Anna G. PiotrowskaWitold Lutosławski’s songs for children in the context of 20th century oeuvre of this genre

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Witold Lutosławski is one of those many prominent 20th century composers who decided to dedicate a number of his works to children. He composed over forty songs for children, most of them published during his lifetime. For over ten years – commencing in 1947, when the composer presented his first song for children – Lutosławski regularly composed these kinds of works. His songs very soon gained enormous popularity and were introduced to the Polish school cur-riculum1.

In this paper I propose to look at Lutosławski’s compositions for children in a broad cultural context and analyze these songs with reference to the role the so-called music for children played in the 20th century. First of all I would like to concentrate on the position of Lutosławski’s songs for children in the context of educational ideals focusing on the musical development of children postulated by Jaques-Dalcroze, Orff and Kodaly. Moreover, I intend to ponder on the issue of the place the songs for children by Lutosławski occupy in the context of the general 20th century tradition of composing music for children, as observed in the works by Stravinsky, Britten, Prokofiev or Poulenc, who also conceived a number of compositions especially for children. Thus I chose to compare Lutosławski’s songs for children with songs composed for children by Stravinsky.

20th century ideals of musical education

Although a child as a recipient of music has been recognized for a long time, and this issue has its own tradition in the history of human thought, the first holis-

1 see for example: Taniec (Dance; lyrics by Julian Tuwim), Wróbelek (Little sparrow, lyrics by Lucyna Krzemieniecka) in: Leokadia Jankowska, Danuta Wasilewska, Muzyka – klasa 3 (Music – Grade 3), Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, 1980, pp. 35, 54.

tic attempts to create educational systems aiming at shaping pro-musical attitudes among children appeared in the early 20th century. Various conceptions proposed at that time differed between themselves significantly with regards to the basic assumptions as well as realizations of them. One system preferred the expressive movement of the body linked with experiencing music, another exposed the role of body movement in correlation with the use of simple instruments, whereas the last one concentrated on the development of musical talent through singing. All these concepts greatly influenced the compositions conceived for children by the composers writing throughout the 20th century, affecting especially the choice of genres considered as preferable for children.

The first of the above-mentioned types of music education system is repre-sented by the method invented by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865–1950). One of its elements – so-called eurhythmics – tightly links the movement of the body with the visual representation of fundamental concepts of music such as rhythm, pitch, scale, tonality and other musical parameters2. Through the expression of the body children are taught to understand music: its dynamics, tempo, articulation, phras-ing or even the meaning of the musical composition. The exercises are aimed at developing children’s physical abilities as well as enabling them in mastering their own bodies when perceived as a kind of musical instrument.

This aspect of Dalcroze’s method, accenting the role of body movement, twenty years later inspired another composer working with music education. Carl Orff (1895–1982), who collaborated extensively with Dorothy Günther, suggested a new holistic system of music education emphasizing the role of the creative use of musical instruments. In this method, similar to Dalcroze’s, the body movement still played an important role, but was supported by the use of simple instruments, mainly consisting of percussion3. Orff alluded to the concept of syncretism of arts where music, dance and speech were unified and rudimentary forms of every-day activities were harnessed to create artistic, enjoyable, music-filled experiences. Both Orff ’s concepts and Dalcroze’s ideas found their ultimate realization in the number of musical plays composed for children in the 20th century, in which dance and movement were assigned the central role.

The third type of music education system was developed in the 1940s in Hun-gary by Zoltan Kodaly (1882–1967). The proposed method accented the role of singing in the process of shaping human musicality. The composer underlined the ability to understand music as a means of enriching a young child’s personal-ity, achieved preferably via intensive singing. Kodaly perceived music as a natural

2 see Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, Wybór pism (Selection of Writings), Warszawa, 1993; Zofia Burowska, Współczesne systemy wychowania muzycznego (Contemporary Systems of Musical Educa‑tion), Warszawa: WSiP, 1976, p. 21.

3 see Zofia Burowska, op. cit., p. 28.

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Witold Lutosławski Studies 1 (2007)

language enabling all people to express themselves4. The best instrument for that purpose seemed to be the human voice. Kodaly especially stressed the role of solo singing as well as singing in choirs5. He sought the sources of inspiration for sing-ing in his native folklore music. Many songs composed for children in the 20th century – directly or indirectly – refer to Kodaly’s concept and his achievements.

