Kurpie Songs for mixed choir
Kurpie Songs for mixed choir is a cycle comprising four songs: “Nie mój ogródusek”, “A cemu”, “Powolniak” and “Kozak kurpiowski”. The composition was most likely inspired by Karol Szymanowski’s Kurpie Songs. In creating their own musical material both composers used the same folk original, Władysław Skierkowski’s collection Puszcza kurpiowska w pieśni, a book which popularised […]
Matinata for string trio
Matinata is Maciejewski’s only composition for string trio. It was written most likely in 1948 as a birthday present for Adler Adlerbert, an uncle of Maciejewski’s wife in whose house the newlyweds lived. The composition, part of a neoclassical strand in Maciejewski’s oeuvre, consists of three movements (linked attacca): Nightshadows, Song at Sunrise and The […]
Spanish Suite for two guitars
The circumstances of the writing of the Spanish Suite for two guitars are not known. According to one hypothesis, the composition has its sources in the incidental music to the play Palabras divinas (Divine Words, Guds ord På Landet) by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, presented at Göteborg’s Municipal Theatre in a production directed by Ingmar […]
The Mass of Resurrection
Although we can find several religious choral works in Maciejewski’s catalogue, The Mass of Resurrection, written in 1967, is a unique composition in this group. This is because of its artistic quality (it uses a more complex musical language than e.g. Missa Brevis) and external motivation – the death of Roman Maciejewski’s father. The mass, […]
The Songs of Bilitis
The three Songs of Bilitis (no. 1: “The Panpipes”, no. 2: “The Tomb of Bilitis”, no. 3: “Memory of Mnasidika”) to words by Pierre Louÿs translated by Leopold Staff for soprano and piano were written most likely in 1932; their orchestral version originated in 1935. Unfortunately, the original version for piano got lost and the […]
Triptych for piano
Triptych for piano, dated 1932, is one of Roman Maciejewski’s first surviving and published works. It consists of the following movements: Preludium (Allegro), Intermezzo (Adagio), Fuga (Allegro ma non troppo). The titles suggest that the composer draws on various conventions in the piece, particularly on the Baroque tradition. And this indeed is the case: the […]
Lullaby for piano
Maciejewski was fond of lullabies, perhaps because his Lullaby for piano dedicated to his mother was one of his first, youthful compositions. While staying at Dartington Hall he wrote another lullaby, for two pianos (1938) and later arranged it for chamber ensemble and orchestra. Maciejewski’s Lullaby for piano and orchestra is an example of a […]
Allegro concertante for piano and orchestra
During his first stay in Sweden, shortly after his recovery Maciejewski composed a single-movement Allegro concertante for piano and symphony orchestra. This was possible thanks to a scholarship he received from the Polish National Culture Fund. A piece for a large instrumental line-up was unusual for the composer, but thanks to this composition we can learn […]
Concerto for Two Pianos
Concerto for Two Pianos is an underappreciated and little-known piece by Roman Maciejewski written in the 1930s during the composer’s stay in Paris on a scholarship. Initially divided into four movements, it was modified in the 1980s and today consists of three movements: Allegro, Corale and Fuga e Variazioni. In addition, the title of the […]
Quintet for wind instruments
Maciejewski’s Quintet for wind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn) was commissioned by American instrumentalists and was premiered in Los Angeles in 1971. Although it is a single-movement piece, it comprises 15 sections (from A to O) and is over 30 minutes long. It is an interesting item in Maciejewski’s oeuvre given its […]