On Chopin and Polish Christmas Carols (Vol. 3, No. 13)

Time for Christmas, again...and time to remember "Lulajze, Jezuniu" - the beloved Christmas lullaby that Chopin quoted in his first Scherzo, Op. 20 in B Minor, while staying in Vienna after leaving Poland forever in 1830. The drama of the November uprising and the distance from his beloved family, coupled with anxiety and a foreboding of no return, put the young composer in an emotional turmoil, expressed most poignantly in his famous Stuttgart Diaries.

Like the private journal entries, the Scherzo provides an outlet for outpouring of emotion and is permeated with flights of desperation. The sweet lullaby provides a moment of serenity in the midst of this emotional onslaught. It is a symbol of tranquility of home and familial love that, as Chopin felt in 1830, may have been lost forever...

• Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor by Garrick Ohlsson (9'33'', Warsaw, Poland)
• Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor by Krzysztof Jablonski (1985, 8'45'' - the lullaby is at 3'20'')
• Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor by Sviatoslav Richter (10'30'', with an ad at the beginning)
• Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor by Artur Rubinstein (8'46'', from 1949, note the variety of tempi throughout!)
• Lulajze Jezuniu (Hush, Baby Jesus) by Polish State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble Mazowsze (version uploaded from an LP)
• Lulajze Jezuniu by Jazz Vocalist Urszula Dudziak with her daughter
• Lulajze Jezuniu by Anna Maria Jopek

           Lulajże, Jezuniu

1. Lulajże, Jezuniu, moja perełko,

Lulaj, ulubione me pieścidełko.

          Ref. Lulajże, Jezuniu, lulajże, lulaj!

A ty Go, Matulu, w płaczu utulaj. 

2. Zamknijże znużone płaczem powieczki,

Utulże zemdlone łkaniem usteczki.  

          Ref. Lulajże, Jezuniu, lulajże, lulaj!

A ty Go, Matulu, w płaczu utulaj. 

3. Lulajże, piękniuchny nasz Aniołeczku,

Lulajże, wdzięczniuchny świata Kwiateczku. 

        Ref. Lulajże, Jezuniu, lulajże, lulaj!

A ty Go, Matulu, w płaczu utulaj.  

Hush, Little Jesus

Hush, Baby Jesus, my little pearl
Hush, my beloved sweet-pea doll
   Hush, Little Jesus, hush, do not cry
   And you, dear Mommy, comfort him now

Close your tiny eyelids tired of crying
Close your little mouth faint of sobbing
   Hush, Little Jesus, hush, do not cry
   And you, dear Mommy, comfort him now

Hush, our beautiful cherub so sweet
Hush, our graceful bloom of the world
   Hush, Little Jesus, hush, do not cry
   And you, dear Mommy, comfort him now

(trans. Maja Trochimczyk)

 

Poles around the world celebrate the beloved holiday starting on Christmas Eve, with a formal "Wigilia" dinner, that though sumptuous and featuring 12 different dishes, like the 12 apostles, is supposedly a "fasting" meal, without meat or meat products. When the first star is seen on the horizon, families sit down to a dinner with one empty place setting left for Divine Presence, or an uninvited guest who might show up on the doorstep on this most holy of nights.

Polish composers of carols and Nativity-themed polyphonic music in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance included Cyprian Bazylik (1535-1591), the author of "Mądrość Ojca Wszechmocnego" (the Wisdom of the Almighty Father). Wacław z Szamotul (or Szamotulski), Wacław of Szamotuły (Venceslaus Samotulinus, Schamotulinus, Samotulius, 1520-1560) wrote a carol, Pieśń o narodzeniu Pańskim (Song about the Lord's Birth) among many sophisticated polyphonic compositions. Mikołaj Zielenski (1550?-after 1616) composed magnificent, large-scale polychoral pieces that have little in common with the humble carols, except the sentiment of praising the birth of Christ ("Adoramus Te") and the love of his dedicated Mother ("Magnificat" and "O Gloriosa Domina").

The dinner on a white tablecloth covering a bit of hay, starts with sharing best wishes for the next year, breaking a white rectangular wafer called "oplatek" and with the Christmas carol, "Wsrod nocnej ciszy..." (In the Silence of the Night). The dishes include pickled herring, pumpernickel, kapusta wigilijna (sourkraut stewed with dried mushrooms, prunes, and raisins), various mushroom and fish dishes, beet soup with mushroom-stuffed pierogi and "uszka" (mini-pasta), a variety of gingerbread, shortbread, and poppy-seed desserts, and "kompot wigilijny" (a compote made with several kinds of dried fruit).

