MAŁGORZATA SARBAK : Paweł Szymański - Dissociative Counterpoint Disorder

'“Dissociative counterpoint disorder” (2014), “Through the looking-glass… III” (1994), “Les poiriers en Pologne ou une suite de pièces sentimentales de clavecin faite par Mr Szymanski”, “Partita III” (1986) with The Janá ek Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zsolt Nagy.
Ma gorzata Sarbak, harpsichords.
Andrzej Ch opecki, the late critic and animator of the music scene, wrote extensively about Szyma ski’s music as well as supporting the composer by means of his longtime role with the Warsaw Autumn festival. Ch opecki puts things thus: “the formal structure is beautiful while stylistic expression is calculated: for Szyma ski’s music is a continual game.” He then offers precedents in Johannes Ockeghem and Anton Webern, deducing that Szyma ski’s “guiding principles would be speculation and constructivism.” Rendering the loaded quality in the composer’s works, Ch opecki adds that “the aim of Szyma ski’s music is the creation of symbolic entities within abstract art forms.”
During a discussion between the composer and musicologist Katarzyna Naliwajek-Mazurek about his harpsichord music, Szyma ski said he “acquainted myself with harpsichords very early, at fourteen or fifteen while attending music school. I was very close with W adys aw K owsiewicz [now a renowned virtuoso], who had just started to learn harpsichord. I used to play the recorder and we played together, so the texture and sound qualities and some articulation tricks were very familiar. I’ve been really interested to write for harpsichord from time to time, first for the Limericks for violin and harpsichord.”
Naliwajek-Mazurek finds the harpsichord “very inherent” in Szyma ski’s musical language, which “has been the case over the decades.” She states that in Szyma ski “both sides of the harpsichord are present [the historical and the contemporary] – it’s the most ideally equilibriated vision of harpsichord in today’s music.” She specifies the historical side “that goes towards tradition yet is rejuvenated and written anew, not a replication but a fresh invention. Then there is his entirely new way of imagining harpsichord, construing its contemporary presence and personality as in Partita III. It’s amazing how the instrument is treated from the point of view of timbre, with the harpsichord sonorities striking and beautiful – a completely new quality in so many aspects.”'






1 Dissociative Counterpoint Disorder 9:57
2 Through The Looking-Glass... III 9:04
Les Poiriers En Pologne Ou Une Suite De Pieces, Sentimentales De Clavecin Faite Par Mr Szymański
3 La Connaissance Des Poiriers Ou Prélude 1:25
4 François Ou Allemande 5:02
5 Erika Ou Courante 2:23
6 Raspail-Ay ...01 Ou Gavotte 1:21
7 Haut Coustias ...98 Ou Sarabande 3:27
8 Louise Ou Rondeau (Doucement) 2:14
9 Jacques ou Canaries 2:22
10 La Biere de Zwierzyniec Ou Menuet Polonais 1:02
11 Le Départ Des Poiriers Ou Chaconne Ancienne 3:10
12 Partita III 15:11

Credits
Conductor – Zsolt Nagy
Cover – Wojciech Zamecznik
Harpsichord – Małgorzata Sarbak (tracks: 1, 3-11)
Harpsichord [five-pedal Neupert] – Małgorzata Sarbak (tracks: 2, 12)
Instruments [conservation and tuning] – Jacek Guzowski
Liner Notes – Alan Lockwood
Mastered By – Ewa Guziołek-Tubelewicz
Mixed By, Recorded By – Ewa Guziołek-Tubelewicz, Joanna Popowicz
Orchestra – The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (tracks: 12)
Photography By – Tomasz Dubiel
Producer – Michał Mendyk
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jan Košulič (tracks: 12)
Translated By – Mikołaj Gliński