How did this piece ended up on this CD? How did it all start?

First of all, I want to thank you and to mention that this collective success under European mark, under the value of music without frontiers, was a joy that I believe will be found in the next works as well. This work has a history of more than ten years. Exactly in the year when Pope John Paul II visited Romania I was in Warsaw and I had the first audition of the Agnus Dei piece, the piece that was to be selected for the contemporary music anthology, New Polish Music sacred choir music - which is the album that received the award for 'Best Contemporary Music Album', this year, during the Fryderyk Awards.

How did you receive the news of this success?

I have to confess, it came as a surprise. Actually, the first surprise was on 22^nd February, 2012, when I heard we were nominated. The Phonography Academy, which annually gives away these awards in Warsaw, first designates their candidates through nominations. And among those were names with notoriety in the international music world, if we are to think of Penderecki, who was nominated for his album that has the Viola and orchestra Concert and the Concert no.2 for cello and orchestra, Wojciech Kilar, the composer who created the music for Roman Polanski's famous movies - The Pianist or The Ninth Gate, that were also broadcasted in Romania. So, more than that, this competition has international recognition; I was primarily glad that our album was nominated. The voting process is very complex; the Academy has nearly 1000 members - journalists, music critics, performers, composers - the best of the best, the cream of musical and musicological thinking. They gave their vote on these awards which are kept secret until the day they are publicly released. And then, of course, with great emotion and joy, we found out of our victory.