The Polish Christmas carols provide a unique soundtrack to this celebration and having these carols along with early Polish music provides an unforgettable atmosphere at the Wigilia table. "Lulajze, Jezuniu" (Hush, little Jesus), though dating back to the 17th century, is not the oldest Polish carol. It belongs among a genre especially popular in Poland, that of tranquil Christmas lullabies, that include also "Gdy sliczna Panna" (When the Lovely Virgin), "Jezus Malusienki" (The Tiny Baby Jesus), "Mizerna cicha stajenka licha" (The Poor, Still, Humble barn), and "Oj Maluski" (Oh, the Tiny One), the latter one in the "gorale" dialect of the foothills of Tatra Mountains.

• Gdy sliczna Panna (When the Lovely Virgin) by Natalia Kukulska
• Jezus Malusienki (The Tiny Baby Jesus) by the Cugowski brothers (Krzysztof, Wojciech, Piotr) - Polish rock musicians
• Oj Maluski (Oh, the Tiny One) by Anna Maria Jopek 
• Oj, Maluski (Oh, the Tiny One) by Maryla Rodowicz (in weird Country-Western style)

Songs about Nativity retelling the various stories from the Gospels, have been sung since the introduction of Christianity to the kingdom; and rose in popularity in the 15th century, thanks to the efforts of Franciscans following in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi who made the first Nativity Scene and wrote several carols.

In Poland, Christmas-themed songs are divided into koledy (carols) and pastoralki (shepherd's songs), the latter with humorous or sentimental texts bringing the Nativity home to poor shepherds of Polish villages. The word "koleda" comes from the Latin Calendae, the "first day of the month".

"W Zlobie Lezy" (He Lies in a Manger), dating back to the fifteenth century, is one of the earliest Polonaises. Its text is attributed to the Polish Jesuit and famous patriotic preacher, Piotr Skarga, while the melody resembles the coronation polonaise of King Wladyslaw IV Waza.  The most famous of Polish carols - Polonaises is the magnificent "Bog Sie Rodzi" (God is Born), with text by Franciszek Karpinski dating back to 1792 and the melody reputedly used for the coronation of Polish kings back in the 16th century. These two Polonaises and "Lulajze Jezuniu," as well as many other Polish carols are in a lilting triple meter that suffuses Polish folklore with its characteristic flowing and graceful rhythm.

• W Zlobie Lezy (He Lies in a Manger) by Polish State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble Mazowsze
• Bog Sie Rodzi (God is Born) by Polish State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble Mazowsze

Not all the carols are in triple meter, of course. Here's a stately "march" about the angel and the shepherds:

• Aniol Pasterzom Mowil (Angel Talked to the Shepherds) by Polish State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble Mazowsze

The officially approved religious carols were gathered in a variety of Church Songbooks, for instance in the early 19th-century songbook "Śpiewnik kościelny" (Church Hymnbook, 1838-53) edited by Michał Marcin Mioduszewski. The very first recorded Polish Christmas carol was "Zdrow bądź, krolu anjelski" (Hail, the Angelic King) from the 14th century.

• Zdrow badz, krolu anjelski (Hail the Angelic King) by Chamber Choir of the Wieniawski Music Society, Lublin 2007.

Other earliest koledy were based on Latin melodies with texts adapted into Polish. "Chwalmyż wszyscy z weselem" (Let Us All Praise with Joy) and "Pieśń o narodzeniu Pańskim" (Song about the Lord's Birth) were both based on the melody of the Latin "Dies est laetitiae." The Polish carol "Ojca niebieskiego" (Of Heavenly Father's) used a melody known in the whole Europe. "Dzieciątko dostojne z błogosławionej Dziewice Maryjej" (The Honourable Child From Blessed Virgin Mary) was based on Latin carol "Salve parvule." "Narodził się nam dziś niebieski" (Today, the Heavenly Lord was born unto us) was a version of medieval "Angelus Domini ad pastores." "To-ć czas wdzięczny przyszedł" (A Graceful Time Has Come) was a variant of the Latin hymn of praise of angels, "Ave hierarchia."

• Chwalmyz wszyscy z weselem (Let Us All Praise with Joy) by Choir Amici Canentes, 2009
• Dies est Laetitia from Neresheimer Organ Tabulatur, 16th century.

We should not forget the "Melodie na Psałterz Polski" (Melodies to Polish Psalter), a pearl of Polish Renaissance music by the Protestant Mikołaj Gomółka (1535 - 1591?), though these lovely pieces are not carols at all... A very popular evening prayer by Waclaw of Szamotuly, "Juz sie zmierzcha" (Already it is Dusk) inspired Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki (1933-2010) to write his first String Quartet, extensively quoting from the tranquil Renaissance melody.

