Agata Zubel, together with the musicians of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maciej Tomasiewicz, turns here to fascinating repertoire that is rarely performed. Three Dawn Rituals is a work by James MacMillan from the period before the Scottish composer came to prominence with his spiritual sacred works. This is a composition for chamber ensemble, with the use of prepared piano and Javanese scales. During the 1970s, György Kurtág was interested in Russian literature. He was most strongly inspired by the work of the poetess Rimma Dalos. In her short poems, he found a similar ability to condense content into a succinct form as in the output of his musical idol, Anton Webern. Scenes from a Novel is a cycle of fifteen miniature pieces – confessions of a woman unhappily in love. The Danish composer Anders Koppel has written music for films, ballets and musicals, as well as classical output. His 7 Scenes from Everyday Cow Life for chamber ensemble consists of short witty pieces somewhat reminiscent of cartoon music. Luciano Berio’s cycle of Folk Songs was written in 1964 with his then wife, the avant-garde prima donna Cathy Berberian, in mind. The Italian composer wrote it – so he declared – out of admiration for his wife’s vocal artistry. The cycle includes his own arrangements of songs from America (two), Armenia, France, Sicily, Sardinia (one each) and the Auvergne (two), enhanced with two youthful songs by the composer to traditional folk texts.

Dorota Szwarcman