Joanna Wnuk-Nazarowa

Girl

The work A Girl for oboe and 12-part mixed chir was written in 2022 to commemorate the bicentenary of the first edition of Adam Mickiewicz's Ballass and Romances, which conventionally mark the beginning of Polish romanticism. This composition uses the whole text of the ballad, including the recurring refrain, thereby preserving the form and tenets of the genre. The 12-part choir corresponds to the twelve brothers-the protagonists of the ballad - and the soloistically treated oboe part is heard from offstage, like the voice of the titular girl coming from behind the wall. The phrases of the oboe's meody are based on a twelve-note series subjuted to modification. The whole story is presented be the choir, byt the "final word" belongs to the sounds from offstage, symbolising the"girl"