ABSTRACT
Andrzej Panufnik’s death left not only his family but also the musical worlds of Great Britain and Poland in mourning for the passing of one of the most distinguished composers of the twentieth century. There is no doubt that he was an active contributor to the culture of both countries, though he never ceased to be a Polish composer. This particular sense of belonging was something that Panufnik emphasised frequently in interviews – though most of all it is his music that bears witness to his strong ties with Poland and its legacy. While still in Poland, Panufnik wrote works that draw from the folklore of the regions around the Vistula River (Five Polish Peasant Songs, Sinfonia Rustica, Ĺullaby) as well as from fragments of Polish music from previous epochs (Divertimento, Old Polish Suite, Concerto in Modo Antico). These same elements and references are also visible in his music after his migration to the UK, especially in its initial period. The Rhapsody, Polonia and most of all Sinfonia Sacra are expressions of this homage to Poland and its traditions, which formed him as an individual and artist. Later Panufnik would move towards abstract geometrical constructions (Sinfonia di Sfere, Sinfonia Mistica, Metasinfonia) before returning at the beginning of the 1980s to Polish themes. This time he wanted to take the side of freedom and democracy, expressed in particular in the dedications of the Sinfonia Votiva and the Bassoon Concerto. In this period there is now a lack of direct references to Polish folk music, although often there appears a mood typical of Polish nostalgia or melancholy, as well as a liveliness of themes from folk dances (e.g. Cello Concerto, Bassoon Concerto, String Quartet No. 3 ‘Wycinanki’). It should be added that the composer’s attachment to Poland was also emphasised by his references to some political events strongly connected with his homeland, as in Katyń Epitaph, Sinfonia Votiva or the Bassoon Concerto. Also, some of his works dedicated to Polish history, such as Sinfonia Sacra with its references to Catholicism and its power in Polish tradition, were in fact politically incorrect according to the policy of the Communist government in Poland and can be clearly seen as exemplifications of Panufnik’s faith in his native country.
