Wòlô bòskô

The Kashubian language is a complete rarity when it comes to classical music. It is the language we hear in the cycle of songs Wòlô Bòskô for baritone and piano by contemporary composer Łukasz Godyla drawing on a selection of Kashubian texts and traditional melodies made by singer Damian Wilma, a native of the region fascinated by its culture.

The cycle has been arranged into a coherent story of ill-starred lovers, Hanuszka and Jaśko, who develop feelings for each other following a chance meeting by a stream. As their love flourishes, the young man asks Hanuszka’s parents for her hand in marriage. The parents seem to consent, yet keep postponing the ceremony, pointing to the bride’s young age. Soon Jaśko hears about the banns of the marriage between Hanuszka and another man. The young fellow turns up at the marriage ceremony in church. His sweetheart explains that her decision was motivated by God’s will (Wòlô Bòskô) that cannot be defied. Unable to live without Hanuszka, Jaśko throws himself into the sea. Seeings his dead body floating in the water, the woman also decides to take her own life. The lovers are buried in different graves but are soon connected by entwined lilies nourished by the power of their love. When Hanuszka’s irate mother, who continues to harass the lovers even after they death, cuts the plants, their stalks start bleeding.

The piece has been adapted for the stage by Jarosław Kilian, who puts an emphasis on the metaphysical aspect of the compelling tale of love, fate, and death. The director sees the cycle as a retrospection of a woman reminiscing about her blighted attraction. The young fellow appears as a ghost recounting his story from the beyond. Is it just a tale of this particular couple? Or a universal trope repeated for centuries, now set within the scenery of seaside Kashuby?

Wòlô Bòskô has a good chance of attracting tradition-oriented lovers of music as well as those who seek novelty. Drawing inspiration for classical music from folk songs is reminiscent of the artistic endeavours of the Romantics, while the story told by the cycle tends to make one think of Franz Schubert’s famous Die schöne Müllerin, or The Fair Maid of the Mill, based on poems by Wilhelm Müller. Having said that, contemporary composers rarely turn to folklore or the Kashubian language in their work, making this an opportunity to prove that the two can harmoniously go together.