Feliks Nowowiejski - Psalm 136 (137): "Ojczyzna" Op. 36

Performance: Warsaw Philharmonic Choir Choir Director: Bartosz Michałowski Organist: Jakub Pankowiak Neliks Nowowiejski (1877-1946) was a Polish composer born in Barczewo (then Wartenburg). He was a prolific composer who, like Noskowski, faced censorship in his composition. Nowowiejski, however, was much more overt in his Polish patriotism. His composition "Rota" directly protested the Germanization of Poland by taking a patriotic poem and setting it to music. His direct Polish patriotism led to a boycott by the German public, after which his relevancy in Germany quickly dissolved. After the war, He appeared at the East Prussian Plebiscite as a pro-Polish speaker. This piece was written in 1902, and it uses the text written by King David in exile and translated by Jan Kochanowski. The text was slightly altered (though in keeping with the same spirit) to reflect a greater emphasis on homeland. The Psalm takes place after Nebuchadnezzar II sieged Jerusalem in 597 BC and forced its inhabitants to Babylonia to be held captive. It is there that King David laments the loss of his homeland, promises never to forget her, and prophesizes wrath to be taken against her captors. Surely enough, the Babylonian Empire fell in 539 BC. The context of this Psalm makes it incredibly rich in describing the desperate feelings of the Poles after the Final Partition in 1795. It laments the partitions, exhorts the Poles to never forget their homeland, and promises vengeance upon its occupiers. This piece focuses on the exhortation never to forget the captive homeland. Tekst Jeżeli cię zapomnę Jeruzalem, Jeruzalem, ojczyzno moja Niechaj zapomnia będzie prawica moja Niechaj przyschnie Język do podniebienia mego Jeślibym ciebie nie kładł na czele wesela mego Ojczyzno moje, Ojczyzno moje, Jeruzalem! Ojczyzno ma! Text If I forget you, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, my fatherland Let my right hand forget [its cunning] Let my tongue dry up on the roof of my mouth If I would not put you at the head of my joy My fatherland, My fatherland, Jerusalem! Fatherland of mine! KJV: https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/... Jan Kochanowski's translation of the Psalter: https://polona.pl/item/psalterz-dawid... Original video:    • Feliks Nowowiejski - "Ojczyzna" (Warsaw Ph...   Sheet Music: https://polona.pl/item/psalm-136-ojcz... Side note: the edition in the link is different than the one used in the performance. It is mostly the same, but some organ parts may appear differently.