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Polish Songs by Karol Szymanowski, arranged by Miłosz Bembinow TOMASZ KOTWICA
Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937), one of the greatest Polish composers next to Fryderyk Chopin, the first rector of the Warsaw Conservatory after Poland regained independence. It was he, after a period of stagnation of Polish music after Chopin’s death, who gave it a revitalizing impulse for further development. Today, he is considered the spiritual father of 20th-century Polish music. He developed his own musical style, introducing elements of folk music, which became a signpost for generations of Polish composers. Without his work, which has been experiencing a great renaissance in recent decades, as well as journalistic and educational activities, Polish music culture would not have reached the level of world leaders. Szymanowski’s music is of interest to the world’s greatest artists, contributing to building the image of Poland.1 At the turn of 1925 and 1926, Karol Szymanowski together with his brother Feliks developed twenty popular soldier songs in a piano arrangement with the text underlined. This collection entitled Polish songs was published in 1928. Feliks Szymanowski developed eleven songs, leaving Karol Szymanowski the nine remaining songs most known and most interesting in terms of music. They include all types of Polish soldier’s song. The oldest example is the song Idzie żołnierz borem, lasem [Eng. A soldier walks through a forest] that dates back to the 16th century. Newer times represent songs that arose or gained widespread popularity among the legionary soldiers of 1914, these are Ułani, ułani malowane dzieci [Eng. Uhlans, uhlans, painted children] and O mój
rozmarynie [Eng. Oh My Rosemary], probably the most popular soldier song of the First World War and the interwar period. Polish songs refer to the tradition of home music making. The texture is more complicated here, and the harmonization is dense, not banal, preferring rough, saturated chords. The previously unknown feature of Szymanowski’s style is noteworthy, this sublime and at the same time lyrical tone, so typical of patriotic songs. These works prove once again how absorbing and sensitive Szymanowski was to the various patterns of the national tradition and on how broad basis of various associations his style was shaped.2 After eighty-two years, Polish Songs of Karol Szymanowski received a new quality while maintaining the character and original composer’s thought. Miłosz Bembinow developed and arranged Polish Songs for symphony orchestra, choir and soloists. Miłosz Bembinow was born on January 1, 1978 in Warsaw. He studied composition (Prof. S. Moryto) and conducting (Prof. A. Wit) at Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw, where he currently works as an adjunct (Fryderyk Chopin University of Music). He received a number of awards and scholarships. In 2007–2008, he worked at Keimyung University in South Korea as a guest professor of composition. The creative output of Miłosz Bembinów includes both chamber, orchestral and oratorio pieces, as well as entertainment and film music. His compositions were performed in most European countries, North and South America and Asia. Over the past 10 years, the composer’s music has nearly
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