ANA 031
FAMILY ALBUM
‘I made up my mind to go gaga for a few weeks and write some verse loosely based on the bios of my family members,’ explains Michał Rusinek, otherwise a serious and reputable literary scholar, translator, and writer. ‘My ancestors were apparently rather ordinary. Still, I am convinced that even a very ordinary family can be viewed from an unusual perspective. Every one of us has their eccentricities, as well as some adventures or anecdotes from their biographies to recount.’ These anecdotes added up to form the libretto of an opera, set to music by another extremely serious artist – the composer Jerzy Kornowicz, who is also an improvising pianist, educator, and music life organiser, director of the ‘Warsaw Autumn’ International Festival of Contemporary Music. He too, nevertheless, allowed himself to be guided by Rusinek’s text into the carefree, magical land of childhood. ‘Ours is a time in which we occupy several worlds at the same time. We are probably the least present in the real world since we have no clue what it is all about,’ says the composer of A FAMILY ALBUM. The music perfectly reflects this state. Singers Ewa Biegas and Jan Jakub Monowid are accompanied by AUKSO – Chamber Orchestra of the City of Tychy under Marek Moś.
[1] Overture
[2] Overture – TV channel hopping and gaming console
[3] The Album
[4] O, to my | Scene 1 / Part 2 – That’s us!
[5] Scene 1 / Part 3 – Sister
[6] Scene 2 / Part 1 – The Bathroom
[7] Scene 2 / Part 2 – The Snow Shovel
[8] Scene 3 / Part 1 – The Tenor
[9] Scene 3 / Part 2 – Grandpa
[10] Scene 4 / Part 1 – The Pianist
[11] Scene 4 / Part 2 – The Model
[12] Scene 5 – The Hasidim
[13] Scene 6 / Part 1 – The Female Pirate
[14] Scene 6 / Part 2 – The Tartar
[15] Scene 6 / Part 3 – The Enchantress
[16] Scene 7 – The Ape and Finale