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

In Polish culture, the explosion of great Romantic verse was followed by a heyday of song, which we owe to Stanisław 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 'żal' ('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. Her discography features more than sixty discs, recorded for such labels as the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, CD Accord, Dabringhaus und Grimm, Harmonia Mundi, Naxos and Opus 111.

Ewa Pobłocka (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. She has premiered works by Polish contemporary composers Andrzej Panufnik, Witold Lutosławski, Paweł Szymański, and Paweł Mykietyn, and recorded more than 50 albums with solo, chamber, and concerto repertoire. Her 2019 album for NIFC – the first volume of Bach's Das wohltemperierte Klavier – caused a sensation and was listed among the fifty best recordings of the Leipzig cantor's music by the UK Gramophone magazine.