It is symptomatic that in the first half of the 20th century the composers them-selves became fully aware of the importance of educating children in the spirit of music. In the years 1928–1930 Karol Szymanowski6 wrote a small brochure entitled “The educational role of musical culture in society” where he explicitly addressed the problem of adequate music education, proving that the awareness of the respon-sibility connected with writing music for the purposes of educating young children was deeply rooted in Polish tradition. Szymanowski, in the above mentioned text, stated that “in today’s society music exercises much greater influence than litera-ture and fine arts, hence the inevitable necessity of drawing appropriate conclu-sions especially for individuals feeling a responsibility for the artistic development of the country”7. Although it is not certain whether Lutosławski read this text by Szymanowski, these statements may serve as explications of his own opinions8.

Another Polish composer, Augustyn Bloch, also composed songs for children which gradually became widely used by kindergarten teachers in their work with children and soon found their place in the repertoire of many Polish children. In his interviews the composer often expressed his care for the music education of children. He was very aware of the responsibility he was assuming while compos-ing for children, saying that any composer “writing for children is responsible for their sensitivity, the purity of their imagination. He shapes their tastes”9.

4 see Erzsebet Szőnyi, Zarys metody Kodaly’a (Kodaly’s Method‑introduction), transl. A. Słaboń, Katowice: Biblioteka Główna Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Muzycznej, 1979.

5 see Maria Kaciczak–Przychodzińska, Polskie koncepcje wychowania muzycznego (Polish Musical Education), Warszawa: WSiP, 1987, pp. 154–8. Zofia Burowska, Współczesne systemy wychowania muzycznego (Contemporary Systems of Musical Education), op. cit., p. 29.

6 Karol Szymanowski, ‘Wychowawcza rola kultury muzycznej w społeczeństwie’ (‘The Educational Role of Musical Culture in Society’), in: Pamiętnik Warszawski 8, November 1930, pp. 57–89; later published as a brochure, Warsaw 1931 by Towarzystwo Wydawnicze J. Mortkowicz, by PWM Edition Kraków, 1949 and in: Kwartalnik Muzyczny 10/11, 1931, pp. 129–56, and in: Karol Szymanowski . Pisma . Vol. 1: Pisma muzyczne. Zebrał i opracował Kornel Michałowski, Kraków: PWM Edition, 1984, pp. 264–92.

7 Karol Szymanowski, Wychowawcza rola kultury muzycznej w społeczeństwie (The Educa‑tional Role of Musical Culture in Society), Kraków: PWM Edition, 1949, p. 273.

8 Danuta Gwizdalanka, Krzysztof Meyer, Lutosławski . Droga do dojrzałości (Lutosławski. The Way to Maturity), Kraków: PWM, 2003, p. 97.

9 Ewa Solińska, W salonie muzycznym (In a Musical Parlour), Bydgoszcz Wydawnictwo Pomorze, 1986, p. 20.

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The growing social awareness of the role of music education resulted in the 20th century in creating institutions responsible for the musical development of children (e.g. under the UNESCO auspices in 1953 the International Society for Music Education, ISME, was established).

Traditions of composing for children

Many composers living in the 20th century made the decision to compose for children. Although in the 19th century music for children was still mostly associ-ated with pedagogical compositions, in the 20th century three prevailing trends can be distinguished. Apart from those already mentioned are (1) pedagogical literature, (2) musical plays for children, (3) songs for children.

(1) The 19th century witnessed a flourishing of pedagogical literature devoted to popular instruments, mainly the pianoforte, violin and cello. The pedagogical compositions were usually thought of as exercises for practising specific techni-cal problems and were addressed to young adepts playing a given instrument10. They were aimed at helping aspiring virtuosos, with special emphasis on so-called prodigy children. During the 19th century many exercise books appeared with col-lections of compositions called etudes, exercises, preludes, studies or caprices. The most popular authors of these were - among others - Clementi, Cramer, Czerny and Hummel11. With time, the need for pedagogical literature grew with a special demand for compositions addressed to amateurs and music lovers. Especially in the second half of the 19th century – as Irena Poniatowska writes – pedagogical literature “multiplied in number”12. In the 20th century this tradition continued and many composers still wrote pedagogical compositions. Lutosławski also authored a pedagogical composition – the purely instrumental Trzy utwory dla młodzieży (Three Pieces for the Young) consisting of Czteropalcówka, Melodia, Marsz (Four‑finger exercise, Melody, March) for solo piano. The composition was written in 1953 as the result of a commission from Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (PWM Edi-tion)13.

