Peszek and Wąsik play Kochanowski's “Song of the Summer Night”

A unique project, combining a masterpiece of Polish literature of the Renaissance era with the sensitivity of two exceptional artists — singer and performer Maria Peszek and pianist and composer Bartek Wąsik. Jan Kochanowski's work “Piëśń Świętojańska o Sobótka”, united their sensibilities, gaining a new, colorful and very surprising interpretation.

Although Peszek and Wąsik speak in one voice, their accurate reading of the “Song” resonates with polyphony and the infinite possibilities offered by the human voice and the piano. In addition to the traditional singing, you can hear the imitation of the sounds of the natural world, but also the emotions that the original text carries. The piano also sounds here in a classic and non-standard way, taking advantage of the possibilities offered by its construction (preparation and extended techniques). This extraordinary dialogue serves to convey the fantasy of the only such night, which for centuries was revered as a Saturday night, during which the real world mixed with the world of spirits and unusual beings present in Slavic mythology.

Maria Peszek and Bartek Wąsik created twelve new compositions, giving the original text in its entirety. In Kochanowski's Twelve Ladies, the Twelve Ladies touch on a variety of topics, from celebration after work, praise of dance, love, but also the denial of hunting or war. Despite the 440 years that will elapse in 2026 since the first edition of the work, his text seems to be very timely. This is one of its many advantages, which attracted the interest of Peszek and Wąsik — artists in whose work such themes are present.

In the poem preceding “Song”, the author suggested that the piece be performed live in front of the audience, during the celebration of Sobótka (also known as the Night of Kupala), between sunset and sunrise. In the last part of the Song, the famous words “peaceful village, happy village...” fall.

For centuries, literature has searched for the myth of a happy, idealized land, sometimes understood as Eden or Arcadia. In this myth, the longing for such a place where man can find perfection and happiness was expressed. Following Jan Kochanowski and the unique, new elaboration of his work, which was created by Maria Peszek and Bartek Wąsik, any space can become such a place where their interpretation can resonate.