Time 19:00
The Palace on the Isle in the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw
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“Beyond the Narew River in Ostrołęka, the Kurpie Forest begins: trees, woods and sands. But to get to know this forest better, you have to get to its depths, look into the Kurpie huts, observe the life of this poor people, […] learn their dialect, listen to their song, similar to […] the rustle of the forest, which resounds there every day in the fields and streaks, in the meadows and woods.”
This is how the forest was described by Fr. Władysław Skierkowski, who, since 1913, for over a quarter of a century, collected and documented the melodies and customs of the people living in Kurpie. Although the transcriptions he prepared do not fully reflect the richness of ornamentation and the characteristic vocal techniques of the region, and the records of dialectal texts are not perfect, it was thanks to this documentation that the beauty of Kurpie folklore found its way into artistic creation.
The material collected by Skierkowski inspired Karol Szymanowski to create his Six Kurpie Songs published in 1929. Combining traditional melodies with modern musical language and folk wisdom with distinctive compositional sensitivity, he created a choral masterpiece sparkling with a diversity of sounds and surprising in its sophistication of form. We can also find such a “modernist vision of folklorism” in Kurpie Songs (1928) by Roman Maciejewski, who, in four contrasting pieces that make up the cycle, showcases the potential of the human voice with extraordinary creativity. In his choral arrangement, Maciejewski captures the resonance hidden not only in the melody but also in the sonority of the words and the timbre of folk instruments, creating musical images that enchant with their vivid plasticity. Henryk Mikołaj Górecki approached the source material completely differently in the cycle of Kurpie songs Hej! Z gór, z gór kóniku bury from 1999. The composer, whose works breathe deep spirituality and authenticity, focused on faithfully preserving the original in his arrangement of folk themes. In the simplicity of the arrangement, however, he managed to achieve a stunning level of expression, transporting the listener to another world, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Marta Dziewanowska-Pachowska
PROGRAM
Roman Maciejewski (1910-1998) – Kurpie Songs
1. Nie mój ogródusek
2. A cemu
3. Powolniak
4. Kozak kurpiowski
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010) – Hej, z góry, z góry! Kóniku bury – Five Kurpie Songs, Op. 75
1. Hej, z góry, z góry!
2. Ciamna nocka, ciamna
3. Wcoraj, dziwcyno, nie dzisiaj
4. Z Torunia ja parobecek
5. Wysła burzycka, bandzie desc
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) – Six Kurpie Songs
1. Hej, wółki moje
2. A chtóz tam puka
3. Niech Jezus Chrystus
4. Bzicem kunia
5. Wyrzundzaj sie dziwce moje
6. Panie muzykancie
PERFORMERS
THE CHAMBER CHOIR OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA
RENATA SZCZYPIOR CONDUCTOR, CHOIR MASTER
Duration: approx. 1h
The seats in the auditorium are not numbered.