(2)The second genre willingly selected by the composers writing music for children in the 20th century was the musical play, which in its very essence referred to the concepts of Dalcroze and Orff by accenting the role of movement (linked

10 Irena Poniatowska, Muzyka fortepianowa i pianistyka w wieku XIX (Piano Music and Playing in the 19th Century), Warszawa PWN, 1991, p. 126.

11 Wanda Chmielowska, Z zagadnień nauczania gry na fortepianie (About teaching piano playing), Kraków PWM, 1963, pp. 46–47.

12 Irena Poniatowska, Muzyka fortepianowa i pianistyka w wieku XIX (Piano Music and Playing in the 19th Century), op. cit., p. 129.

13 Charles B. Rae, Muzyka Lutosławskiego (The music of Lutosławski), transl. Stanisław Krupowicz, Warszawa Wydawnictwa Naukowe PWN, 1996, p. 51.

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with dance and games) as well as singing. The novelty of the play hinged on ena-bling children to take part in these shows – their natural expression by dance or singing was supposed to help them understand music better. This was a new concept in comparison with the 19th century tradition where fantastic librettos based on fairy tale-like stories were bound up with the tendencies of the romantic epoch and were not, in fact, conceived as facilitating the reception of the works by children.

However, musical shows composed at the end of the 19th century already be-trayed the signs of taking the child’s world into account. Such works as the ballet Nutcracker from 1892 by Tchaikovsky or the fairy tale Hänsel und Gretel from 1891 by Humperdinck are the first attempts, yet not very successful, to address children via the choice of the librettos seemingly dedicated to the youngest. While Tchaikovsky’s ballet was based on E. T. A. Hoffman’s stories14, the Märchenoper Hänsel und Gretel made references to the Grimm brothers’ tales. This work – as Martin Cooper writes – “belongs to a class not uncommon in the nineteenth century: a work of art conceived ostensibly for children but in fact reflecting an adult’s sentimental idealization of childhood and very little appreciated by chil-dren themselves”15. In the early years of the 20th century Ravel composed L’enfant et les sortilčges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties (1917–1925) and Debussy his ballet for children La Boîte a Joujoux in 1913.

While composing for children, composers more and more often started to take into consideration their emotional needs, aware – at the same time – of the perceptive constraints of children. Furthermore, in many musical plays children were supposed to take active part and were encouraged to perform musical parts, e.g. in The Little Sweep op. 45 (1949) by Benjamin Britten or The Rainbow (1981) by Peter Maxwell Davies. In these quasi-operas children, alongside adults, were asked to sing and play the instruments. The main element facilitating children in the performance and reception of these works was the simplicity as well as the playful character revealed in the presence of many dances and incorporation of musical games. One of the first compositions of this kind was the cantata–play by Paul Hindemith Wir bauen eine Stadt from 1930, representative of so-called Gebrauchsmusik.

Specific musical traits characterize the musical fairy tale for the symphonic orchestra composed in 1936 by Prokofiev entitled Peter and the Wolf. The work was conceived as a guide through the symphonic orchestra and later the composer re-worked it as a one act ballet. The work in a simple, uncomplicated way introduces

14 see Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, Nussknacker und Mauskönig, Leipzig: Univer-sal–Bibliothek, 1954.

15 Martin Cooper, ‘Stage Works: 1890–1918’, in: Martin Cooper (ed.), New Oxford His‑tory of Music: The Modern Age 1890–1960, London: Oxford University Press, 1974, vol. 10, p. 146.

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children to the sound of several instruments: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, timpani. It was written as an answer to the need for a composition addressed to young children – being a father of two sons and attending with them symphon-ic mornings in the central Theatre for Children Prokofiev was bitterly aware of the fact. At the same time in France, Poulenc became interested in a very popular story about an orphaned elephant, Babar, by Jean de Brunhoff, and composed a fairy tale based on it for piano and voice, dedicated to his cousins and young friends.

