Poland - Casimir the Great - Bóg się rodzi

Peace | View Score

War | View Score

Instrumentation:

Peace:

2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 French Horns, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Bass drum, Suspended cymbal, Tam-tam, Crash cymbals, Tubular Bells, Celesta, Strings

War:

2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 French Horns, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Bass drum, Suspended cymbal, Crash cymbals, Snare drum, Snare Ensemble, Field Drum Ensemble, Tubular Bells, Strings

Notes:

I learned a few years ago that the Civilization series has a great number of fans in Poland, and so when I was assigned to write Casimir’s Polish leader music, I felt a particularly strong responsibility to make our Polish players proud to be Poles and play as Casimir the Great.

My search for a source melody began with the most obvious and famous Polish composer, Frédéric Chopin. I very strongly considered using the famous Polonaise héroïque, the Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53. (to refresh your memory of the piece, listen to Horowitz's performance here.) In fact, a few elements here and there of Casimir’s war theme allude to Chopin’s Op. 53. Nevertheless, Chopin’s work did not feel “Polish” enough to me, despite being an amazing composition to use as source material for leader music. I wanted to find something a little more unique, something a Pole would know by heart, but players elsewhere in the world would not necessarily be familiar with. I continued my search. 

I stumbled upon Bóg sie rodzi, and was immediately struck by it’s beautiful melody. As I read more about the background of the piece, it seemed to me to be an excellent choice to fit the nobility of Casimir the Great. Apart from being a very popular Christmas carol in modern-day Poland, Bóg się rodzi was also apparently used as a coronation polonaise for Polish kings as far back as the 16th century, long before the current Christmas carol lyrics were written, which date to 1792. I had found my fit for Casimir the Great. 




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