The British Poles present to you our exclusive interview with Roxanna Panufnik – a famous British music composer, the winner of the Ivor Novello Award and the author of the Coronation Sanctus for King Charles III’s coronation ceremony. Roxanna Panufnik is the daughter of Polish composer, Sir Andrzej Panufnik. 

Tomasz Modrzejewski, British Poles: My first question would be about your general feelings after receiving the prestigious Ivor Novello Award? Do you believe it is an important moment in your professional career as a composer? 

Roxanna Panufnik: I’m completely over the moon – this is the first time in my long career that I’ve received an award for my composing (although I do have 2 medals from the Polish Government and UK nation) so I’m really thrilled.

BP: Could you tell us more about your newest work, the Seven Heavens and the idea behind it? 

RP: Seven Heavens was inspired by the Islamic concept of seven levels of paradisiacal afterlife – each Heaven has its unique character and metaphorical imagery. I worked closely with my Shi’a Imam mentor and friend Dr Ali Abbas Razawi and his students who did some detailed research for me.      

BP: I know that you told your professional life story many times, but I am sure the British Poles community is interested in it. Could you tell us what brought you to the place you are in today? Was the figure of your father, Sir Andrzej Panufnik important in that process? 

RP: Although I was born in London, I have always felt incredibly close to my Polish roots. When I was very young, my father didn’t speak very much about the last 15 years or so of his life in Warsaw which was incredibly traumatic for him – living through World War II, the Warsaw Uprising, the Soviet dictatorship and tragically losing his first daughter. But as my brother and I got older, he told us more and more and the highlight was in the early 1980s when, despite, martial law, my father’s niece (my cousin) Ewa Dworska and her family were able to come to the UK and visit us. I’m so proud to be Polish and have dual nationality but after 30 years of trying I still can’t speak the language so I’m hoping to do an intensive course in Poland next Summer!

BP: Could you tell us more about your idea to connect different choral and musical traditions from across the world in your compositions? Why is the great idea of cultural connections so important for your work? 

RP: When I was 19 years old, my father gave me a beautiful old book of Polish folk music and I fell in love with its raw beauty and sometimes quirky modes. It started a lifelong passion for music from all over the world which appears regularly in my compositions (Polish the most!). Then when 9/11 happened, and I was pregnant with my first child, someone reminded me that Christians, Jews and Muslims all believe in the same one God – this also inspired me to look at building musical bridges between all our different faiths.

BP: Do you consider opera works important among your creations because of the unique connection between music, singing, and visual arts? 

RP: It’s the drama I love most about opera – extremes of atmosphere and mood and the wonderful stories and words that my writing partner Jessica Duchen gives me to set.

BP: How did the factor of Polish roots and Polish music tradition impact your works? Do you feel close to Polish past or contemporary composers in your work today?

RP: I’m embarrassed today that I don’t know enough music by other Polish composers but I like Górecki and Łukaszewski very much.

BP: I could not hesitate to ask you about your experience in the work in preparing the Coronation Sanctus for King Charles III. 

RP: That was very exciting! I was given a very detailed brief as the piece had to fit exactly into the service from a duration and atmosphere point of view. Also, I had to be aware of the keys that the preceding hymn and Tarik O’Regan’s Agnus Dei were in afterwards. I tried not to think of the ancient and wonderful tradition that came before me and just wrote for the heart. Sometimes I still wonder if I was dreaming…

BP: Thank you very much.

Interviewed by Tomasz Modrzejewski

Cover photo: X @GramophoneMag and British Poles