For one autumn weekend (4th to 6th October), the Tatry Hotel in Male Ciche was taken over by choir music and ourselves, who were responsible for the takeover, felt like we were taken back in time to a school retreat – this time, without smearing the door handles with toothpaste (which is a time-honoured tradition of Polish school retreats). “Is it even a school retreat without toothpaste on your door knob,” you may ask, and the answer is an all-round “Yes,” since all the other key ingredients to a perfect retreat were there: a bonfire in a picturesque location, trotting down the hallways in our slippers, and talking through the night. To say that we reached peak relaxation would be underselling it!
The hotel won our hearts with its one-of-a-kind vibe, Communist-era interiors and furniture straight from the 1970s.
Although heavy fog obscured the majestic peaks of the Tatra (which we could only admire in the pictures on the hotel walls), it did not stop us from having a very atmospheric walk. Since this was still a Krakofonia choir workshop, we happily attended all our various rehearsals. We also had the opportunity to work with Natalia Pancewicz (Przestrzeń Czułego Głosu / Tender Voice Space), who shared her immense musical knowledge with us in group and individual classes and helped us better understand how singing works, how important breathing is to good singing; she also showed us tailored vocal warmups and taught us more about singing as a group.
Singing was not the only highlight of the workshop: aside from rehearsals, we were also able to have an integration/get-to-know-you class, play board games and pool, create our own Krakofonia button pins (overseen by Pracownia Śliczności) and even our own jewellery (thanks to Mad-Artisans).
The retreat was a great opportunity to learn and practice our new repertoire, as well as recharge our batteries and get to know each other better in an out-of-ordinary and beautiful setting. We hope to be able to present the effects of that soon!