Natolin Choir at the 7th Annual Christmas Carols Concert "Non degu, non?" in Warsaw

On Sunday, 15 January 2017, the College of Europe Natolin Choir performed Christmas carols and songs in the framework of the 7th Annual Christmas Carols Concert entitled "Non degu, non?" ("Where is He, where?") in the St. Stephen's Church in Mokotów, Warsaw. The concert gathered several choirs with more than 70 performers representing 12 nationalities, conducted by Ms Katarzyna Maria BONIECKA. The repertoire included carols and Christmas songs in 10 languages.

The concert began with the joint performance of the canon "Dona nobis pacem" by all present choirs. Then, the Youth Choir "Amo Libertatem" performed two traditional Polish Christmas carols followed by the Natolin Choir singing the Romanian Christmas carol "O, ce veste minunată", the French "Entre le boeuf et l’âne gris" and the Polish Christmas carol "O gwiazdo betlejemska". Our Natolin Choir finished its performance with the traditional British "Sussex Carol" accompanied on the piano by Mr Artur SŁOTWIŃSKI.

During the third part of the concert, the church was filled with the sounds of the Kameleon Choir of the Mokotów district. The choir sang a Ukrainian Christmas carol followed by the Basque song "Non degu, non?".  In this song, the author of the lyrics and composer, Mr Junkal GUERRERO, compares the situation of the newborn Jesus – whose family couldn’t find a place to stay in crowded Bethlehem and had to escape to Egypt – to the current refugee crisis. The song was also chosen as the main carol of the concert as .January 15th is the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

For the finale, all choirs performed "Jingle bells" and encouraged the public to sing "Silent night" together. The concert was a unique opportunity for Natolin students to experience the Polish Christmas carols tradition.

Natolin Choir at the 7th Annual Christmas Carols Concert "Non degu, non?" in Warsaw.18 January 2017