Mickiewicz reactivated

The manager of Haydamaky, Grzegorz Stech, explained how this unique record was made in an interview with the Polish Gazeta Wyborcza. “It all started in Lublin during the European Festival of Taste. Haydamaky hit the stage with their Cossack rock and Ukrainian ska punk. We started brainstorming how we could make it sound very Polish and, at the same time, very Ukrainian. That is how we ended up with Mickiewicz. The guys were introduced to Mickiewicz in the version translated by Maksym Rylsky, then they read the original Polish. They liked it and found the right music to accompany it, something they are very good at and somehow it worked. It reminded me of Stasiuk reading fragments of his White Crow years ago with his hoarse and raspy voice. That’s how I came up with the idea that Stasiuk would read the poetry.”

The outcome of this collaboration was an energised mix of voice and song. The musical layers are filled with an almost Arabic atmosphere, depicted by the Tatar and Ukrainian influences mixed with rock, punk and modern folk. The instruments used included guitars, a trombone, trumpets, a clarinet, several types of percussion instruments as well as some unusual regional instruments like Tatar pipes.

One of the greats

Haydamaky was established in 1991 (originally under the name Aktus) and is known for singing poetry in their native Ukrainian. For the project, Mickiewicz’s poetry was translated by renowned Ukrainian writers such as Yuri Andrukhovych and Serhiy Zhadan. On some tracks, Stasiuk reads Mickiewicz’s sonnets in Polish. He is, after all, a poet, although he is better known for his prose. So, why did a group of contemporary writers and musicians decide to record sonnets written by a 19th century poet? The answer one would hear at school in Poland is that he was a great poet. In fact, Mickiewicz is not only considered a national poet by Poland, several other countries claim him as their own as well, including Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and even France.

Mickiewicz was born in 1798 in Zaosie or Navahrudak (formerly Poland, today it is part of Belarus) and died in Constantinople in 1855. While he died relatively young (age 57), he is considered one of the greatest poets of Polish romanticism. In the compendium of the history of European literature – written by Annick Benoit-Dusausoy and Guy Fontaine – Mickiewicz is described in the following way: “As a great practitioner of the romantic open form, Adam Mickiewicz constructed incomparable poetic colossuses. In both Dziady and Pan Tadeusz we can find several intertwined literary styles and conventions. Poetically aesthetic images created through painting, art, music, dance and architecture also safeguarded whole poetical myths in traditional Polish culture. As a classical philologist, he could explore the Mediterranean heritage in its original languages. He also read: Dante, Petrarch, Voltaire, Rousseau, Schiller, Goethe, Byron, Scott, Pushin and other ‘Moscovite friends’ in their original.”

After he completed his studies at Vilnius University, Mickiewicz worked as a teacher in Kaunas. It is important to add that the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned in the years 1772-1795. Russia, Prussia and Austria took over its territory and Poland ceased to exist until 1918. In 1823 Mickiewicz was arrested and put on trial for his participation in a secret youth conspiracy aiming at self-education and independence. As punishment, he was sent to Russia for six years. The only consolation was that as a teacher he had the right to choose his place of exile, residence and work. Between 1824 and 1829 Mickiewicz lived in Petersburg, Odesa, Moscow and Crimea. He befriended several Russian poets such as Alexander Pushkin and got involved with Polish and Russian opposition movements that were critical of the tsar.

During these years, Mickiewicz was very productive. His “Crimean Sonnets,” which describe his travels to the Crimean Peninsula, were described as “a breakthrough within the language of lyricism”. It is from this series which consists of 18 sonnets that Haydamaky chose to include on their album. Among the sonnets we find: “The Ackerman Steppe”, “Baydary”, “Tschatir Dagh (The Pilgrim)”, “The Graves of the Harem” and “The Pass across the Abyss in the Tschufut-Kale”. The rest of the material is based on other works by Mickiewicz. “Alpuhara” is from the poetic novel Konrad Wallenrod and “The Ghost” is a fragment of Dziady. “Pytasz, za co Bóg…” is from the Lausanne lyrics, and another separate poem called “Ordon’s Redoubt” describes the defence of Warsaw against the Russians in the November Uprising of 1830-31.

