My hands were too soft.. I had to find some
special occupation, some kind of work that would not force me to turn away from
the sky and the stars, that would allow me to discover the meaning of life.
In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides
the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love. Marc Chagall
The boom above my knees lifts, and the boat Drops, and the surge departs, departs, my cheek Kissed and rejected, kissed, as the gaff sways A tangent, cuts the infinite sky to red Maps, and the mast draws eight and eight across Measureless blue, the boatmen sing or sleep. Sailing to an Island - Richard Murphy - fragment
Clouds are always with us although they never belong to us.
Clouds over Normandy
Clouds over Spain
Clouds by
Wisława Szymborska.
I’d have to be really quick to describe clouds - a split second’s enough for them to start being something else. Their trademark: they don’t repeat a single shape, shade, pose, arrangement.
Clouds over Spain
Unburdened by memory of any kind, they float easily over the facts. What on earth could they bear witness to? They scatter whenever something happens.
Clouds over Madrid
Compared to
clouds,
life rests
on solid ground,
practically
permanent, almost eternal.
Clouds over Lisbon
Next to clouds even a stone seems like a brother, someone you can trust, while they’re just distant, flighty cousins.
Clouds over Portugal
Let people exist if they want, and then die, one after another: clouds simply don't care what they're up to down there.
Clouds over Sevilla
And so their haughty fleet cruises smoothly over your whole life and mine, still incomplete.
Clouds over Barcelona
Clouds over Chamonix
They aren't obliged to vanish when we're gone. They don't have to be seen while sailing on.
Translated
by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh.
It is unusual book, poignant, deeply touching and beautiful. Beautiful because love is beautiful always. Love is even more important than life.
in Polish
In the midst of the horror, people found moments of happiness said about it, in his book Marek Edelman, doctor and military commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Edelman’s book I byla milosc w getcie (And There Was Love in the Ghetto) - In 150 pages, Edelman explores ghetto memories which differ from the mass deportations, massacres and starvation. Survive together or perish together – it was important.
That was probably after the second Action - Akcja in January. I don't remember how it was that I happened to be on Wronia Street. I entered the attic, and on the floor, on mattresses, people were lying everywhere. There I saw Estusia. She was lying on a mattress. A man was serving her tea or hot water. I tell her: "Madam, there is a flat for you on the Aryan side. You have a lot of money, you can get away." Then it was supposed to be a way to survive. "You have enough to keep you there until the end of the war." She almost did not reply. She just said: "No, I'll stay with him. Either we will survive together somehow, or we will perish together. I've never been so happily in love like those four years. That is why I did not look for you." "Mrs. Estusia, you do not have a chance here," I pleaded. I don't remember her answer, but she said something like: "My chance was those four years, and I used it."
There was the love in the ghetto - English A fragment of the film ( director - Jolanta Dylewska) it is not a film about the Holocaust, but a film about love, the most important human emotion
It is more than just a place. Mountains were in my every child’s holiday. Mountain hostels and shelters with a golden light in the windows. The best hope in the evening after long hard trip. Hot tea with a lemon – which probably can never taste better, gives a new power always. Bustle and noise in the hostel full of excited travellers – rain outside. Spruces proudly growing into the sky, straight and high. Breath of the Tatra forest with green plants and smelling pines.
And the only one sound of entrance door opening, in the evening. Thanks Be to God they have returned, our friends that were climbing that day. More mystery than story. Memories about all people that loved the same Tatra before my time – the same rain, rocks, gullies, dangerous storms. When I was sitting Roztoka hostel (built in 1876) – perfect shelter for climbers. Sitting, drinking tea and looking through the window. Outside the window was my life – first time I was here with my mother when I was 13 maybe. Later I was here many times with my friends, my husband, my daughter and sometimes I am here alone with myself only. Not far from here is a Roztoka Valley, one of the most beautiful in the Tatras. Is it the best place to think about order in my life? Easier to think, easier to agree with ourselves. Confession? - yes. One September I found a butterfly in the valley. His wings were broken. I put him on the leaf. I didn’t know if his life was ended? He was born merely that morning. Butterflies live so short. If I could only turn back the clock.
There is a real extraordinary moving document – Polishfilm ‘Holocaust – a music memorial from Auschwitz’ (2005).
For the first time since permission was granted for music to be heard in Auschwitz and musicians were brought there to perform music for the film.
Orchestra Sinfonietta Cracovia conducted by John Axelrod played in Nazi camp Auschwitz (Oswiecim).
Soprano Isabel Bayrakdaraian (Armenian heritage born in Lebanon) sings the second part Symphony of Sorrowful Songs of Polish composer Gorecki.
It’s raining, dark and cold… Music and dramatic woman’s voice overwhelms us.
This second part of Symphony uses the words of a teenage girl, Helena Blazusiak, which she wrote on the wall of a Gestapo prison cell, to invoke the protection of the Virgin Mary.
