In
1937 Lutosławski composed a Requiem
sequence, of which the beautifully moving
Lacrimosa is the
only surviving section. Another section
Requiem aeternam was destroyed
during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. The
piece sheds precious light on the composer’s
early music. It is in fact his earliest
piece still in existence since it predates
the Variations for Orchestra
and the Paganini Variations.
The music sometimes recalls that of
late Szymanowski (e.g. the Stabat
Mater Op.53 and the short beautiful
Litany to the Virgin Op.59).
The Twenty Polish
Christmas Carols were originally
written for soprano and piano in
1946. The sequence belongs to a number
of folk-based or folk-inflected pieces
written during the decade following
the end of World War II. Reverting to
folk tradition was Lutosławski’s
response to the dictates of the so-called
Socialist Realism. It allowed
him to preserve his artistic integrity
without compromising in one way or another.
This period culminated in the masterly
Concerto for Orchestra.
By that time, the political climate
had thawed, and the composer was able
to develop his stylistic palette. In
1985, he arranged thirteen carols for
soprano, female voices and orchestra,
and in 1989 transcribed the rest. The
whole set is a gem of simplicity and
subtlety. The composer never tries to
make his settings bigger than life,
but manages to preserve the natural
simplicity of the tunes, some of which
– I am sure – will sound familiar. A
beautiful, if unusual Christmas offering.
By the time he composed
the Five Songs
of 1957 - to words by the Lithuanian-born
Kazimiera Illakowicz - Lutosławski
was progressively freeing himself
from the 20th Century mainstream
tradition by exploring new stylistic
means and by enlarging his expressive
palette. These settings were written
at about the same time as the magnificent
Funeral Music for strings
with which the composer began expanding
his techniques by adopting twelve-tone
writing, though he never adopted serialism
as such. The Five Songs
are fine, colourful and varied settings
of Illakowicz’s equally vivid verse.
Five Songs
is undoubtedly Lutosławski’s first
major orchestral song-cycle paving
the way for later masterpieces such
as Paroles Tissées
and Les Espaces du Sommeil.
Incidentally, words are not printed
in the notes but can be found on www.naxos.com/libretti/20carols.htm
.
In
the hands of Antoni Wit, arch-champion
of Lutosławski’s music, and with
excellent soloists and chorus, these
performances are ideal. I was delighted
to hear Olga Pasichnyk again; she was
one of the brilliant finalists of the
2000 Queen Elisabeth International
Competition. Jadwige Rappé, too,
sings beautifully in Five Songs,
a reading that compares most favourably
with that of Solveig Kringelborn on
Virgin Classics 7243 5 45275 2, a magnificent
Lutosławski selection still worth
having (a superb reading of Preludes
and Fugue, and of Chantefleurs
et Chantefables, one of the
composer’s loveliest song-cycles). All
in all, a lovely disc.
Hubert Culot
See also review
by Dominy Clements - Bargain of
the Month
Olga Pasichnyk (soprano)a; Jadwiga
Rappé (alto)b 
