It’s 6 December, the name day of Mikołaj [Nicholas] – do you know that this name was already popular in the 15th and 16th centuries? You can find a few Mikołajs from that time at the Polish Music Library, including Mikołaj z Radomia (the most established Polish composer of the 15th century), Mikołaj z Krakowa (organist active in the 1st half of the 16th century), Mikołaj z Chrzanowa (organist at the Wawel Cathedral from the 16th century). Among Mikołajs from Renaissance, there is Mikołaj Gomółka, author of Melodies for the Polish Psalter (Melodiae na Psałterz Polski) to words by Jan Kochanowski – one of the most valuable compositions in the Polish early music; and Mikołaj Zieleński, creator of the collections Offertoria… and Communiones…, which introduced completely new solutions in the rhetorics of the Polish music.
Therefore, the name Mikołaj turned out to be lucky for early composers. Nowadays, we can also admire the work of contemporary Mikołajs, with Henryk Mikołaj Górecki at the top of the list, whose Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs) became a world bestseller, reaching the top of the classical charts in the UK and the USA. Although the beginning of this incredible success was the recording by London Sinfonietta with soloist Dawn Upshaw (1992), the Polish premiere with Stefania Woytowicz in solo part (1977) is considered exemplary. Górecki’s work became an inspiration for his son and student, Mikołaj Górecki; echoes of Symphony No. 3 appear in, among others, Orpheus and Eurydice for orchestra, recorded in 2018 (with the composer at the piano), conducted by Jerzy Maksymiuk. Mikołaj Górecki’s work is said to remain faithful to tradition without seeking innovative means. This can be seen, for example, in Concerto for flute and orchestra, dedicated to the famous flautist Jadwiga Kotnowska, who later performed the work (13 years later, the composer dedicated to her also Concerto No. 2 for flute and orchestra). The dialogue with tradition is also undertaken in Divertimento for string orchestra and Concerto-Notturno for violin and string orchestra. Both Góreckis made references to early works, both in terms of music – Górecki-father in, among others, Old Polish Music for orchestra or Three Pieces in Old Style (influenced by Tadeusz Ochlewski’s opinion on the lack of melody in the composer’s works) – and text, as exemplified by the choral piece by Górecki-son My guest, sit under my leaf (Gościu, siądź pod mym liściem) to words by Kochanowski.
With best wishes for all Mikołajs (and Nicholases) – Fryderyk Chopin’s name day card for his father