Composer took an inscription etched on the wall of a cell of a Gestapo prison in Zakopane town, which lies at the foot of the Tatra mountains in southern Poland. The words of 18-year-old Helena,a highland girl prisoned on 25 September, 1944.
It read- O Mamo nie placz nie, Niebios Przeczysta Krolowo Ty zawsze wspieraj mnie
Oh Mamma do not cry, Immaculate Queen of Heaven support me always.
The composer recalled:
"I have to admit that I have always been irritated by grand words, by calls for revenge. Perhaps in the face of death I would shout out in this way. But the sentence I found is different, almost an apology or explanation for having got herself into such trouble, she is seeking comfort and support in simple, short but meaningful words. In prison, the whole wall was covered with inscriptions screaming out loud: 'I'm innocent', 'Murderers', 'Executioners', 'Free me', 'You have to save me' - it was all so loud, so banal.
Adults were writing this, while here it is an eighteen-year-old girl, almost a child.
And she is so different. She does not despair, does not cry, does not scream for revenge.
She does not think about herself; whether she deserves her fate or not. Instead, she only thinks about her mother: because it is her mother who will experience true despair. This inscription was something extraordinary. And it really fascinated me."
I was very touched when I ‘ve read it for the first time because my Grandfather died in the Nazi Prison in Lodz during The Second World War. Nazis burnt the prison on 17 January 1945, just two days before freedom. 1500 people were there. Only 25 saved their lives in this massacre. Every War is cruel. Words will not help.
But this girl, whom fate is unknown taught me special humility.
Gorecki has said of the work and he prefers to be viewed in a wider context:"Many of my family died in concentration camps. I had a grandfather who was in Dachau, an aunt in Auschwitz. You know how it is between Poles and Germans. But Bach was a German too, and Schubert, and Strauss. Everyone has his place on this little earth. That's all behind me. So the Third Symphony is not about war; it's not a Dies Irae; it's a normal Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.”
These are beautiful andthe most important words.
Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki
(born December 6, 1933 inSilesia, Poland) is a composer of contemporary classical music. Together with Krzysztof Penderecki and Wojciech Kilar created polish music avant-garde school and new direct in music – sonorism.....
The Sorrowful Songs are symphony in three parts composed by Henryk Górecki in 1976.
Symphony of Sorrowful Songs released to commemorate the memory of Poles lost during the Holocaust, became a worldwide commercial and critical success, selling more than a million copies.
The first and third movements are written from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, and the second movement from that of a child separated from a parent.
The second part is a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell during World War II According to the composer, "I wanted the second movement to be of a highland character, not in the sense of pure folklore, but the climate of Podhale.
I wanted the girl's monologue as if hummed … on the one hand almost unreal, on the other towering over the orchestra."
The third part is a Silesian folk song of mother searching for son killed in the Silesian uprisings (1921).
The Sorrowful Songs was used in many films including for example - Peter Weir’s Fearless and Julian Schnabel’s- Basquiat.
He died in an avalanche in 1909 on the slope of Maly Koscielec, too early, too young, tragically and so suddenly...after great succes of his work ...
Polish romantic composer and conductor, maybe the most important romantic creator of symphonic poems using thematic transformation. Love, death, joy and sorrow - everything in his masterpieces was very pure and moving.
The music of Karlowicz have a major place in the history of Polish music between Fryderyk Chopin and Karol Szymanowski.
Karlowicz was born in Wisznievo on 11 December 1876. His father was a Polish historian and musician. Mieczyslaw spent his childhood with his family in Lithuania. He went to schools in Heildelberg, Dresden and Warsaw providing general education.
He trained as a violinist and was taught by Jan Jakowski, Stanislaw Barcewicz. He studied composition too. He was simultaneously attending lectures in the history of music, history of philosophy, psychology and physics at the University of Berlin. Indeed, most of Karlowicz's twenty-two solo songs were composed between the end of 1895 and the end of 1896.
Karlowicz wrote a symphony - Revival and a wonderful, delightful Violin Concerto (in A major, opus 8). His works also contains Eternal Songs, Stanislaw and Anna Oswiecimowie and The Returning Waves. He also wrote a number of songs for voice and piano. Unfortunately, much of his small output was lost during The Second World War.
He was a strong supporter of the ‘Young Poland’ – very interesting, special artistic movement before the Second World War. He created new techniques in Polish orchestral music.
He was on the top neo-romantic movement in early twentieth century.
He devoted himself to symphonic poems and composed six symphonic poems (Opus 9-14). In 1906 he settled down in Zakopane (in the Tatras, in the south of Poland)
He joined the famous Tatra Society with his father Jan..
Karlowicz published reports from his trips. He was passionate mountaineer, a pioneer of climbing in The Tatra Mountains and a friend of the best guides in this mountains. He often climbed with Klimek Bachleda – the bravest, heroic, charismatic figure and a guide in Tatras.
