Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909)
Lithuanian Rhapsody Op.11
Lithuanian Rhapsody was written from April till end of November 1906 in Warsaw, Zakopane and, finally, Leipzig. The premiere took place under Grzegorz Fitelberg in Warsaw, two weeks after the composer’s death, on February 26th, 1909. Its first edition was published in 1910 (dated 1909) in a joint venture of Albert Stahl, Berlin, and Gebethner & Wolff, Warsaw, by Warsaw’s Musical Society.
Both autographs were destroyed by the Nazis alongside with a part of the Society’s collection during World War Two. This fate was shared by manuscripts of other poems by Karłowicz; only the score of his A Sad Story miraculously survived.
Lithuanian Rhapsody has been described as a symphonic poem, although its title defines its character only too well. Its creator also used the term “fantasia.” There is no programme associated with this work. There is only a letter to Adolf Chybiński of November 24th, 1906, in which Karłowicz wrote: “I tried to capture the whole pain, the sorrow, and the eternal enslavement of the people whose songs rang throughout my childhood.” This childhood was spent in Wiszniewo, in the Święcany district of Vilnius province. This part of the world was then referred to in Poland as Lithuania; it was in fact mostly inhabited by Byelorussians.
The piece consists of four images. The initial Allegro ben moderato comes as a surprise in the originality of its ostinato texture and its tonal associations that combine into a landscape misty yet full of inexplicable phenomena, pulsating deep down under. The theme that appears there is worthy of a symphony. Lento brings an authentic Byelorussian melody; the material and its presentation makes one think of Tchaikovsky. The climax features an audible folkloric plot in an irregular phrase (Allegretto pastorale). The next two images, a lullaby of sorts (Andante tranquillo) and a dance (Allegretto giocoso) – use a single theme in contrasting rendering. The apotheosis of the initial theme (trumpets and trombones) is a reminiscence of the first image; it ends the work in an almost mystical climate.
Maciej Negrey
