It turned out that this place is not able to accommodate all listeners. The audience’s interest exceeded the expectations of the organizers. For the first time, regional newspapers of the Eastern Journal and the local Word of Podlasie and regional television in Warsaw wrote about the Review in their Mazovian edition. The weekly Slowo Podlasia in the 6th issue of February 10th wrote:

The treasure was the performances of choirs of the Diocesan Study of Psalmists and Academic Ministry of Lublin, but the greatest furore of the level and unusual beauty of christmas carols was made by the female choir of the monastery. of St. Nikolaus from Horodek near Rivne in Ukraine. The nuns presented a truly rousing interpretation of the song: Szczo to za prediwo, Spi Isusie , Dzwoniat dzwony,A doho hospodara , Oj pidemo bratia i sestry and others. […] It is worth noting that this year’s large number of participants could have been held thanks to the sympathetic support of numerous sponsors, including Bishop Abel, Governor of Bialskopodlaski region Marek Czarnecki and Ministry of Culture and Art Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa. The event proved the need to continue it in the future.

The Eastern Journal was similarly assessed. Already at the beginning of the article of February 4, the author writes:

Last weekend in Terespol III Review of Caroling Choirs was attended by 17 bands singing in Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian. The most original was the Choir of the Female Monastery in Horodek from Ukraine. 15 nuns performed songs written by Ihumenia (the superior of this monastery) Mikhaila The interest in the performances was huge. The performance hall of The Terespol Primary School No. 1, where the review took place, burst at the seams.

Extensive information about the III Review can be found in the catalogue, issued by the organizers. Helena Godun has graphically developed the review logo, which has always been on the cover of the catalogue since this issue and is an integral part of the set design of the room where the performances take place. The stage design of the scene is a skillfully chosen symbolism of the holidays with the Christmas icon, spruces and burning candles.