Today the MTJ label released the concept album Metamorphoses by Karol Pyka.
The author of the album is my long-time friend whom I met in my first music school. He is a composer, arranger, conductor, session musician, educator, employee of the Institute of Musical Arts at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Education in Cieszyn at the Silesian University in Katowice. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Silesia with a specialization in conducting at the Institute of Music and the faculty of Composition and Arrangement at the Jazz Institute and K. Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. In 2015 he received his doctoral degree in the artistic discipline of conducting at the Faculty of Conducting, Jazz and Music Education at the F. Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. The album about which I am writing is a part of the habilitation work of Karol.
“Metamorphoses” is an album combining elements of musical, illustrative, film and progressive rock music. The author of the libretto to this rock-symphonic radio play is Mr. Andrzej Pacuła, a Cracovian poet, author of, among others, lyrics written for “Piwnica Pod Baranami”. The album consists of ten songs preceded by an overture and includes numerous improvised instrumental parts. The cast includes symphony orchestra, rock band with two guitars, mixed choir and two soloists – alto and tenor. The protagonists of the story told in “Metamorphoses” are: He (the everyman) and She – the narrator, the main character’s friend, who is experiencing his inner dilemmas as a lonely man lost in the contemporary world. The role of the narrator is played by the choir, just like in Greek tragedy.
Karol entrusted me with recording the guitar parts for the album. I had the honour to work with great instrumentalists and artists in its creation:
Karol Pyka – concept of the piece, composition, arrangement, keyboard instruments
Andrzej Pacuła – libretto
Magdalena Krzywda-Krzysteczko – vocals
Marcin Jajkiewicz – vocals
Krzysztof Ropicki – bass guitar, fretless bass
Michał Dziewiński – drums
Barbara Kamińska – oboe
Paweł Siembieda – trumpet
Marta Sitek – cello
Piotr Wójcicki – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Ad libitum” Chamber Choir
Izabella Zielecka-Panek – choir preparation
Rafał Smoleń – sound recording of orchestral parts
Studio MARPART – recording of vocal track
Krzysztof Gawlas – recording of the choir
Rafał Hilbrycht – editing of recordings
Mateusz Sołtysik – recording production, mix and mastering
Grzegorz Bobrowski – Cover and booklet design
The album is available for purchase in EMPIK stores and on streaming platforms:
https://bfan.link/metamorfozy
