Simon Laks (1901-1983) belonged to the group of young Polish musicians who, encouraged by Paderewski and Szymanowski, pursued careers in Paris of the interwar period. Due to his Jewish descent, he was deported in 1942 to Auschwitz, where he was able to survive as director of a camp orchestra in Birkenau. Long known primarily for the account of his survival, "Music of Another World", his compositions, too, have meanwhile attracted international attention. This recording presents all of the composer's existing songs and melodramas, largely in first recordings. Owing to the outstanding quality of the music as well as of the Polish and French texts, but above all against the background of the experiences that flowed into them and make them a testimony to deeply moving humanism, these works deserve a special place in the musical history of the twentieth century.

Tracklist:

Five songs on poems by Julian Tuwim~Szczescie (Happiness)
Five songs on poems by Julian Tuwim~Przymierze (Covenant)
Five songs on poems by Julian Tuwim~Modlitwa (Prayer)
Five songs on poems by Julian Tuwim~Erratum
Five songs on poems by Julian Tuwim~Wszystko (Everything)
Dyzio marzyciel (Dyzio the Dreamer)
O Grzesiu klamczuchu (About Grzes, the Little Liar)
Bezdomna (Homeless)
Staruszkowie (Old People)
Aniolowe lica (Angel Faces)
Prosba o piosenke (Request for a Song)
Polal sie lzy me (My Tears Fell)
Ewangelia szczesliwych (The Gospel of the Happy)
Jezusek (Little Jesus)
O matusiu moja (Oh Dear Mommy Mine)
C'est d'un' maladie d'cour (Of an Illness of the Heart)
Jednego calowalam z milosci (I Kissed One for Love)
Ballada starofrancuska (Old French Ballad)
Walczyk (Little Waltz)
Alkoholik
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~Ich bin a balagole (I Am a Coachman)
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~Wigenlid (Cradle Song)
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~Di gilderne pawe (The Golden Peacock)
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~Unser rebeniu (Our Dear Rebbe)
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~In droÃ¯sn is a triber tog (Outside, It Is a Dreary Day)
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~Gwaldze brider (Hey There, Brothers)
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~Di alte kashe (The Old Question)
Huit Chants populaires juifs (Eight Jewish Folk Songs)~FraÃ¯tik far nacht (Friday Evening)
Passacaille (Vocalise)
Elegia zydowskich miasteczek (Elegy for the Jewish Villages)
Pogrzeb (Funeral)
Rue (The Street)
Deszcz (Rain)
Portrait de l'Oiseau-Qui-N'Existe-Pas (Portrait of the Bird-That-Does-Not-Exist)
Cztery piesni do slÃ³w Tadeusza Sliwiaka (Four Songs on Words by Tadeusz Sliwiak)~Zielony skrzypek (The Green Violinist)
Cztery piesni do slÃ³w Tadeusza Sliwiaka (Four Songs on Words by Tadeusz Sliwiak)~Strach na wrÃ³ble (The Scarecrow)
Cztery piesni do slÃ³w Tadeusza Sliwiaka (Four Songs on Words by Tadeusz Sliwiak)~Kompozycja (Composition)
Cztery piesni do slÃ³w Tadeusza Sliwiaka (Four Songs on Words by Tadeusz Sliwiak)~Adoracja drzewa (Adoration of the Tree)
Nie winie (I'm Not Blaming Anyone)
Pozegnanie (Farewell)
Gdybys (If You)

UPC: 840387100456
Label: Eda Edition Abseits
Release Date: 6.18.21
Format: CD

Laks / Vegry / Horwitz - Complete Works Voice & Piano (2pk) (CD)