He never stopped devoloping his abillity of climbing, his climbing routes were the most difficult.
Was it hobby? No..rather the way of life, like often for others...
He was a winter climbing forerunner in Poland, with a great experience.
Prefered lonely exploration of mountains. He had talent of orientation in difficult rocky environment and was one of the most prominent, outstanding climberers. He was a talented photographer. He lost three delightful photography albums.
He treated his lonely trips like a aesthetic feelings, and he often wrote about it in his diaries.
He created a harmony in his life – The Mountains were the main aim for him, never vying with his musical work, but supporting his music-writting.
Together with Mariusz Zaruski, he was a one of the authors of the idea of establishment of The Rescue Service in Tatra.
The concert at the Warsaw Philharmonic in February in 1909 was a full success. The vehement opponent of everything new, always at odds with Karlowicz's music, called the ETERNAL SONGS no less than a "precious musical gem shining like a rainbow".
On 8th February 1909, Karlowicz went for his very last trip to the mountains. Beloved but extremely dangerous, during wintertime.
Went there for solitude..peace and quiet after musical success, happy and relieved. He was caught by the avalanche under Maly Koscielec.
No one knew what happened. His great friend Zaruski, went to search of him, suspecting something was wrong cause Karlowicz didn’t come back. Zaruski found the place of the tragedy, but then wasn’t sure if his friend is underneath or not. He couldn’t believe it..didn’t want to believe it, but worst thoughts were returning to his mind, beacause the avalache was fresh and skis marks were visible. Kneeling, he listened and knocked on the masses of snow, helplessly trying to find his friend. It was a nightmarish night for Mariusz Zaruski. He waited sleepless till morning, almost loosing his senses in desperation, waiting.
Karlowicz was found under the avalanche few hours later by the special expedition from Zakopane Town.He was a well known public figure and his death distressed the general public. It was one of the main reasons of establishing The Rescue Tatra Mountain Service. On October 29, 1909 Governor’s Office in Lvov approved TOPR (The Tatra Mountain Rescue Service)
Polish TOPR was the fourth rescue service in the world (Austria – 1895, France- 1897, Switzerland – 1902)
Mariusz Zaruski was the first to head The Rescue Brigade and Klimek Bachleda was his deputy. During the war many rescuers died either in battle, in camps, or while performing courier mission.
Mieczyslaw Karlowicz died from mountain caprice... But it seems he reached life spiritual fulness and his music graces the the biggest concert halls all over the world..
2009 was his celebration year in Poland.
Selected works:
• O, NIE WIERZ / OH, DON'T BELIEVE, song for voice and piano (1892)
• Z NOWA WIOSNA / WITH THE NEW SPRING, song for voice and piano(1895)
• CZASEM, GDY DLUGO NA POL SENNIE MARZE / SOMETIMES, WHEN I DREAM..., song for voice and piano (1895)
• SZESC PIESNI OP. 1 / SIX SONGS OP. 1 for voice and piano (1895-96)
• RDZAWE LISCIE STRZASA Z DRZEW / RUST-COLOURED LEAVES..., song for voice and piano (1896)
• 10 PIESNI OP. 3V NA GLOS I FORTEPIAN / 10 SONGS OP. 3V FOR VOICE AND PIANO (1896)
• SERENADA OP. 2 / SERENADE OP. 2 for string orchestra (1897)
• NAJPIEKNIEJSZE PIOSENKI OP. 4 / THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONGS OP. 4 for voice and piano (1898)
• POD JAWOREM / UNDER THE SYCAMORE, song for voice and piano (1898)
• BIANCA DA MOLENA op. 6, music to the WHITE DOVE, symphonic prologue and intermezzo for orchestra (1900)
• SYMFONIA e-moll OP. 7 "ODRODZENIE" / SYMPHONY IN E-MINOR OP. 7 "RENAISSANCE" (Revival) (1902)
• NA ANIOL PANSKI / THE ANGELUS, for reciting voice and piano (1902)
• KONCERT SKRZYPCOWY A-DUR OP. 8 / VIOLIN CONCERTO IN A-MAJOR OP. 8 (1902)
• POWRACAJACE FALE OP. 9 / THE RETURNING WAVES OP. 9, symphonic poem for orchestra (1904)
• ODWIECZNE PIESNI OP. 10 / ETERNAL SONGS OP. 10, symphonic poem (1906)
• RAPSODIA LITEWSKA OP. 11, / LITHUANIAN RHAPSODY OP. 11, symphonic poem (1906)
• STANISLAW I ANNA OSWIECIMOWIE OP. 12, symphonic poem (1906)
• SMUTNA OPOWIESC OP. 13, / THE SORROWFUL TALE OP. 13, symphonic poem (1908)
• EPIZOD NA MASKARADZIE OP. 14 / EPISODE AT A MASQUERADE OP. 14, symphonic poem completed by Grzegorz Fitelberg. (1908-09)
