Polish organ music inspired by church songs in the Catholic liturgy, part I
The knowledge of organ literature devoted to native composers leaves much to be
desired. If they even perform solo organ music at liturgy, contemporary church organists
often reach for the works of grand European masters, forgetting about the Polish reservoir
of sacral pieces. An old proverb “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence” is an
accurate description of the state of knowledge of young (and the older) organists on Pol -ish organ music.
Why is therefore Polish sacral organ literature so important for the contemporary
church musician? Most importantly because, in the Roman Catholic church liturgy,
“compositions based on church songs shall (i.e. are) desirable”
1
.
As early as in the 16
th
century, church song was used by the Polish composers as the
melodic material for the organ pieces they composed. The first church compositions were
created through adapting vocal pieces to the purposes of key music. Some of the most
prominent examples include e.g. 16
th
-century Polish music monuments – John of Lublin
Tabulator of 1540, The Saint Ghost Monastery Tabulator of 1548 and the Warsaw Music
Society Tabulator from approx. 1580. The turn of the 18
th
and the 19
th
century in Europe
and in Poland displays a secularization of organ music, influenced by the spread of the
Naples school. Secular and opera elements influence church music, which gradually de-velops utilitarian properties.
It is worth to remember that the Polish religious oeuvre is the contribution of Pol-ish organists-virtuosos, often great improvisers, with extensive professional practice. The
first creators of this literature were church organists, active on many a musical platform,
composers, organizers of music life and university professors. This family of authors
includes: Władysław Żeleński, Stefan Surzyński, Mieczysław Surzyński, Feliks Nowow -iejski, Walenty Dec, Wincenty Rychling, Kazimierz Garbusiński, Feliks Rączkowski,
Józef Furmanik, as well as the following priests: Gustaw Roguski, Józef Surzyński, Fran -ciszek Walczyński, Antoni Chlondowski, or Idzi Ogierman-Mański. Also contemporary
organists, such as Marian Sawa, Tadeusz Machl, or Jan Janca have been composing in
this spirit.
The author of this publication attempts at presenting the Polish organ music oeu-vre, to be applied in the Roman Catholic church liturgy. Performing a division into
applied music (as presented in the 1
st
part of the article) and concert music, the artist
is aware that “we cannot make a precise classification into applied music (both didactic and church music) and concert music, since applied pieces contain numerous elabo -rate forms with grand artistic ambitions, played both in church and in the concert
room”.
Due to the specific character and sometimes not the top-notch artistic rank, organ
music surely has as many advocates as it has opponents. Most of all, it will surely be found
useful by church musicians who are less advanced in organ play and the art of improvi -sation, who seek support in the form of short, non-complex pieces applied in the post-council Roman Catholic liturgy.