When Songs Are Sung
Introduction [9:33]
Eugeniusz KNAPIK (b. 1951)
Song ‘When…’ for soprano and string orchestra (2020) [8:31]
Henryk Mikołaj GÓRECKI (1933-2010)
String Quartet No 3 ‘… songs are sung’, Op 67 (2005) [51:30]
Eugeniusz KNAPIK
The Long Journey. Four Songs for soprano, baritone and string orchestra (2020) [30:58]
Henryk Mikołaj GÓRECKI
String Quartet No 2 ‘Quasi una fantasia’, Op 78 (2002) [44:11]
Sławomir Holland (narrator)
Sylwia Olszyńska, Monika Sendrowska (soprano), Tomasz Rak (baritone)
Silesian Chamber Orchestra/Maciej Tomasiewicz
rec. May and November 2020, The Karol Stryja Concert Hall of the Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice, Poland
DUX 1781/1782 [70:33 + 75:11]
This is something of a curiosity, a release designed to be a 70th birthday tribute to Eugeniusz Knapik. It does not quite work, partly because of some oddities in presentation, and partly because of the difficulties with Górecki’s Quartets.
Eugeniusz Knapik is a pianist and a composer. Many of his compositions have been widely acclaimed, and his first string quartet
is particularly popular. He studied both piano and composition with Górecki at the University of Katowice, hence the subtitle ‘Master and Apprentice’ of these discs. His style is obviously modern, but with an underlying lyricism. One is aware of the influence of both Górecki, as he moved from modal to melodic styles, and of Messiaen with whom he later studied.
The two pieces here, Song ‘When…’ and The Long Journey. Four Songs are recent pieces. They seem very well done, but I am limited in my judgment, and the presentation does not help. Music may be a universal language, but for full appreciation, one needs to understand the lyrics. Notes in English stress the dramatic nature of the songs, without saying what they are about. Knapik is known for his concern with both the quality of texts and his precise word setting, but this dimension is missed. Lyrics are provided only in Polish. My knowledge of Polish is minimal. I can say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, can haltingly order a beer, and know how to pronounce ‘Łódź’ and ‘Wrocław’, but that is it. For many, probably most, Anglophone listeners, that would be their limit. Dux and other Polish labels do wonderful work in bringing the treasures of Polish music to other nations, but here they let themselves down. Neither are matters helped by the mellifluous Introduction on the first disc, again in Polish, without translation anywhere. I cannot imagine Polish speakers wanting to hear this more than once, so they would need to move straight to Track 2.
Given those limitations – which do Knapik less than justice – I found the music attractive, but I wonder how it is representative of his oeuvre overall. A useful test of a composer new to me is whether I want to search out more of his music: on these works, I confess no pressure to do so, but that judgment may well be unjust.
Though it has not been noted here, Górecki’s two quartets have been lightly orchestrated. I am not convinced that this is to the music’s advantage, for all the commitment and fine playing of the Silesian Chamber Orchestra. Make no mistake: performances are sensitive, but some of the astringency of four single strings is smoothed away. Górecki’s string quartets are quite long for the form, and frequently very slow. They require intense concentration by players and listeners to reveal their remarkable depths. For the full experience of these works, my first recommendation would be the splendid, deeply felt recordings by the Tippett Quartet of the all three quartets, coupled with the Sonata for Two Violins, Op.10 (1957), on two Naxos discs (review
~ review).
I wish I could have been more enthused.
Michael Wilkinson
