On the 3rd of July, 1811 the Polish Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz described a musical performance in his major literary work, "Pan Tadeusz" / "Mr. Thaddeus". Two hundred years later to the day Warsaw's National Philharmonic performs the piece known as "Yankiel's Concerto" for the first time. Most Poles are familiar with the work, although no one has ever heard the piece played live. The Adam Mickiewicz Institute has specially commissioned the performance, with music composed by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek.
"Yankiel's Concerto" forms a significant part of Book XII of Mickiewicz's epic poem. It is played to celebrate the engagement of the poem's protagonist Pan Tadeusz and his bride-to-be, the young and beautiful Zosia. It is Zosia who manages to convince the Jew Jankiel to play for the gathered guests. Jankiel is a renowned figure, known for his work as a cymbalist ('There were many cymbalists / but none of them dared to play alongside Jankiel' / Book XII, verses 641-642).
The concert that features in Mickiewicz's epic novel in verse (also known as the 'Polish National Epic') utilised contemporary melodies, which the wedding party guests interpreted as an allusion to recent events concerning the Polish state. Jankiel pointedly begins with the joyful, lively melody of the 3rd of May Polonaise, which inspires a sense of general hope:
From the many-paged work
Sound burst, as if the whole of Jankiel's orchestra
Responded with bells, with drums.
So sounds the Third of May Polonaise! - Lively sounds
Breathe joy, the listeners are filled with joy
Girls want to dance, the boys will not deny them
But the sounds lift the thoughts of the elders to things past
To those happy years, when the senate and counselors
After the Third of May in the town hall
Celebrated, along with the agreement of the king
After this triumphant melody there begins 'an off-key melody like the hissing of a snake' which symbolises a subsequent, darker event - namely the Targowek confederation. This change in melody turns into a threatening and menacing march, the sounds of which are meant to illustrate the carnage that took place in the 'Prague' region of Warsaw, after the bloody seizure by the Russians that took place during the Kosciuszko insurrection. A mass uprising and battles followed this between different legions. The song is nevertheless finished off with the joyful melody of the Dabrowski Mazurka that returns to the celebratory relish of the wedding party.
Jankiel's modest playing was coupled with a Polonaise by Wojciech Kilar in a film version of "Pan Tadeusz", directed by Andrzej Wajda.
Jan A. P. Kaczmarek is a Polish composer, based in the US. After an early start in composing music for the theatre and touring with the group "Orchestra of the Eighth Day", he rose to prominence as a film composer, going on to win an Academy Award for his work on "Finding Neverland" starring Kate Winslat and Johnny Depp. He has also composed music for the films "Unfaithful", "Evening" and "Washington Square". In 2010, he opened his own Institute - the Rozbitek Institute - that supports projects in film, theatre, music and new media.
The Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra takes part in the world premiere of the work along with soloists from the cymbalist group Wasilinki Belorussian State Academy of Music, conducted by Marc Minkowski. The concert programme also includes the overture to the opera "Dwie Chatki" / "Two Cabins" by Karol Kurpinski as well as Ludwig van Beethoven's "III Symphony".
"Jankiel's Concert" takes place on the 3rd of July 2011 at Warsaw's National Philharmonic.
Warsaw Philharmonic
ul. Jasna 5, 00-950 Warsaw
Artistic Director: Antoni Wit
Tel. Central: (+48 22) 551 71 11
Secretary: (+48 22) 551 71 02
Concert Hall (+48 22) 551 71 30
Chamber Hall (+48 22) 551 71 32
Fax (+48 22) 551 72 00
www.filharmonia.pl
Source: Press materials, www.filharmonia.pl