Soul music of a very different kind

THE LATE Pope John Paul II has become an unlikely pop star in his homeland.
A collection of John Paul’s poetry set to music has made it to number one in the Polish album charts. At least seven other songs featuring his voice or texts are in the top 40, according to Polish media.
The most successful was veteran singer and songwriter Stanislaw Sojka’s 2003 album Jan Pawel II – Tryptyk Rzymski (“John Paul II – Roman Triptych”), which reached the top spot. The 10-track album features musical settings of poems by Pope John Paul II. It has sold more than 40,000 copies, according to the label.
The other albums are live recordings made during papal visits to Poland between 1979 and 2002. Sojka played tracks from the album to the Pope in the Vatican in November 2003. “The words are so powerful, I felt I had to put them to music,” he said.