Page 267 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2021. Opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama ▪︎ Operetta between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 5
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ional stereotypes and political issues in polnische hochzeit by joseph beer
Table 2: Joseph Beer, Polnische Hochzeit, act II, No. 9, Polonaise und Chor
Polnische Hochzeit [libretto], 39.
“Noch ist Polen nicht verloren!” ‘Poland has not perished yet!’
Heißt’s im alten Heimatlied. This is what an old patriotic song said.
Noch ist Polen nicht verloren, Poland has not perished yet.
Wenn man solchem Glanz hier sieht. When one can see such lavishness here.
‘s kommen Gäste, wohlgeboren, Guests of noble birth come,
Um zu seh’n die schöne Braut, To see a beautiful bride
Die Graf Staschek sich erkoren. Chosen by count Staschek for himself.
Noch ist Polen nicht verloren. Poland has not perished yet.
mój rozmarynie” (with the text “Jetzt nach alter Sitte”) or “Umarł Maciek,
umarł” maintaining the mazurka rhythms (in the form of a dance with a
drone accompaniment) and “Jeszcze jeden mazur dzisiaj” (in a more mod-
ern, slightly jazzy arrangement). There is also a stylisation of a short folk
song (a female chorus “Schön wie der junge Frühling“) and Jadja’s dum-
ka “Leise kling dein Lied”. Over the course of wedding events, Staschek or-
ders everybody to dance one more Polish dance, the kujawiak, of a more
tranquil and sentimental character: “Tanzt uns jetzt den Kujawiak, so tanzt
man in Polen” (Dance the kujawiak now the way it is danced in Poland),
which leads to a spectacular ballet scene.
All these national musical characteristics make the Polnische Hochzeit
score unusually strongly marked with Polish elements. Compared to other
German operettas related to Polish tradition, this work differs considera-
bly in its wealth of references to authentic Polish musical culture, going be-
yond the trivial, stereotypical identification of the Polish musical style with
obvious mazurka rhythms and polonaises. There is no doubt that the com-
poser’s deep relation with Polish music culture arose from the fact that he
grew up in Poland, and was a Polish citizen very familiar with the nation-
al music culture. Thanks to this, when speaking of Polnische Hochzeit one
can say it is a successful synthesis of the Austrian operetta style with ele-
ments of Polish colour, reflected in the issues covered in the work as well as
its musical characteristics.
Political issues
In the plot of Polnische Hochzeit one can observe obvious references to po-
litical issues. The principal conflict behind the operetta’s plot – rivalry be-
tween an uncle and his nephew for Jadja’s hand – overlaps with deeper
questions of a political and moral nature. Uncle Staschek, who is strong-
ly connected with the Russian annexation of Poland, calls for help the tsa-
265
Table 2: Joseph Beer, Polnische Hochzeit, act II, No. 9, Polonaise und Chor
Polnische Hochzeit [libretto], 39.
“Noch ist Polen nicht verloren!” ‘Poland has not perished yet!’
Heißt’s im alten Heimatlied. This is what an old patriotic song said.
Noch ist Polen nicht verloren, Poland has not perished yet.
Wenn man solchem Glanz hier sieht. When one can see such lavishness here.
‘s kommen Gäste, wohlgeboren, Guests of noble birth come,
Um zu seh’n die schöne Braut, To see a beautiful bride
Die Graf Staschek sich erkoren. Chosen by count Staschek for himself.
Noch ist Polen nicht verloren. Poland has not perished yet.
mój rozmarynie” (with the text “Jetzt nach alter Sitte”) or “Umarł Maciek,
umarł” maintaining the mazurka rhythms (in the form of a dance with a
drone accompaniment) and “Jeszcze jeden mazur dzisiaj” (in a more mod-
ern, slightly jazzy arrangement). There is also a stylisation of a short folk
song (a female chorus “Schön wie der junge Frühling“) and Jadja’s dum-
ka “Leise kling dein Lied”. Over the course of wedding events, Staschek or-
ders everybody to dance one more Polish dance, the kujawiak, of a more
tranquil and sentimental character: “Tanzt uns jetzt den Kujawiak, so tanzt
man in Polen” (Dance the kujawiak now the way it is danced in Poland),
which leads to a spectacular ballet scene.
All these national musical characteristics make the Polnische Hochzeit
score unusually strongly marked with Polish elements. Compared to other
German operettas related to Polish tradition, this work differs considera-
bly in its wealth of references to authentic Polish musical culture, going be-
yond the trivial, stereotypical identification of the Polish musical style with
obvious mazurka rhythms and polonaises. There is no doubt that the com-
poser’s deep relation with Polish music culture arose from the fact that he
grew up in Poland, and was a Polish citizen very familiar with the nation-
al music culture. Thanks to this, when speaking of Polnische Hochzeit one
can say it is a successful synthesis of the Austrian operetta style with ele-
ments of Polish colour, reflected in the issues covered in the work as well as
its musical characteristics.
Political issues
In the plot of Polnische Hochzeit one can observe obvious references to po-
litical issues. The principal conflict behind the operetta’s plot – rivalry be-
tween an uncle and his nephew for Jadja’s hand – overlaps with deeper
questions of a political and moral nature. Uncle Staschek, who is strong-
ly connected with the Russian annexation of Poland, calls for help the tsa-
265
