Polish Millenium

The Millenium Dancers, 1966

1966 was the millennium of Christianity in Poland. 966 was also significant politically and culturally, because by adopting Roman Catholicism from Czech missionaries, King Mieszko 1 ensured that Poland would always see itself as part of the West.

To mark this important occasion, the "Kolo" and the Parents' Committee set up a Millenium Committee on 8th July 1965. It was chaired by Monsignor Jozef Golab, and managed by Prof Zbigniew Antoni Scholtz, with Stefan Wincenty Librowski as secretary, and Sylwester Zakrzewski as treasurer.

The purpose of the Millenium Committee was to celebrate a historical occasion, and at the same time introduce Polish history and culture to a British audience. That is why the secular part of the celebration took the form of a concert of Polish music, singing and dance. The concert took place on 25th September 1966 in the Assembly Hall of Leamington Spa Town Hall, and was attended by the mayors of Leamington Spa, Warwick and Coventry, the local MP, English and Polish clergy, nuns, councilors and 138 other invited guests. The cost of hiring the largest hall in Leamington Spa came to only ?20, which was seen as a gesture of goodwill, on the part of the mayor Cllr L. L. Freeman, who presided over the celebrations.

The festivities lasted all day, beginning at 10am with the raising of the Polish flag over the Town Hall. At 5.30pm mass was said at St Peter's church by Monsignor Bronislaw Michalski, assisted by Father W. Davenport, Monsignor S. Belch, dean F. Kacki, Father F. Winczowski and Monsignor Jozef Golab. The Birmingham choirs "Echo" and "Lutnia", conducted by B. Ponka, sang the mass. After a meal at St Peter's Parish Centre, the secular celebrations began at the Town Hall.

The concert began at 8pm with a procession of the honoured guests and the hymn "Bogurodzica". After a speech by the chair of the Millenium Committee Prof Zbigniew Antoni Scholtz, the "Echo" and "Lutnia" choirs performed religious and operatic works. A number of piano works by Chopin were performed by Miss M. Hill, after which Stanislawa Horwat, a member of the Covent Garden opera company, sang pieces by Zelenski, Niewiadomski, Rozycki and Moniuszko. Another performance by the 2 choirs led up to the interval. The second part of the concert consisted of a folk dance performance by ensembles of young people from Leamington Spa and Coventry, trained by Matylda Librowska. They had been rehearsing since May 1965, and later appeared at the Millenium celebrations in Coventry. Music was provided by "Polska Kapela Mlodziezowa" from Leamington Spa, conducted by M. Siwak. The 2 dance ensembles performed 5 dances in costumes provided by Aldona Zakrzewska. After more music from Miss M. Hill and Stanislawa Horwat, the concert ended with the audience singing the Polish national anthem.

The Millenium Dancers, 1966

The Millenium Dancers, 1966