Chopin in the Parliament

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are delighted to announce that as part of the series of events entitled Chopin in the Parliament (Chopin w Sejmie) an autograph of Fryderyk Chopin's song Poseł (Member of parliament) from the collection of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute will be on display. The manuscript will be presented from October 9 to 16.

Special show accompanying the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition

Fryderyk Chopin's Poseł – first public display of the manuscript

The autograph of Fryderyk Chopin's song Poseł is being presented to the public for the first time. The music, lyrics and manuscript itself are deeply moving.

Poseł is one of nineteen known songs by the composer, including one of ten composed to poems by Stefan Witwicki, Chopin's friend from Warsaw and Paris. These numbers emphasise the pricelessness of the exhibited manuscript and the value that the composer attached to his friend's poetry. 'With you, I could cry a lot,“ confessed the 'poet of the piano” to the poet, whose texts were to become known as insurrectionary, even though they were written before the freedom uprising. Both men carried the despair of the fall of the November Uprising in their hearts until the end of their days. 

The poem Poseł [The Messenger] was published by Witwicki in the collection Piosnki sielskie [Pastoral Songs] in 1830. On 5 September of the same year, the poet dedicated a copy of the publication to the composer, which is now in the collection of the National Library in Warsaw. Chopin and Witwicki, fascinated by their native folklore, had probably discussed the poems at length even before their publication. In addition to Posł, Witwicki's texts set to music by Chopin include Życzenie [The Wish], Gdzie lubi [Where He Likes], Czary [Spells], Hulanka [Revelry], Wojak [The Soldier], Smutna rzeka [The Sad River], Narzeczony [The Fiancé], Pierścień [The Ring] and Wiosna [Spring]. In fact, Fryderyk composed music for two other poems by his friend: Płótna [Canvas] and System filozoficzny podstarościego [The Deputy Mayor's Philosophical System], but these compositions have not survived.

Curator of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum: Dr Seweryn Kuter
Exhibition curator: Anna Adamusińska-Tasak
Conservation supervision: Diana Długosz-Jasińska
Exhibition coordination: Mariola Wojtkiewicz
Language editing: Dr Kamila Stępień-Kutera
English translation: John Comber