On 5 September 2020, the Pomeranian Music Society in Toruń held an online concert during which the Fantasia on a rafting song, written by several Polish composers, was premiered via Facebook Event.
The Raftsman’s Song, an old folk melody popular at the beginning of the 20th century, used to sound in the form of chanting from the Toruń town hall tower. Six composers born in Toruń were invited to create their version of a Fantasia on the rafting song: Magdalena Cynk, Ewa Fabiańska-Jelińska, Rafał Kłoczko, Michał Ossowski, Jędrzej Roch Rochecki and Mateusz Ryczek. Each of them wrote one variation on the old song, intended for one performer.
Artists associated with the Toruń Symphony Orchestra—Robert Matusiak, piano; Monika Skruszewicz, violin; Mateusz Szwankowski, clarinet; Paulino Taica Frias, trombone; Michał Tyrański, trumpet and Marta Wroniszewska, viola—recorded their performances of each of the miniatures, then all parts were assembled into one piece. The live broadcast, during which the Fantasia was presented, were combined with the composers’ statements.
The project “Fantasia on the rafting song – composition at a distance” was co-financed by the National Centre for Culture as part of the “Culture on the Web” program.
[Source: polmic.pl ]