The social need for musical plays for children is a 20th century phenomenon re-flecting the development of the mass culture in which children became one of the possible target groups. In this situation many composers attempted to compose not only works for children, but also started to consider the qualities associated with the world of the child and managed to incorporate their works for children into their mainstream activities.

(3) The third genre popular in the 20th century with composers writing for children were songs. The distinction between songs composed for children as lis-teners, and songs for children as the performers was still sustained16. The first group was represented – among others – by the following Polish composers: Tadeusz Baird, Artur Malawski and Ryszard Bukowski, while the second was represented by Łucja Drege-Schielowa, Czesław Grudziński and Irena Pfeifer.

It was common for composers of vocal-instrumental works for children to use texts of very high quality written by renowned authors. In Poland the most popu-lar poets for children, like Janina Porazińska, Jan Brzechwa and Jozef Czechowicz, provided lyrics for the majority of songs. Lutosławski’s selection of lyrics for his songs seems particularly interesting for at least two reasons. Firstly they are char-acterized by a high artistic standard17, and secondly they usually depict very simple but at the same time extremely imaginative situations. The authors of the texts used by Lutosławski are hailed as the most respected Polish poets writing for chil-dren: Julian Tuwim, Lucyna Krzemieniecka, Janina Porazińska, Hanna Janusze-wska, Jadwiga Korczakowska, etc. Texts by these authors used by Lutosławski in his songs create the world of Aesop’s tales, full of their own heroes, including many animals, encouraging the use of onomatopoeic effects. For example in the collec-tion entitled Piosenki dziecinne (Children’s Songs) from 1958 the composer used texts by Porazińska that clearly exploit tricks of literature enabling better compre-

16 see Maryla Renat, ‘Związki słowno-muzyczne w pieśniach dziecięcych Witolda Lutosławskiego’ (‘The Relations Between Music and Lyrics in Lutosławski’s Songs for Chil-dren’), in: Prace naukowe Akademii im . Jana Długosza . Edukacja muzyczna (Scientific Works of Jan Długosz University . Musical Education), Marta Popowska (ed.), Częstochowa: Wydawnictwo Akademii im. Jana Długosza, 2005, p. 100.

17 see Maryla Renat, ‘Utwory dla dzieci w twórczości Karola Szymanowskiego i Witolda Lutosławskiego’ (‘Compositions for Children by Szymanowski and Lutosławski’), in: Dziecko – Szkoła – Muzyka (Child – School – Music), Anna Grajpel (ed.), Częstochowa: Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Pedagogicznej w Częstochowie, 2003, p. 49.

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hension by children. These are, among others, personification – e.g. “an amber is winking” in Bajki iskierki (Sparkling tales) or “the frost is kneeling” from the song Siwy mróz (Hoar‑frost) or “I am a stain” from Plama na podłodze (A stain on the floor), onomatopoeic sounds – e.g. “bim bam” from Butki za cztery dutki (Little shoes for fourpence), “hau hau” from Siwy mróz (Hoar‑frost – “hau” can be translated into English as “woof ”) or “kap, kap, kap” from Kap, kap, kap (Drip, drip, drip) and a lot of adjectives – e.g. “silver frost”, “sparkling silverly”, “meadow in flowery beauty” from Siwy mróz (Hoar‑frost).

Songs for children never constituted a separate stream in Lutosławski’s oeuvre, neither did the composer write them on his own initiative; they were, however – as Tadeusz Kaczyński notes – the reaction to social needs, and not a simple way to repair the composer’s home budget18. The composer himself would assign these compositions “the status of socially useful” works. As he confessed: “I composed little works that were useful. I did it for pleasure, because I found them useful. […] I wanted to write [. . ] It was simply my service, my answer to the social need”19.

During the phase between 1947 and 1953 Lutosławski worked on composi-tions for children most intensively and also prepared their instrumentation. Hence Sześć piosenek dziecinnych (Six Children’s Songs) from 1947 gained in 1953 a new version for chamber orchestra and mezzo-soprano. In 1952 the composer arranged new versions of Piosenka o złotym listku (Song of the golden leaf) and Majowa nocka (May night) – initially for voice with chamber orchestra – for voice with piano-forte. Srebrna szybka (Silver window‑pane) and Muszelka (Cockle‑shell) from 1952 also have two versions: one for voice and pianoforte, the other for voice and cham-ber orchestra. In 1977 the British publishing house Chester issued these songs with English translations of the lyrics by Marie Pooler.

