Pasjonująca gra. Ballada o szachiście i inne „ciekawe piosenki” Wojciecha Młynarskiego napisane z Jerzym Wasowskim w okresie stanu wojennego (1982–1983)

Abstract

Among the composers with whom Wojciech Młynarski collaborated – a brilliant songwriter and penetrating satirist, librettist and translator, as well as a talented singer – was a completely unique artist, often referred to as the “Polish Gershwin” – Jerzy Wasowski. As a result of their nearly twenty years of cooperation, interrupted by Wasowski’s death in 1984, about thirty songs were created, most often being cabaret-satirical works or in the form of “sung columns”. Among the achievements of the Młynarski-Wasowski company there are many “small masterpieces”, which are examples of masterly connections between words and music. The works they wrote together in the last period of their cooperation have been remembered in a special way by Młynarski. These songs were written at a special moment in the history of the People’s Republic of Poland – during the “Solidarity” carnival and during the martial law period. Moreover, the story of their proprietary company closed. The works they wrote last – in 1982 and 1983 – were described by Młynarski as “interesting songs”. During the martial law period, Młynarski decided to suspend public appearances – joining the artists who, in protest, decided to boycott the state media. He only took care of writing lyrics for new songs. At that time, he addressed the proposal to compose music mainly to Wasowski, who, like him, believed that one should continue to write, but – for now – “in the drawer”. Eight works were written then, six of which – Ballada o szachiście (1982), Jestem piłeczką pingpongową (1982), Po Krakowskim w noc majową (1982), W miejskim teatrzyku lalek (1982), Róbmy swoje (1983), Ballada o dwóch koniach (1983) – had a satirical and journalistic character and entered Młynarski’s repertoire when he resumed his performances. Whereas the other two songs – Mam złe lata i dobre dni (1983) oraz Gram o wszystko (1983) – were lyrical-reflective pieces with female texts, and became their performers a few years later: Hanna Banaszak and Ewa Bem. This article analyzes one of these songs – Ballada o szachiście – aimed at explaining – in an elementary way – why Młynarski used the word “interesting” to refer to the songs written with Wasowski during the martial law period. This term is primarily intended to denote a work whose words and music were written in order to “give food for thought” to the audience.

Wśród kompozytorów, z którymi współpracował Wojciech Młynarski – błyskotliwy autor tekstów piosenek i przenikliwy satyryk, librecista i tłumacz, a także utalentowany piosenkarz – znalazł się zupełnie wyjątkowy twórca, często nazywany „polskim Gershwinem” – Jerzy Wasowski. W rezultacie ich blisko dwudziestoletniej współpracy, przerwanej przez śmierć Wasowskiego w 1984 roku, powstało około trzydziestu piosenek, będących najczęściej utworami o kabaretowo-satyrycznym charakterze albo mających postać „śpiewanych felietonów”. Wśród dokonań spółki Młynarski–Wasowski znalazło się wiele „małych arcydzieł”, będących przykładami mistrzowskich powiązań słowa z muzyką. Utwory, które napisali razem w ostatnim okresie współpracy, zostały w specjalny sposób zapamiętane przez Młynarskiego. Piosenki te powstawały w szczególnym momencie historii PRL – podczas karnawału „Solidarności” i w okresie stanu wojennego.