ABSTRACT
In Szymanowski’s output, choral music is found in the following works (in chronological order): the Third Symphony, Op. 27; the cantatas Demeter, Op. 37bis and Agave, Op. 38; the opera Król Roger, Op. 46; the Stabat Mater, Op. 53; the Sześć pieśni ludowych (kurpiowskie) [Six Kurpian Songs] for a cappella chorus (without opus number); the ballet Harnasie, Op. 55; the Veni Creator, Op. 57; and the Litania do Marii Panny [Litany to the Virgin Mary], Op. 59 (given the particular nature of the operetta Lottery for Husbands, its ensemble numbers need not be discussed here). The breadth of genres represented in these works is striking: a choral symphony, two cantatas, an opera, an oratorio, a cycle of songs for a cappella chorus, a ballet and a large-scale hymn for choir and orchestra [see Oratorios and Cantatas]. Leaving aside Agave, Op. 38, which is an unfinished project, this article focuses on the different choral textures found in these works and, more broadly, on the meaning of choral music within Szymanowski’s aesthetic outlook, and on its patriotic and religious underpinnings.
