#michał ogiński
Ogiński-Polonaise in a minor, “A Farewell to the Homeland” (unknown arrangement) (1794)
I’m not above using a Harry Potter reference, but remember when Hermione picked up that brick of a book and said she was doing some “light reading”? That’s how I feel carrying Alan Walker’s ~700 page biography “Fryderyk Chopin, A Life and Times” out of the library. The name Ogiński comes up in the early chapters on Chopin’s childhood compositions and performances. Prince Michał Ogiński was a diplomat, military leader, and national hero for late 18th/early 19th century Poland. He also composed polonaises for the piano, and this one “A Farewell to the Homeland” is the most popular. The impressionable Chopin was greatly influenced by this music. I was listening to this and struck by how much of a resemblance to his mature style is here…except this *isn’t* the original polonaise. I cannot find any information on this arrangement, but it is a lightly Chopin-ized version of the more simple original, with little ornamentations, modulations, and added voices. Unfortunately since this was my introduction to the piece, the original is somewhat disappointing (although, historically, more believable). Even with these post-Chopin elaborations, you can still hear the strong influence on Chopin’s style, and makes me wonder about the nature of a “piece” of music. Is this arrangement inauthentic for trying to recreate Chopin’s style? Or is it a loving performance of a traditional polonaise that tries to retroactively translate it into Chopin’s style because he defines the idiom of 19th century polonaise? It is a shame that I can’t find more information on who arranged this, and makes me think of a downside to the Internet where so much information is shared but can easily be severed from its source and be left to float around as a digital mystery. As far as I can tell, this youtube video is the only evidence of this arrangement existing. If anyone knows more, please reach out to me! The polonaise opens with a melancholic melody, and the phrase ends with a gorgeous sighing cadence. We jump up the keyboard a bit into a B section that features a very flashy, more Lisztian cadenza that even evokes cimbalom mallets. The trio is charming, bright, and more classical. It continues its homage to Chopin’s style by recreating military fanfare. I am disappointed that I’ve fallen in love with this obscure rendition of the work, where there are no other recordings and where it wrongfully presents itself as the 1794 Ogiński original. But at least this arrangement is its own act of composition, even while being derivative of Chopin’s ‘juvenile’ style (which despite using this word, is nowhere near “juvenile” in its musical brilliance).
