Deep dive into early music. More events at Misteria Paschalia Festival

An exhibition of musical instruments, master classes and evening meetings with music at the Misteria Paschalia Festival 

From 29 March to 5 April, throughout the Holy Week and Easter, the City of Kraków and the Krakow Festival Office will host the Misteria Paschalia Festival – one of Europe’s key early music festivals under the artistic direction of Vincent Dumestre. In addition to the Grands Concerts series featuring world-renowned ensembles and soloists, the festival offers a wide range of early music experiences – an exhibition of string instruments, workshops for children and master classes for musicians, as well as atmospheric late-night chamber concerts and recitals in Krakow’s historic spaces. There will be no shortage of lectures and open meetings covering topics as diverse as the characteristics of gut strings and the phenomenon of the spiritual experience of music.  

Early Music Day: 21 March 2026 

The festival will be preceded by the Giullari di Dio concert on the Early Music Day – the celebration of early music performances around the world. The Micrologus ensemble will perform a musical reconstruction of the hymn Cantico di frate Sole (Cantico delle Creature), based on a new interpretation of the oldest surviving sources, for the first time. A programme developed for this occasion showcases a selection of Italian laude (songs of gratitude) from the late 12th and first half of the 13th century, including works discovered relatively recently. 

The Giullari di Dio concert is co-organised by the Misteria Paschalia Festival with the Italian Cultural Institute in Krakow. The event is part of the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy, and highlights the importance of this figure not only for European spirituality, but also for the development of the musical culture and religious language of the Middle Ages. 

Krakow’s Early Music Day will take place in the Basilica of St  Francis at Plac Wszystkich Świętych 5 in Krakow on 21 March at 8:30 p.m..  

Strings Days!: 29 March – 1 April 2026 

For the third time, the Misteria Paschalia Festival will organise a celebration of historical instruments. This year, you can attend the String Days! events – a string of events dedicated to the string instruments, which offers a space for encounters, dialogue and direct contact with sound and living tradition. The events co-organised with the Krzysztof Pendereckli Academy of Music in Krakow is an invitation to discover the history of string instruments through listening, observation and experience.  

The centrepiece of this stream is an exhibition of valuable and rare string instruments from private collections, both originals from the 17th and 18th centuries and high-end copies of violins, violas, cellos and violas da gamba, as well as reconstructed historical predecessors of violins, such as the Biłgoraj suka and the Płock fiddle. The exhibition at the Potocki Palace will be open from 29 March to 1 April from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., except on the opening day – 29 March – when it will be open until 3:30 p.m..  

Strings Days! is much more than an exhibition. The stream features an extensive educational programme, lectures on historic instruments (including the art of making natural strings) and meetings with artists and craftspeople. Additionally, the programme is complemented by concerts, presentations and guided tours aimed at audiences of all ages and knowledge levels. 

The doyens of historic music will offer their master classes. They will include Amandine Beyer (violin), Martin Egidi (cello), Christophe Coin (viola da gamba); additionally, the festival will feature historical dance workshops (hosted by Hubert Hazebroucq). The educational offer for children will let them take a peek into the luthier’s studio – they will see how a string instrument is made, what materials it is made of and why each element is so crucial for the resulting sound.  

On 30 and 31 March at 6:00 p.m., the Red Room at Potocki Palace will be filled with music during the Fantastica Ensemble and Cohaere Ensemble recitals accompanying the exhibition – the crowning jewel of the programme of close encounters with string instruments.  

Dormitio: 31 March – 1 April 2026  

Dormitio is a series of the uniquely meditative night-time chamber concerts. They take place in twilight, late at night, and invite listeners to experience music in a state of tranquillity and concentration, on the border between sleep and wakefulness.  

This year, on two festival evenings, the artists will perform at the Evangelical Church of St Martin, with concerts starting at 10:00 p.m. The Bach repertoire will be presented by Martin Egidi (cello) and the duo Christophe Coin (viola da gamba) and Pierre Hantaï (harpsichord). 

‘Dormitio is a contemplative space where time seems to slow down and sound gains a special intensity,’ emphasises Grzegorz Paluch, manager and curator of the festival. ‘Misteria Paschalia is not only a series of events neatly arranged into an attractive programme, but also an invitation to fully experience music over time – from the physical encounter with the physical instrument, through talks, academic contexts, knowledge sharing and concerts, to nightly vigils with sound. Between craftsmanship and contemplation, history and listening here and now, in the historic spaces of Krakow, early music regains its full meaning – as practice, thought and experience.’ 

Organisers: City of Kraków and Krakow Festival Office 

You can find out more about the programme on the festival website. 

Tickets for the accompanying events and main concerts are available on the KBF: PLUS app and on the KBF: BILETY website. 

Sign-ups for master classes and workshops will open on on 12 February (active participants), tickets (for attendees) will be available on 16 March. 

The public task is funded by the City of Kraków. 

Financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state earmarked fund – as part of the ‘Music’ programme implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.