Soloists; Poznan Opera/ Warsaw Phil Choir & Orchestras
Description
Moniuszko’s music, along with Chopin’s immortal works, was included in the repertoires of all the orchestras revived after the war. Nearly every theatre that was resuscitated or organised anew began its first season with a premiere of Halka or The Haunted Manor. Moniuszko choirs sprang up like mushrooms across Poland.
An anonymous journalist reported in June 1948 in “The Voice of Pabianice� that: “Moniuszko’s music delights, moves
and enchants. Despite its beauty and charm, it is extremely sincere, fresh, simple, and full of feeling. Moniuszko is the singer of the nation’s very soul. He derives his inspiration from the songs and art of the people, which are his source and model. This is why Moniuszko’s music is close to our hearts and dear to us all, because it touches us so, penetrates deep, and dazzles us.�
The ‘familiar’ phrases of Moniuszko’s songs and arias are easier to memorise than virtuosic passages from Chopin’s Etudes, plus they gained notoriety largely owing to the choral societies, founded already in the 19th century. But of much greater importance to the popularisation of Moniuszko’s oeuvre was the music record industry.
Thousands of private record collections perished in the war, most of all – the productions of the famous label Syrena-Elektro, but also of the Polish branches of His Master’s Voice, Columbia, and Parlophone.
The present 3CD anthology consists of recordings from the years 1951–1961, the oldest of which were made by ‘Muza’ United Music Industry Factory in Warsaw, while the later ones, after 1956, were already released under the label of
‘Polskie Nagrania’ Public Company.
These recordings are documents – fascinating in many respects – of an age of transition, when the old performance
schools were gradually disappearing, and a new aesthetic was already in the making, represented by the then young singers and conductors.
Tracklisting
AUKSO Chamber Orchestra Of The City Of Tych
Agata Zubel; Andrej Bauer
Soloists; Warsaw Philharmonic Choir And Orchestra
Mleczko; Hammond; Sinfonia Iuventus Polish Orchestra
High Definition Quartet
Soloists; Poznan Opera/ Warsaw Phil Choir & Orchestras
Soloists; AUKSO Chamber Orchestra Of Tychy
Daniel Rotem; Kuba Stankiewicz
BachWerkVokal, Gordon Safari (conductor)
Dionysos Now!
Soloists; Les Traversees Baroques; Meyer
The Gesualdo Six / Owain Park
La Compagnia del Madrigale
Cappella Pratensis, Stratton Bull, Sollazzo Ensemble
Frieder Bernius, Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart, Barockorchester Stuttgart, Hofkapelle Stuttgart
Collegium Cantorum Choir, Janusz Siadlak
