Chopin: Polish Songs

Nowotarska-Lesniak, Elzbieta; Bronikowski, Marcin; Kwiatkowski, Blazej; Reczeniedi, Justyna

Fryderyk Chopin, a pendant in preparing his compositions to print, stubborn in negotiations with copyists and publishers, did not approve the songs to be published. Juliusz Fontana, the composer’s friend and later the publisher of the songs, mentioned that in Paris, at emigrant evenings, Chopin “in the moments of hearty frankness would recite them with intonation and accompaniment of the piano, with a book of poetry in front of him, postponing the moment of writing them down.” Such a moment never arrived, and Chopin never wrote down the songs. The songs were composed spontaneously, mostly during his youth in Warsaw. These songs are presented here, imagined and realized by the young pianist Blazej Kwiatkowski. He performs on a historical Broadwood piano from 1847, one that was played in Chopin’s times. The Broadwood’s sound is sorrowful, especially in minor keys which are often found in these songs. In the staccato sections the sound becomes jingling, which adds expression to battle rhythms of Before the Battle and Song from the Grave. The Broadwood’s sound has relatively short reverberation, which places the songs in an empty space, as the past in which they were created seems to us.

Price: $28.98

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