"Szymanowski's songs are not exactly performed in concert or recorded on cd very often. The exotic cycle, Songs of the Fairy Tale Princess crops up occasionally, mainly in its orchestral transcriptions. On this new disc from Dux, Polish soprano Anna Mikolajczyk makes a communicative and beautfully sung rendition of two of Szymanowski's song cycles. The other cycle is called, Children's Rhymes which are settings of poems by Kazimiera Illakowiczowna. There are twenty songs in a cycle lasting just short of half an hour, none of the songs are long and the shortest last under a minute. The songs are not songs for children but songs about childhood and children. Her voice and phrasing give the songs their full meaning, even if you have a lack of knowledge of the Polish language Mikolajczyk is a communicative singer and I almost did not need to read the translations. The poems in Songs of the Fairy Tale Princess were written by the composer's sister, Zofia Szymanowska. The lyrics are not explicitly oriental or exotic but Szymanowski has overlain these with his own particular style of oriental exoticism. Mikolajczyk is well supported by pianist Edward Wolanin who performs Szymanowski's difficult piano part with ease. The disc includes an English introductory essay and texts in Polish and English. The booklet and CD folder have photographs of the soprano in an Art Nouveau period setting taken from the Museum of Mazovia in Plock. The CD is slightly short at 46 minutes and I wished that the performers had included more of Szymanowski's songs, but what they do give displays the composer in the best possible light. I highly recommend this cd for those interested in exploring some fascinating vocal music.
Track Listings (26) - Disc #1