Niemen Czesław, actually Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki, *16 February 1939 Wasyliszki Stare (near Nowogródek, now Belarus), †17 January 2004 Warsaw, Polish vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, authors of songs, and graphic artist. He came into contact with music in his family home, as his father was an instrument tuner. In 1954, he studied at the pedagogical music high school in Grodno; later, at the State Music School in Gdańsk from 1958. He made his debut in the To Tu cabaret in Gdańsk in 1961, his first success was in 1962 at the Young Talents Festival in Szczecin. At that time, he performed South American repertoire, with Malagueña and Adieu Tristesse at the forefront. In 1962–65, he collaborated with the Niebiesko-Czarni band, with which he made his first phonographic recordings (Lekcja twista, 1962), gave a recital at the Olympia in Paris (1963) and performed in Warsaw with Marlena Dietrich (1964). His repertoire gradually changed. After recordings inspired by Polish folklore (Głęboka studzienka; Mamo, nasza mamo) and foreign hits (Lekcja twista, Tylko nie mów mi o tym), original compositions by Niemen himself appeared (Wiem, że nie wrócisz). The most popular at that time were the bossa nova Pod papugami (music by M. Święcicki, lyrics by B. Choiński and J. Gałkowski) and the melodic Sen o Warszawie (music by Niemen, lyrics by M. Gaszyński). In 1966, Niemen founded the group Akwarele. Much controversy was stirred up by both the music and the colourful, hippie costumes of the instrumentalists. Niemen’s composition and expressive way of interpretation were inspired by contemporary soul music at that time. The dramatic and bitter composition Dziwny jest ten świat won the main prize at the 5th National Festival of Polish Song in Opole (1967), and the album Dziwny jest ten świat was honoured (for the first time in the history of Polish phonography) with the title of “golden record” (1968). In addition to the title composition, Wspomnienie (music by M. Sart, lyrics by J. Tuwim) also enjoyed great success. In 1968, Niemen received the prestigious award from the magazine “Billboard” and a distinction at MIDEM in Cannes. The artist’s originality consisted in combining the singing tradition of black performers (Płonąca stodoła, Baw się w ciuciubabkę) with the experience of Italian bel canto (Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz, Klęcząc przed tobą), Slavic folk song (Włóczęga) and the Orient (Allilah). After recording the albums Sukces and Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz with Akwarele, Niemen formed the Niemen Enigmatic band in 1969 (including T. Jaśkiewicz – guitar, Z. Namysłowski – saxophone, J. Mikuła – organ and Cz. Bartkowski – drums). The next three albums, signed only with the band’s name, contained rock music to poetic pieces by C.K. Norwid (Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod; Italiam, Italiam), A. Asnyk (Jednego serca) and K. Przerwa-Tetmajer (Mów do mnie jeszcze). Traditional songs were replaced by extended compositions inspired by contemporary jazz, avant-garde rock and classical music. Gradually, an image of a musician was created: a perfectionist and a programmatic nonconformist performing in black.
Niemen’s subsequent formations (Grupa Niemen in 1971–74, Aerolit in 1974–75 and Idée Fixe in 1975–79) followed the path set by the rock avant-garde. Niemen’s new albums were also released in Italy, Germany (Russische Lieder in 1973, a collection of Russian folk songs) and Great Britain. In the following years, Niemen’s work was dominated by experiments with atonality and the sound of electronic instruments (Katharsis from 1975 – the first album in Poland with synthesiser music). From the mid-1970s, Niemen limited his concert performances and collaborations with other musicians, concentrating on self-recorded background music for films and theatre performances. In 1972, Niemen’s compositions were used in the television film Dziewczyny do wzięca (directed by J. Kondratiuk), and in 1973, Niemen appeared in the film Wesele (directed by A. Wajda). He also wrote music for the following theatre productions: Burza (directed by B. Hanaoka), Galatea (directed by B. Głuszczak), Bracia Karamazow (directed by A. Hanuszkiewicz), Hamlet (directed by J. Machulski), Eryk XIV (directed by J. Gruza), Teraz na ciebie zagłada (directed by T. Kijański), Elektra (directed by P. Chołodziński), Król umiera (directed by J. Czarnecki), as well as for the following television plays and series: Kronika polska Galla Anonima (directed by G. Królikiewicz, 1977), Rodzina Leśniewskich (directed by J. Łęski, 1978). Niemen also composed music for films, including: Sobie król (dir. J. Łęski, 1973), Ciąg dalszy nastąpi (dir. P. Kędzierski, 1976), Zofia (dir. R. Czekała, 1976), Zapach ziemi (dir. D. Jovanović, 1978), Polonia Restituta (dir. B. Poręba, 1981), Szarża, czyli przypomnienie kanonu (dir. K. Wojciechowski, 1981), Karabiny (dir. W. Podgórski, 1982) and Na tropach Bartka (dir. J. Łęski, 1984). Subsequent albums: Katharsis from 1977, Niemen Aerolit. Idée Fixe from 1977 (extended pieces performed on various electronic instruments), and Postscriptum from 1980 (with the composition Nim przyjdzie wiosna awarded in 1979 at the 19th Sopot Song Festival). In 1993, Niemen celebrated the 30th anniversary of his stage work. In 1995, he released a retrospective album Sen o Warszawie. In the 1990s, he joined the flood relief campaign, participating in the recording of the single Moja i twoja nadzieja (Moja i twoja nadzieja, 1997), and took part in the recording of Osiem błogosławieństw dedicated to Pope John Paul II (1999). In 2001, he recorded the album Spodchmurykapelusza. Niemen’s works were collected in the publications: Od początku (2002) and Od początku II (2003).
Literature: M. Sewen Czesław Niemen, Kraków 1972, 2nd ed. 1973.