• "Juz Sie Zmierzcha" (Already it is Dusk) by Boys Choir Poznanskie Slowiki (studio recording)
• "Juz Sie Zmierzcha" (Already it is Dusk) by Boys Choir Polskie Slowiki (Paris concert)

Stanislaw Niewiadomski (1859-1936), Feliks Nowowiejski (1887-1946), and Stanislaw Wiechowicz (1893-1963) made choral arrangement of Polish traditional carols that are popular until today. In 1946, in newly "liberated" and completely devastated Poland, Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994) made an arrangement of "Dwadzieścia kolęd" (Twenty Carols) for voice and piano. Forty years later, in 1984-89, he arranged these carols for soprano, female choir and chamber orchestra; this version often graces the concert stages around the world.

Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki used echoes of "Silent Night" in the ending of his String Quartet no. 2 (1991). Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933) extensively quotes "Silent Night" in his Second Symphony, subtitled the Christmas Symphony and marking his return to neo-Romanticism after cutting-edge experiments of the earlier years.

• Cicha Noc (Silent Night) by Poznanskie Slowiki
• Cicha Noc (Silent Night) by Polish State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble Slask (solo with chorus and orchestra)
• Cicha Noc (Silent Night) by Krzysztof Krawczyk

There are many more Polish carol settings by classical composers, and multiple versions of carols by popular musicians, including even such giants of Polish jazz as Urszula Dudziak, or of Polish rock as Slawomir Krajewski (who wrote several carols to texts by Agnieszka Osiecka that became classics in their own right).

Merry Christmas, everyone!


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SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

I'm quoting the titles of the earliest Polish carols from an outstanding website Completorium Polish Early Music Collection, created by Boguslaw Krawczyk and featuring Polish earliest Christmas Carols. This site is included in the Kunst der Fuge international site on Medieval and Renaissance Music.

 More in-depth studies and comments on Polish music may be found on the blog of Prof. Adrian Thomas,

"On Polish music and other Polish topics."

For a study of "Religious Folklore in Chopin's Music" by Jan Wecowski, including the incipit of the "Lulajze Jezuniu" carol copied above, see the article in the Polish Music Journal of 1999.

Academic studies of Polish carols include: Polskie kolędy i pastorałki by Anna Szweykowska (Krakow: PWM Edition, 1985), in Polish, out of print.

Photos and stories from family albums of Maja Trochimczyk

Chopin, Taffeta, Dance and Christmas (Vol. 2, No. 15)

In America, December is the holiday season. Houses are decorated starting on December 1 and each weekend brings at least four party invitations, luncheons, dinners, and Christmas carols sing-alongs. By the second week of January all of it will be thrown out or packed away and the Christmas season will recede into the distance.

The calendar of celebrations looked somewhat different in Chopin's Paris: yes, there were gatherings in December, but the real party season started with the Christmas day, and went on and on, until the end of Carnaval in early February. The rustle of taffeta and richly colored velvets, the glimmer of candlelight, jewels sparkling like laughter... Kerri Buckley's poem "The Songs of Chopin: A Villanelee" published in Chopin with Cherries captures the mood of the seaso, while looking back at the romantic salons frequented by Chopin:

The Sounds of Chopin: A Villanelle
by Kerri Buckley

Hearts open like French doors as Chopin plays
At his birth, cherry blossoms were splashed with snow
Entering sound deeply changes ways one prays

His concertos have filled cafes, chateaus, chalets
Inspiring toasts with brandy, champagne, or Bordeaux
Hearts are open French doors when Chopin plays

Faces aglow, women wear taffeta, velvet, brocades
Join men in bow ties, gloves, a man gleams in a tuxedo
Slipping into glissandos changes how he deeply prays

Intoxicating Nocturnes brightly sets one’s soul ablaze
Chords slice air like fire batons atop the high crescendo
Hearts could burst like French doors if Chopin plays

Lovers’ lips shine like sugar, chocolate, cherry glacés
In hours most arrive, sweethearts steal away, dolce adagio
Entering melodies softly changes ways a beloved prays

Composers’ lives overflow in continuous, sacred praise
Onstage below glimmer of candelabras, maestros glow
Hearts glisten, French doors wide open as Chopin plays
Enter music to change all deep mystical ways one prays

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The rotational and repetitive character of the villanelle is well suited to the subject, filled with the turns of the waltz, and the alluring moods of the evening. Kerri gave us a wonderful holiday gift in this poem. The online editor programs do not allow extra spaces which separate phrases and words, so the layout of the poem is somewhat faulty. This should not detract the readers from its beauty.

