Love, folk style
As the head of the NMF Choir stresses, the title is tricky, as "Folk Love" means not only "Love in folk style", but also "Love for folk music". After listening to the two-hour musical material one can hardly believe their eyes (and ears), because the Polish regions scattered all over the map hold great musical potential. Unfortunately, today it often discovered by performers of popular music in highly arranged versions. Perhaps it's time to give the classics a chance?
Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, head of the NMF Choir / phot. Łukasz Rajchert
Folk Love overheard
The record includes song cycles that Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny has been "overhearing" for years; sometimes she knew only individual songs. "I chose those that were inspired by historic melodies, often loosely related to the classic style, but preserving the lyrics, rhythm or melodic scale characteristic for the region," says the choir-mistress. The regions are: Warmia , Kashubia, Kurpie, Wielkopolska, Silesia and Podhale. The list of names includes the great masters of the twentieth century, first and foremost Henryk Mikołaj Górecki and his "5 Kurpie Songs". As Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny explains, "They include a representative Górecki style, and at the same time aptly demonstrated folklore." Also, the "Suite of Highland Songs" by Boleslaw Wallk - Walewski will be quite an attraction. "The composer prepared a compilation of 14 melodies, and a special touch to the piece is the voice of Maciej Adamczyk, a NMF bass, who is actually a highlander himself. He sings the solo parts with a characteristic, folk voice," stresses the choir-mistress. Also, Tadeusz Szeligowski's "4 Wedding Songs From Lublin Region", or the "Warmia Suite" by Romuald Twardowski also deserve attention.
Love: romantic, dramatic, dirty
What is love in folk style like? The answer can be found not only in music, but in the lyrics as well. "They are all about love, but some are more straightforward, and some are less," admits Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny. "Here, the feeling is sometimes romantic, very dramatic, but also dirty," she says. Lyrics of the songs can be found in the booklet attached to the disc. A great advantage is also the English translations of the rhymes, which required a lot of work and almost ethnographic research. "Well, how would you explain what 'Spadnie robok, spadnie mucha/Jasiu powie, Kasia plucha' means?" laughs the choir-mistress. In translation it means 'Falls bug and fly at drop of hat/Jasio says Kasia's slut.'
The "Folk Love" record is available, e.g. in Wroclaw Philharmonic. It is worth the money, not only because of Valentine's Day, but of love. For our folk music, of course.
Magdalena Talik
