"...All the music is by Polish composers with the exception of Cato who was Venetian (though he lived in Poland from an early age) and François Couperin and Rameau who were, of course, French, although both works have Polish connections. Jacob le Polonais was a Polish lutenist and composer born around 1550. He went to France in 1574 working as a musician for Henri III and it is now known that he is one and the same person as Jakub Reys. Diomedes Cato was an Italian lutenist and composer employed at the court of King Sigismund III of Poland from 1588 to 1602 whilst Michael Cleophas Ogin´ski, nephew of the musician and poet Prince Michal´ Kazimierz Ogin´ski, was born near Warsaw in 1765 and died in Florence in 1833. He wrote some twenty Polonaises for the piano which were published in Warsaw in 1803. Much of this music has been adapted or arranged by Landowska while some of the other pieces are her own arrangements of folk-tunes such as The Hop, which is a reference to the plant where in Poland it is a symbol of marriage.
The Polish dance form is typified by Chopin’s Mazurkas. Landowska wrote that ‘it is important to be aware of the character of the mazur to avoid turning it into an elegant salon piece, accented like a Viennese waltz’. Chopin’s music played on the harpsichord may be thought of as incongruous, yet Landowska in her inimitable way wrote, ‘Yes, on the harpsichord! Do not be angry with me, my pianist friends! And now, let me tell you why I do this: The harpsichord, reservoir of sharp colours, flute, strings, nasal oboes, bagpipes, contrabass, is the ideal instrument to render folk-music. You will hear it in The Hop, the most authentic, the most striking mazurka that ever existed.’
Nearly sixty years after these recordings were made Landowska’s style and choice of harpsichord may upset some listeners who vie for ‘historical accuracy’ in performance style and instrument. Not only did Landowska believe her music-making to be historically accurate, she played this music with such a conviction as to silence any future detractors. She was such a great artist that when she played these works she could communicate her love, joy and wonderment in these compositions: she loved this music and wanted her audience to share in the enjoyment of her revelations with her." © Jonathan Summers