Chopin was a creature of the aristocratic salon, elegant and refined. He liked to remember the simple music of Polish countryside, including folk dances and carols. He transformed the cited or stylized music to the universal level. The beloved lullaby carol, "Lulajze Jezuniu" appears in Chopin's Scherzo in B-minor, Op 20, written in 1831-32 and dedicated to his friend Thomas Albrecht. The sweet melody appears in the central, slow section of the Scherzo, marked Molto Piu Lento.

I selected several recordings of this lovely Christmas Carol and its version in the Scherzo to share with Chopin lovers this Christmas.

• Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor, Op. 20 by Claudio Arrau (10'24''), the carol starts at 4'05''
  
  
• Another, later and slower version of Chopin's Scherzo by Claudo Arrau (10:50), the carol-lullaby starts at 4'40''
  
  
• Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor, Op. 20, by Jozef Hoffmann (abbreviated, 4'42''), the carol starts at 1'47'' - of historical interest
  
  
• Chopin's Scherzo in B Minor, Op. 20, by Artur Rubinstein (8'17''), the carol starts at 3' - a historical recording
  
  
• A traditional choral version of Lulajze Jezuniu by The Polish State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble Mazowsze. The singers wear traditional cosumes from the village Kocierzew, near Łowicz in the Mazovia region.
  
  
• A jazz arrangement of the Chopin's version by a Polish vocal quartet, Novi Singers: Novi Singers sing Chopin
  
  
• An orchestral arrangement of Lulajze Jezuniu by Tomasz Chmiel, with soprano Grażyna Brodzińska, Adama Szerszen, chorus PAT "Psalmodia" and Symphony Orchestra of M.Karłowicz Music School in Krakow: "Krakowska Młoda Filharmonia" conducted by Tomasz Chmiel
  
  
• An extensive choral arrangement of Lulajze Jezuniu with chorus and orchestra by the Polish State Folk Song and Dance Ensemble, Slask
  
  
• Another blog about Chopin and his lullaby: http://austenetterespublica.wordpress.com

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For my Poetry Laurels blog, I created a couple of illustrations to my Christmas poems, one from this year and one from 2009. In early December, I was asked to read some poems at a party and realized that I have not written my annual Christmas poem yet. It came to me in the rain, when I could barely see the road ahead and the sky was heavy with darkness.



Did you know?

Some Christmases are rainy
Tears fall from overcast sky
On lonely crowds in hospitals
And prison yards

Sometimes Christmas is icy
Frozen under the pale moon
Changing faces into lifeless
Shadows at night

Some Christmases are scarlet
And green like fir garlands and hearts
Warmed by barszcz and hot chocolate,
Evenings by the fire

Sometimes Christmas is white
Snowflakes melt on my gloves
The thin wafer of opłatek we break
Shelters us in good wishes

Some Christmases are sparkly
With the tinsel of laughter
Giggling children unwrap gifts
Magic in the morning

My Christmas is golden
Like that first star of Wigilia,
Warm kisses with kompot and kutia
Blessings under the tree

© 2011 by Maja Trochimczyk

I paired this poem with a photo I took this October at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. I liked the open window, looking out through the multitude of shapes and colors onto a simpler, luminous world.



The picture became the cover of my Christmas card. I also reprinted my last year's holiday poem, "Rules for Happy Holy Days" as a reminder about the importance of celebrating the holidays in the right way, by sharing and loving. This poem was written for my last year's Christmas wishes. These Rules are timeless.



Rules for Happy Holy Days

Don’t play Christmas carols
at the airport. Amidst the roar
of jet engines, they will spread
a blanket of loneliness
over the weary, huddled masses,
trying not to cry out for home.

Don’t put Christmas light on a poplar.
With branches swathed in white
galaxies, under yellow leaves, the tree
will become foreign, like the skeleton
of an electric fish, deep in the ocean.

Clean the windows from the ashes
of last year’s fires. Glue the wings
of a torn paper angel. Brighten
your home with the fresh scent
of pine needles and rosemary.

Take a break from chopping almonds
to brush the cheek of your beloved
with the back of your hand,
just once, gently. Smile and say:
“You look so nice, dear,
you look so nice.”

© 2009 by Maja Trochimczyk


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NOTES:

Photographs and Christmas poems (c) 2011 by Maja Trochimczyk
Christmas tree decorations by Eva DiAngelo, California