Commissioned by Carnegie Hall
for Soprano, Baritone and Chamber Ensemble of Nine Players
Flute (doubling piccolo and alto flute), Clarinet (doubling Bass clarinet), French Horn, Trumpet, Percussion, Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass
Orchestral Version: 2 1 2 1 - 2 2 2 1- perc(2) - strings
Duration 23 mins
Composed 2006
First performance Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York, April 15th 2007
Melissa Wegner Soprano, Kyle Ferrill Baritone
More Info including rental and score info: www.davidbruce....
Piosenki is an attempt to reflect the varied and beautiful images of and from childhood, found in the wonderful children's poems of Polish poet Julian Tuwim. Tuwim's poems range from simple 'playground rhymes' like Dwa Michaly and Idzie Grzes through to the poetic sophistry of Dwa Wiatry and Mroz, the very words of which ('Chrest I brzek, zgrzyt I stek') so vividly capture the sound of the crunching, rattling sleigh.
Dwa Michaly (Two Michaels)- two Michaels dancing and spiralling round each other. The words similarly spiral around until the two Michaels collapse on the ground.
Mroz (Frost)- the peasant boy is riding through the forest on his sleigh with sticks he has gathered. The frost, the sticks and the sleigh all scrape and screech, but as the poem's last line says, together they create a music which makes the load seem lighter and the frost less harsh.
Pani Zosia (Mrs Zosia - playground chant)- The words mean "Mrs Zosia has a husband who is always drinking"
Smierdziel (Smelly)- The smelly boy complains about a terrible smell wherever he goes. He marches around complaining "Disgrace! Comrades, stand firm against from the stink!" - the last line says to the boy "Don't protest when it's you who's the smelly one!"
Siedzi Baba na cmentarzu (Granny in the cemetary - playground chant) , Granny sits in the cemetary and a ghost makes her jump, continuing without a break into:
Stary Kowal (This Old Cobbler - playground chant) - this old cobbler cobbles, the music continues without a break into:
Idzie Grzes(Grzes walks along) - A comical rhyme about the hapless Grzes who walks along carrying a bag of sand. He doesn't notice the sand is leaking and is just happy the load is lighter; but when he gets home and finds the bag empty he has to go and get some more - and so on, and so on, and so on.
Rok i Bieda (The year and misery)- there are four miseries in the world - spring, summer, autumn and winter. Though reluctantly in each case, the poet admits there are some advantages, such as the tasty blueberries growing in the summer forest.
Dwa Wiatry (Two Winds) - a poetic description of two winds who chase each other around the orchard, before disappearing into the silence.
Ptasie Plotki (Gossiping birds) - the cockrel came to the turkey and gossipped about the duck's down. The duck came to the guinea-fowl and gossipped about the turkey's beak - and so on, until in the end the whole yard was filled with flying feathers
Trumf Trumf (Nonsense Chant)
6 сен 2024
