On this album, DUX presents a fragment of the rich compositional output of Ignacy Jan Paderewski (18601941) performed by artists associated with the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
The artists on the disc are teachers and lecturers as well as their students. The joint work on the project, which was the recording of songs with piano by one of the most interesting Polish composers, resulted in a surprisingly fresh and revealing album.
Paderewski is more widely known primarily for his political activities. He was a patriot supporting the regaining of Poland's independence in the field of both diplomacy and art. He was an extremely popular and tireless performer of Polish music around the world as well as of his own compositions. His works refer to genres traditionally associated with Polish music (mazurkas, polonaises) but also to works whose programme is devoted to the Homeland, including its beautiful nature and the Tatras, which were especially cherished at the beginning of the 20th century.
The album features songs for voice and piano from three different cycles. The earliest, composed to words of poet Adam Asnyk, come from 18821885 and represent Paderewski's early compositional period. In the next cycle, created in 18871893, Paderewski reached for the output of Adam Mickiewicz, a national bard, and that encounter resulted in new solutions in terms of composing, perfectly conveying not only the meaning of the poems, but also their unique melody of the phrase. The last cycle dates back to 1903. Paderewski was inspired by poems of French poet and writer Catulle Mends. This music already contains elements anticipating stylistic changes in European music, including Impressionist sound solutions. All three cycles show the artistic path chosen by the great Polish composer among the anxieties of the turn of the century.
