Muzyka

Hidden Content in Fryderyk Chopin’s ‘Sonata in B Flat Minor’, Op. 35: Existing Hypotheses and New Research Questions

Grzegorz Zieziula — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

As my point of departure, I present an overview of selected Chopin studies that discuss hidden meanings in Fryderyk Chopin’s Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35. I have devoted special attention to the findings of Jeffrey Kallberg, who proposed a new look at the March (the Sonata’s third movement). I have attempted to expand on Kallberg’s study by pointing to musical allusions in the Sonata, Op. 35 previously unnoticed by scholars; namely, references to the 1816 ‘Anthem’ of the Kingdom of Poland (music by Jan Nepomucen Kaszewski, words by Alojzy Feliński), also known as the National song to the king’s prosperity or Prayer, and to Napoleonic marches popular during the period in question.

Vilnius Between the 1830–31 and 1863 Uprisings as Viewed From the Perspective of the Piano’s Social Biography: Centre or Periphery?

Michał Bruliński — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This article represents an attempt to fill the gap in research into the phenomenon of the piano in Vilnius between 1831 and 1863, and to place that city on the piano map of Polish territories in the context of the centre vs peripheries dichotomy. The author has conducted press research (Kurier Litewski, Kurier Wileński) in order to study the processes linked to the piano’s commodification on the Vilnius market, focusing on the manufacturing of instruments, their distribution and their functions in local culture. The Vilnius piano networks are also researched on the basis of Stanisław Moniuszko’s correspondence.

Vernacular Contrafacta in the Leuven Chansonnier? Caron’s ‘Helas’ and the Anonymous ‘Aime qui vouldra’

Ryan O'Sullivan — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

Chanson scholarship often distrusts fifteenth-century Italian or Central European sources that transmit contrafacta, whereas manuscripts from France or the Low Countries enjoy higher status because their texts are presumed authentic. I counter this imbalance by applying the critical scrutiny usually reserved for peripheral sources to a central source, the Leuven Chansonnier. Despite all its chanson texts initially appearing to be authentic, I argue that two are probably contrafacta: Firminus Caron’s Helas que pourra devenir and the anonymous Aime qui vouldra.

An Unknown Letter of Paul Siefert and his Activities until 1611

Marcin Szelest — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The article presents a hitherto unknown letter of Paul Siefert, written in Amsterdam in December 1608. Based on its contents and other source documentation, a timeline of Siefert’s activities up to 1611 has been detailed, including the events surrounding the competition for the post of organist of St. Mary’s Church in Gdańsk. The study concludes with hypotheses concerning the composer’s education before 1607.

A Family’s Musical Traditions: On the Sons of Wacław Raszek

Jolanta Bujas-Poniatowska — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This article presents fragmentarily preserved information concerning two sons of the musician and composer Wacław Raszek (1764–1837). His elder son, Ludwik Wacław (1816–44), probably received his musical education in Warsaw. In the 1830s he worked as a chorister and a pianist and wrote several dances, one of which survives in print. His budding career was ended by illness, which led to his death at the age of just twenty-eight. Concerning the musical links of the younger son, Adam (1824–43), we know only that he advertised his services as a piano tuner. This fragmentary knowledge makes it possible to outline the career history of the younger generation of the Raszek family.

A Different Take on the Neapolitan School in Guido Olivieri’s Monograph ‘String Virtuosi in Eighteenth-Century Naples’

Piotr Wilk — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

This article reviews monograph book published by Cambridge University Press (2024), dedicated to a hitherto neglected area of research, namely the instrumental works of the so-called Neapolitan School. Guido Olivieri’s publication is the result of 30 years of his pioneering work, based on sources overlooked and inaccessible to researchers outside the Neapolitan milieu. The author brings to light an unjustly forgotten repertoire and figures who enjoyed fame in their homeland and influenced European music of the 18th century. He reveals the impact of political events on Naples’ musical output and the careers of its instrumentalists.

The Warsaw Operatic Stage in the Enlightenment Europe. On the Anna Parkitna’s ‘Opera in Warsaw’

Jakub Chachulski — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The operatic life of Enlightenment-era Warsaw has long been one of the classic fields of research in both Polish theatre history and musicology. Anna Parkitna’s book is the first attempt to present the history of foreign and Polish operatic enterprises in Stanislavian Warsaw to an English-language readership. The innovative aspects of the author’s narrative lie in her reframing of well-known facts by focusing on Warsaw as part of a transnational opera network, as well as in her efforts to define the socio-political significance of foreign opera performances in late 18th-century Warsaw.

Sigismund III’s Musicians at the Time of Zebrzydowski Rebellion

Barbara Przybyszewska-Jarmińska, Leszek Jarmiński — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200

The handwritten royal court treasury revenue and expenditure ledger of 1606–07, previously not studied in the context of Sigismund III’s music ensemble, mostly contains data concerning the travels undertaken by the king and his retinue during the Zebrzydowski Rebellion. The ledger lists musicians to whom horses and carters were assigned in connection with the royal retinue’s journeys, and also, more rarely, expenditure on salaries and maintenance. The surnames or first names of some of the Polish and Italian instrumentalists and singers are given, as well as probably all the trumpeters and drummers employed by the king in those years.