Polish Passion Songs
Lent holds a place of special importance in the
historical development of Christian art. Poland
is no exception. From the Middle Ages onwards, many works of literature
and music on the Lenten theme have been written and composed. All of
them are connected with the truth of Redemption and Salvation and the
unique dramaturgy and setting of Passion as described in the Gospel.
The works rooted in the evangelic description of Christ's Passion and
the paschal offering of God the Man are very diverse in form and genre.
The present CD features works describing the last days of the life of
Christ by composers of the 15th and 16th centuries, representing
different genres – sequences, laments, Passion canonical hours,
planctus, liturgical and paraliturgical forms. This important strand of
early Polish culture, expressing reflection on life, repentance,
collective and personal tragedy and hope of redemption, has produced an
extensive heritage of outstanding relics of Polish literature and
music. Lent drama with musical accompaniment (from Maundy Thursday with
the sound of rattles only) was of paramount importance for the
formation of European drama and theatre. This prompted us to precede
and conclude the musical selection with a melodic recitation by a
prominent Polish actress, whose interpretation of old Polish texts
gives them a contemporary dimension. The leitmotif of the recordings is
the ominous sound of rattles which on Good Friday reminds us of both
death and hope.
The sequence Salve, alma crux beata, to a text written by an
anonymous author before 1526, used to be sung during the Liturgy of the
Cross. Its content blends two kinds of Cross-centred piety: an earlier
one focusing on the glorification of the very tool of Redemption, and a
later one, characteristic of the late Middle Ages, which concentrated
on the meditation of the suffering of Christ and the circumstances of
His death.
Another popular 16th-century Lenten song is Mądrość Ojca
Wszechmocnego (The Wisdom of the Almighty Father). The four-part
version recorded by Collegium Vocale Bydgoszcz and Ars Nova is by one
of the greatest Polish Renaissance composers, Cyprian Bazylik of
Sieradz.
The oldest extant Polish Lenten song is Jezus Chrystus Bóg
Człowiek, mądrość Oćca swego (Jesus Christ, God the Man, the Wisdom
of His Father). It dates back to c. 1420 and its ancestry can be traced
to an anonymous 14th-century Latin text beginning with the words Patris
sapientia. The Polish translation was by Abbot Jan of Witów. The
consecutive stanzas of the song describe the capture of Christ in
Gethsemane, the trial in front of Pontius Pilate, the flogging of
Christ, the crowning with thorns, the way to Golgotha, the death on the
Cross, the deposition from the Cross and the Entombment. The song
achieved great popularity in the 16th century and is now known in many
versions. In the present CD it is performed in three versions: an
austere, homophonic medieval version and two vocal-instrumental
Renaissance arrangements, three- and four-part, with a richly
ornamented part for the positive organ. The original Medieval melody
has been included in the tenor part. Imbued as it is with awe and
realism, the text even today overwhelms the listener with its inner
truth, expressive power and freshness of the language. The Passion
scenes, so well known from paintings and sculptures, are evoked with
unique vividness.
In Wszyscy mieszkańcy dworu niebieskiego (All the Inhabitants
of the Heavenly Court), the prayers, lamentations of the choir and the
Mother of God, as well as the descriptions of tortures are enhanced by
the variable instrumentation of a consort of recorders and the austere
sound of the fiddle.
Bóg Wszechmogący, Ociec nasz niebieski (Almighty God, Our
Heavenly Father) is a simple, chordal song with a typical Renaissance
structure. The song is joyful rather than sombre. "Let us be joyful in
the Holy Spirit" – sung in the last stanza, directs the listeners
thoughts to the theme of the Resurrection and redemption for human
sins.
Żoltarz Jezusów, czyli piętnaście rozmyślań o Bożym umęczeniu
(The Psaltery of Jesus or Fifteen Reflections about God's Suffering),
beginning with the words "Jezusa Judasz przedał za pieniądze nędzne"
("Jesus was sold by Judas for humble money", is a distinctly Polish
Lenten Office song. It is most probably by the Blessed Władysław of
Gielniów, a Bernardine monk and patron of Warsaw. In the present
recording the popular medieval melody is played on the pommer. During
the Renaissance it was arranged as a 4-part version, with the cantus
firmus placed in the tenor part.
The lamentation Chryste Panie Wszechmogący (O Christ, the
Almighty God) is modelled on the lamentations from the Biblical Book of
Jeremiah. It gives a very realistic description of the Passion of
Christ, including the slapping of and spitting into His face, the
nailing to the Cross, the piercing of His side, and the offering of the
vinegar and gall. A simple melody based on three notes is interspersed
with the names of letters from the Hebrew alphabet sung by the choral
ensemble. The melodic recitation, in which the spoken word has the most
important function, is accompanied by the ominous sound of the
hurdy-gurdy and rattles.
The literary-musical equivalent of the medieval pieta – a sculpture of
the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ on her lap or in her
arms – is the planctus. It is rooted in the medieval liturgical dramas
performed during Lent. Lament świętokrzyski – Posłuchajcie bracia
miła (The Holy Cross Lament – Listen Dear Brethren), from the
Benedictine monastery of Łysa Góra in the Holy Cross Mountains, is a
real gem of Polish literature. Most probably a part of a more extended
drama of the Ludus passionis type, it is considered by literary
historians as the best example of Polish sacred literature prior to Jan
Kochanowski. The character of the despairing Mother has a timeless,
symbolic and deeply psychological dimension. The music to the piece is
not extant; the gemshoms accompanying the recitation improvise on the
tune of the Latin hymn Crux fidelis.
The piece Krzyżu święty i chwalebny (O Holy and Glorious Cross)
can be described as an adoration of the symbol of Christ's Passion. The
mournful aspect is not present here; instead the Cross becomes a symbol
of triumph and Salvation.
In the 4-part elegiac lament O Jezu, jakoś ciężko skatowany (O
Jesus How Mercilessly You Were Tortured), not only people but the whole
of nature indulge in lamentation. The singers are accompanied by an
ensemble of four bass recorders (later soprano recorders), which enrich
the final section of the work with ornamentations brightening the
overall mood. This symbolizes the hope for Resurrection.
The song Ciebie dla, człowiecze, dał Bóg przekluć sobie bok (It Was for
You that God Let His Side Be Pierced) was included in the so-called
Lviv Manuscript as a continuation of the old Polish hymn Bogurodzica
(The Mother of God). In other sources the text was written down much
earlier than the music. It has a didactic character extolling faith,
repentance and the love of God. The paraliturgical and free form of the
piece in the present recording refers to medieval morality plays.
The 4-part song Wszechmogący nasz Panie, dziwnoś świat swój sprawił
(Our Almighty God, How Strange is the World You Created) is unusually
colourful in its literary aspect. It contains many dialogues and
quotations, its 34 stanzas providing a very vivid description of the
life and death of Christ. Three stanzas were selected for this
recording.
Some Polish Lenten songs are translations of songs in foreign
languages. One such an example is Ach nam nędznym grzesznym nasze
grzeszenie (We Vile Sinners) which is a Polish translation of Ach,
wir armen Sünder by Herman Born and Johannes Bertram.