The adaptations, the greatest group of which consists of Marian songs, were mostly written in May and June 1986. The Rev. Wojciech Kałamarz helped pinpoint the sources of the adaptations. Most of the original old melodies (some dating back to the 14th century) were taken from Śpiewniki kościelne (‘Church Songbooks’) by Rev. Jan Siedlecki.
The composer’s peculiar harmonic language that had established itself in the 1970s was also audible in the songs. The modal-tonal structuring of polyphonic choral texture (from two to ten voices) was a constant feature of the adaptations. In many cases, the multi-voice chords were complemented by foreign tones, mostly dissonant; in combination with the interchangeability of scales characteristic for folk music, this produced an effect of tonal instability and also, as in Ludu mój ludu, a remarkable Easter feeling. But then there are songs dominated by simple chords, at times of fifth and fourth, and this gives them a truly archaic character (e.g. Wstał Pan Chrystus, ‘Lord Jesus in now risen’). The musical-harmonic aura of the songs is clearly derived from the composer’s experience gained from his greatest sacred music masterpieces. [Teresa Małecka]
- ISMN: 9790274008826 (M274008826)
