3 Songs to Baczyński

for baritone and piano (2021) / baritone and orchestra (2023) / baritone, harp and strings (2024)

The cycle of songs to chosen poems by Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński was inspired by and composed especially for bass-bariton Tomasz Konieczny. The first performances were presented together with Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and with video installation by Adam Dudek. The music and image create a mini-monodrame about death forseen, remembered and experienced.

Chosen poems are: Spojrzenie (A Glympse), Wigilia (Christmas Eve) and Śmierć (Death).

Version for baritone and orchestra was commissioned by the Baltic Opera in 2022.

Version for baritone, harp and strings was commissioned by the Silesian Philharmony in 2024.

PERFORMANCE HISTORY:

VERSION FOR BARITONE AND PIANO

PREMIERE: 08/31/2021; Tomasz Konieczny, Lech Napierała; Warsaw Uprising Museum

11/7/2021; Tomasz Konieczny, Lech Napierała Künstlerhaus Festsaal; Munich, Germany

16/7/202; Tomasz Konieczny, Lech Napierała; Musikverein Gläserner Saal / Magna Auditorium; Vienna, Austria

03/12/2022; ORCHESTRAL PREMIERE; Tomasz Konieczny, Baltic Opera Orchestra, Michał Krężlewski; Baltic Opera in Gdańsk

VERSION FOR BARITONE AND ORCHESTRA

PREMIERE: March 12, 2022; Tomasz Konieczny, Baltic Opera Orchestra, Michał Krężlewski; Baltic Opera in Gdańsk

RECORDING HISTORY:

VERSION FOR BARITONE AND PIANO
11/11-12/2021; Tomasz Konieczny, Lech Napierała; Studio S1 Polish Radio in Warsaw; Sound Engineers: Gabriela Blicharz and Lech Dudzik; for the Dal Segno Institute