Songs for children by Lutosławski in the light of his later oeuvre

Lutosławski’s songs for children were conceived both for listening and for per-forming by children. This pre–compositional intention is reflected in the simplicity of shaping the form and the line of the melody. This did not escape the attention of many biographers, stressing at the same time the finesse of Lutosławski’s music for children. Gwizdalanka and Meyer in their book draw attention to the natu-ral co–existence of these two factors in songs for children by Lutosławski, which “…were given a credit of […] high popularity, and at the same time they repre-

18 Tadeusz Kaczyński, ‘Lutosławski’s Music for Children’, in: Polish Music 9 no. 4, 1974, p. 9.

19 from the film Witold Lutosławski in Conversation with Krzysztof Zanussi, BBC 1989 see Danuta Gwizdalanka, Krzysztof Meyer, op. cit., p. 169.

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sented an excellent artistic level”20. Even one of the first reviewers of Lutosławski’s songs – Roman Haubenstock-Ramati in the text published in Ruch Muzyczny in 1948 – concluded that “everything is in style, simple, clean, direct – and so po-etic”21. Also, according to Kaczyński, simplicity supported by originality was the quality ensuring the unique character of songs for children by Lutosławski: “The superior quality of Lutosławski’s songs for children […] is determined by their unconventionality and simplicity”22. In Tomaszewski’s foreword to the Polish edi-tion of Lutosławski’s songs for children from 1974 the author warned any future performers of the songs that neither the songs’ simplicity nor their finesse should be ever neglected23. On the other hand, Charles B. Rae describes the songs as a sort of exercise or etude preparing the composer’s search for his own, distinguish-able musical language24.

Songs for children by Lutosławski in comparison with songs for children by Stravinsky

In the analysis of songs by Lutosławski and Stravinsky certain similarities are revealed with respect to the form and the choice of musical procedures25. Songs by Stravinsky were published in three collections. Three Little Songs from 1913 were written for voice with pianoforte: The Magpie was dedicated to the composer’s son Światosław, The Rook to his daughter Ludmila and the song The Jackdaw to his son Theodore. Cat’s Cradle Songs (consisting of The Tom‑Cat, The Tom‑Cat on the Stove, Bye‑Byes) from 1915–1916 were for voice with three clarinets. The collection Three tales for children from 1915–1917 was for voice and pianoforte (Tilimbom, Geese, Swans and Bear’s Little Song).

The songs for children by Lutosławski and Stravinsky are small works. In the collection Piosenki dziecinne (Children’s Songs – 1958) by Lutosławski short forms are closed in a song pattern ABA (as long as the lyrics allow this). Such an internal logic is applied to the songs Siwy mróz (Hoar‑frost) or Kap…kap…kap (Drip, drip,

20 Danuta Gwizdalanka, Krzysztof Meyer, op. cit., p. 163.21 Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, ‘ “Piosenki dziecinne” W. Lutosławskiego’ (‘Songs for

Children by Lutosławski’), in: Ruch Muzyczny 2, 1948, p. 14.22 Tadeusz Kaczyński, Lutosławski’s Music for Children, op. cit., p. 10.23 Mieczysław Tomaszewski, Komentarz do Spóźnionego słowika i nikczemnego szpaka

(Commentary to Songs by Lutosławski), Kraków PWM, 1974.24 Charles B. Rae, op. cit., pp. 48–9.25 Also Maryla Renat while analyzing songs for children by W. Lutosławski chose a com-

parative approach. Rymy dziecięce op. 49 by K. Szymanowski were, however, not addressed to children as performers. See Maryla Renat, Utwory dla dzieci w twórczości Karola Szymanow‑skiego i Witolda Lutosławskiego (Compositions for Children by Szymanowski and Lutosławski), op. cit., pp. 41–58.

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drip). The song Wianki (Wreaths) possesses another inner form: it is divided into two parts, each consisting of nine bars. Similarly the problem of form in songs for children was approached by Stravinsky, whose songs are also very short. The Magpie is, for example, only 14 bars long, and The Rook’s simplicity is revealed in its constant repetition of the 12 bar long phrase.

