Olga Pasiecznik & Ewa Poblocka - Moniuszko: Songs (CD)

Release Date: 01/20/23

The songs of Stanislaw Moniuszko.

This new CD from The Fryderyk Chopin Institute (NIFC) presents the songs of Stanislaw Moniuszko, performed here by Olga Pasiecznik (soprano) and Ewa Poblocka (piano).

In Polish culture, the explosion of great Romantic verse was followed by a heyday of song, which we owe to Stanislaw Moniuszko. Moniuszko rarely set poems of declaration, confession or recollection. It was as if he was reluctant to identify himself with the lyrical subjects of those poems, as if it was them, not him, who suffered, loved and despaired, although he understood their states and expressed them beautifully in music.

Many of these songs which lament on 'past times' are dominated by a tone of 'zal' ('sorrow', 'regret'), and this is often regarded as a distinguishing feature of Polish music in general. The beauty of the landscapes, the appearance and lifestyle of the dwellers of those magical and mythical borderlands from where Moniuszko hailed are reflected in his use of melody, and Olga Pasiecznik, whose voice and performance art are captured on this disc, is perfectly equipped to convey it.

Olga Pasiecznik (soprano) was born in Ukraine and has performed more than fifty operatic roles at venues such as the Opéra national de Paris - Opéra Bastille, Concertgebouw, Teatro Real, Bayerische Staatsoper and 'Teatr Wielki' Polish National Opera in Warsaw.

Ewa Poblocka (piano) has given performances with, among others, London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Polish Chamber Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.