Tuesday, December 04, 2007

One last word on Piotr Rubik

One last word on Piotr Rubik: if the man doesn't become the next Chopin, then there is no justice in the world.

Since my last post on the subject, I have also heard his follow-up Oratorio to Tu Es Petrus, Psalterz Wrzesniowy, "September Book of Psalms." The oratorio takes on the themes of Faith, Hope and Love, with a few songs about the Angels thrown in for good measure. Each song follows the theme of one of the Psalms, weaving it into a cohesive musical experience. It's hard to describe, but imagine if you took any number of pop songs, set them to an orchestra and tweaked them just so, so as to make them into quasi-classical, religiously-themed semi-pop songs. Add an overarching thread to link them all together and you have Piotr Rubik's Psalterz Wrzesniowy. (This is not so true for the first four songs as for the rest; you'll see what I mean once you hit Psalm z Krakowem.)

Enjoy! My favourites are marked with asterisks, and most of the titles are translated with a small comment by me.

Psalterz Wrzesniowy (September Psalter)

· Prolog

o Psalm Apokaliptyczny (Psalm of the Apocalypse: imagine Rome burning while Nero fiddles)

· Część I - Psalmy Wiary (Psalms of Faith)

o Psalm apostolski (Psalm of the Apostles)

o Psalm Adama i Ewy (Psalm of Adam and Eve)

o Psalm Abrahama (Psalm of Abraham: wonderfully Jewish)

o Psalm Mojżeszowy * (Psalm of Moses: beautiful.)

INTERMEZZO WOLNOŚCI

· Część II - Psalmy Aniołów (Psalms of the Angels)

o Psalm z Krakowem * (Psalm from Krakow: about the Resurrection; it's fun and joyous)

o Psalm zapatrzenia * (about the Annunciation)

o Psalm braci aniołów(Psalm of the Brother Angels)

o Psalm z aniołem stróżem (slow, brooding)

INTERMEZZO PRAGNIENIA

· Część III - Psalmy nadziei (Psalms of Hope)

o Psalm moich łez * (Psalm of My Tears: heart-wrenching)

o Psalm z krzakami czarnych jeżyn (Psalm in the Midst of Darkness)

o Psalm mojej nadziei * (Psalm of My Hope: beautiful.)

o Psalm wbrew rozpaczy * (Psalm Against Despair: cheerful & light: sorry for the crummy quality.)

EPITAFIUM

· Część IV - Psalmy Pragnienia (Psalms of Desire)

o Psalm z bukietem konwalii *(Psalm with a Bouquet of Lilies: a fun song. Alternative versions here and here.)

o Psalm z tańcowaniem (Psalm with Dancing)

o Psalm kochania * (Psalm of Lovers : see the music video here)

o Psalm dla Ciebie * (Psalm for You: music video here.)

· Epilog

o Psalm Apokaliptyczny

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is Justice in the world,
that is why you cannot say Rubik is the next Chopin.
Rubik is gifted like so many wannabes, he is most ceirtainly not the next Chopin.

Dave said...

I may have been hasty in characterizing Rubik as a Chopin. He does not write piano songs. He does not have a bizarre and depressing life story. But he is certainly original - who else is writing oratorios such as these? If anything, he's closer to an Andrew Lloyd Webber in the music he writes. Perhaps with longer legs, though - that tends to happen with religious music.

Anonymous said...

Far from a "wannabe" he may or may not be the next Chopin, only time can tell. That's wat seperates the two...music that transends time and has effected the world for centuries. Until that's answered, Rubik, is amazing! Truely unique and moving music. It is a shame that the US is so closed minded about artists from the rest of the world that he has got much visibility outside the Polish community in America.