However, Lutosławski made use of various forms in his songs for children, in-cluding variations in the cycle Słomkowy łańcuszek (Straw chain). Variations in the last song of this cycle are applied only to the layer of the accompaniment played by five wind instruments (flute, oboe, two clarinets, bassoon). While shaping the form, the tendency to repeat short, one or two bar long motifs prevails – alterna-tively with successive presentations of variants of one motif (the difference be-tween the variants can be reduced to petty changes in the melodic lines). Not only are the motifs repeated, but so are whole phrases, contributing to the simplicity of the songs. Similar solutions were used by Lutosławski and Stravinsky, whose songs are also characterized by repetitions of short, one or two bar long motifs, presented in an identical version or one pitch higher. For example this method was used in the song Tilimbom. The minimalist approach resulted in such solutions as the one described by Haubenstock-Ramati, who noticed in his review of the song Spóźniony słowik (The overdue nightingale) by Lutosławski that the opening four bars accumulate the musical material of the whole song26.

Melodies of the songs are closed within rather small ambits and make use of small intervals, usually seconds. Not only are the leaps rare, they normally do not exceed the fourth. This simplicity of melodic lines, as well as the fact that the com-posers often used the notes of the triad, seem to indicate an awareness of possible problems which young children may encounter while performing the songs. In the song Taniec (Dance) by Lutosławski the tune initially is based on the triad of G major and D major, and in Wianki (Wreaths) it makes use of C major.

In order to recompense the simplicity of usually diatonic melodic lines Lutosławski usually enriched the accompaniment, often serving an illustrating function27. Generally it is the pianoforte that accompanies songs. In some collec-tions, for example in the earliest Sześć piosenek (Six Children’s Songs), the right hand of the pianist performs the same melody as the singer, hence there is no separate notation for the voice. In time the accompaniment became more and more inde-pendent. Its development was characterized by the tendency to sustain the unity of the melody of the voice and the melody played by the pianist and the introduction of additional ideas during the fragments devoid of voice line (for example in the

26 Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, ‘ “Pieśni dla dzieci« Witolda Lutosławskiego’ (‘Songs for Children by Lutosławski’), in: Ruch Muzyczny 1, 1948, p. 14.

27 see Maryla Renat, Związki słowno‑muzyczne w pieśniach dziecięcych Witolda Luto‑sławskiego (The Relations Between Music and Lyrics in Lutosławski’s Songs for Children), op. cit., p. 107.

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song Nightingale chromatic passages are introduced). The overall simplicity of the accompaniment manifests itself in the tendency to introduce ostinato figures, e.g. in Srebrna szybka a constantly repeated note C, or in O Panu Tralalińskim (About Mr Tralalinski) E flat, or in Majowa nocka a progressively ascending triplet fig-ure. Despite the simplicity resulting from the repetition of one pitch, the fineness of Srebrna szybka hinges on introducing dyads built of thirds and seconds. The contrast of euphonic sounds associated with diatonics versus the chords avoiding traditional disposition is characteristic for all songs by Lutosławski, starting with the early ones like Ptasie plotki (Birds’ gossips). In the later songs the composer abandoned the practice of doubling the melodic line of the singer in part of the accompaniment, especially while re–arranging the accompaniment for new instru-ments (usually winds supported by strings). Piosenka o złotym listku represents this rare type of song, in which both the voice and the accompaniment remain fairly independent of each other. The accompaniment here not only supports the melody but also imitates it with the melody led in the middle register, based on thirds and seconds. Introducing new types of musical solutions supports Rae’s hypothesis of Lutosławski’s consequent line of progress, present also in his songs for children28.

The accompaniment in songs for children was treated similarly by Stravinsky. In the song Bear’s Little Song from the collection Three tales for children an accom-paniment is constrained to just one line (performed by the left hand of the pianist) based on two sounds (A flat and D flat) creating an ostinato bass. In an analogous way the composer constructed the bass line of Tilimbom, where for the whole du-ration of the piece (65 bars) one figure consisting of four eighths is repeated.

The harmonic language of the songs for children is well thought out29 – full of minor dominants and rapid modulations as if denying the apparent simplicity of the songs.

Interesting and far from banality, solutions are introduced into the metro–rhythmical sphere of the songs, rich with eighths and quarters sustaining a vivid pulse. Skilfully applied rhythmic solutions, like the one opening the song O Panu Tralalińskim, add enormously to the character of the songs. Already in 1948 Haubenstock-Ramati wrote about the metro-rhythmics as the element organ-izing songs by Lutosławski30. Usually the use of certain rhythms was imposed by the lyrics and the ostinato figure is one of the favourite solutions. Lutosławski introduced not only melodic ostinatos but also rhythmic ones: the song Muszelka makes use (in the very beginning and the end) of the figure consisting of four six-

28 Charles B. Rae, Muzyka Lutosławskiego (The Music of Lutosławski), op. cit., pp. 48–9.29 see Maryla Renat, Utwory dla dzieci w twórczości Karola Szymanowskiego i Witolda Lu‑

tosławskiego (Compositions for Children by Szymanowski and Lutosławski), op. cit., p. 52.30 Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, ‘ “Piosenki dziecinne” W. Lutosławskiego’ (‘Songs for

Children by Lutosławski’), op. cit., p. 14.

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teenths, linked by two (with an accent on the first and the third); in Majowa nocka the ostinato figure is based on a triplet figure.

Specific rhythmic solutions most often resulted from references to folk music. For example Taniec is in fact a Polish dance called oberek, similarly in a number of other songs by Lutosławski, e.g. Pióreczko (Little feather) or Piosenka o złotym listku, folk references can be observed.

Stravinsky also chose folk texts in his songs for children since in the 1920s Russian folk music inspired his oeuvre31. Folk as a source of inspiration for vocal compositions for children in the early 20th century was one of the main postula-tions in the music education theory conceived by Kodaly, who also willingly made use of Hungarian folk melodies in his compositions for children. Linking folk music with simplicity lay at the base of the ultimate association of folk music and the concept of “music for children” characterized by a number of certain similar qualities.

The instruments accompanying the songs usually comprise strings and wood-winds, e.g. in the cycle Słomkowy łańcuszek: flute, oboe, two clarinets and bassoon. Stravinsky preferred woodwinds as well, making use of three clarinets in his Cat’s Cradle Songs. As already mentioned Lutosławski frequently came back to his songs for children, usually in order to re–arrange instrumentation. The accompaniment part was usually extended, although there were instances when additional instru-ments simply doubled the melodic line of the singer (e.g. Pióreczko). This care for details shows that the composer tried to remain truthful to his original visions of songs while experimenting with various instruments. For example in Srebrna szyb‑ka he did not hesitate to introduce the harp and in Wróbelek (Little sparrow), apart from the violin, viola and cello he also introduced – just for one sound effect – an oboe imitating the chirp of the title sparrow. The attention to details manifests itself also in the immaculate articulation annotations (e.g. con sordino, pizzicato, etc.) and dynamic markings.

Songs for children by Lutosławski – deeply immersed in the tradition of mu-sic for children – are characterized by the unity of simplicity (e.g. in the melodic line) with finesse observed in harmonic nuances and metro–rhythmic solutions as well as evident in the specific, playful character obtained by references to folk music. These traits – characteristic also of songs for children by Stravinsky – seem to certify the composers’ deep understanding of children’s needs, as composing for children requires from the composer special awareness of certain essentials including:

A) simple forms easily perceived by childrenB) short sizes closed in auditively distinguishable units

31 Alicja Jarzębska, Igor Strawiński . Myśli i muzyka (Igor Stravinsky . Thoughts and Music), Kraków: Musica Iagiellonica, 2002, p. 60.

C) repetitions of melodic and rhythmic patterns usually based on one – two motifs

D) important role of danceE) generally limited number of performers.Despite the constraints resulting from the specific addressees of the works,

Lutosławski considered some of his songs for children, e.g. O Panu Tralalińskim from the collection Dwie piosenki dziecinne (Two Children’s Songs) or Kotek (Kit‑ten), Idzie Grześ (Here comes Greg) from Sześć piosenek, as important, functional compositions32. Indeed, the songs for children may serve as an introduction to the rich world of music during children’s very first encounters with music by Witold Lutosławski.

32 Tadeusz Kaczyński, op. cit., p. 10.

Witold Lutosławski Studies 3 (2009)