The East in miniature

After so many years, the words of the poet are still surprisingly relevant, especially considering the current geopolitical reality (namely, the annexation of Crimea, the destabilisation of Ukraine and the conflict on its eastern borders). A perfect example of this can be found in “Ordon’s Redoubt”:

We were not told to shoot – I stood on the cannon
I took a look at the field; two hundred cannons were thundering.
Rows of Russian artillery stretching out
Straight, long, far like shores of the sea

…

Where is the king, who sends those crowds to be slaughtered?
Is he sharing their courage, is he putting his own life on the line?
No, he sits five hundred miles away from his capital
…

Great king, the ruler of half the world.

When Mickiewicz wrote these words he was referring to Tsar Nicholas I. If heard today, many Ukrainians would think of Vladimir Putin. “Rows of Russian artillery stretching out …” – a timeless and suggestive vision it seems.

Roman Koropeckyj, who wrote a biography of Mickiewicz a decade ago, describes the sea voyage the poet took from Odesa to the Crimean Peninsula: “Getting through the storm on the Black Sea, Mickiewicz gazed admiringly at the raging waters, while other passengers were overcome with seasickness confined to their cabins. The travellers reached Yevpatoria, a town in the north-western part of Crimea known for its healthy mud baths. The poet travelled over two months across the western part of the peninsula. The Crimean Khanate was incorporated into Russia some 40 years prior and while still free, it was becoming increasingly Slavic. However, the Tatar culture and way of life remained dominant in those lands. There were auls (a type of fortified village) with wooden houses, sculptured porches, mosques and women with veiled faces sitting on strong ponies, accompanied by men with Asian features. All of this is set in a backdrop of great views of the sea, mountains, the steppe and a pleasant Mediterranean-like climate. The ruins of Greek temples, Byzantine monasteries, Karaite strongholds, Genovese fortresses and palaces of the Khans… Mickiewicz crossed the steppe over to Simferopol and from there to Bakhchysarai and was an old Karaite village next to a cliff. The poet proceeded to climb Chatyr-Dag, its peak casting a shadow on the steppes surrounding Yevpatoria.”

In a letter to a dear friend, Mickiewicz wrote: “I saw the East in miniature”. The exciting thing about his travels throughout the Crimean peninsula is that he was accompanied by Karolina Sobańska (née Rzewuska), who was an “agent in a skirt”, working for the Russians. There was also a tsarist spy named Boszniak who went undercover as a botanist. Even if Mickiewicz was aware of this, he seemed to pay it little attention, and he even had an affair with Sobańska.

Final journey

Mickiewicz was deeply affected by the sight of the never-ending steppe. He compared it to a “dried up ocean”. This is how elaborate the Crimean landscape is described in “The Ackerman Steppe”, the first track on Haydamaky’s record:

Across sea-meadows measureless I go
My wagon singing under grass so tall
The flowery petals in foam on me fall

After returning to Odesa, the poet left for Moscow. The subsequent fate of the great bard was just as interesting. After years in exile, he left Russia and travelled to Europe, crossing Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. In 1885 he left for Constantinople trying to create Polish and Jewish armed units that would fight against imperial Russia.

Stasiuk describes Mickiewicz’s last journey in the epilogue of the album: “Adam Mickiewicz died in Istanbul on a rainy November day. He died of cholera in a squalid apartment. The last months of his life were filled with some solace … The Turkish Sultan had agreed to the formation of Cossack units. What an army it was! Cossacks from Dobruja, Nekrasov Cossacks, Bulgarians, Volochians, Poles, Jews, mercenaries and common runaways. Sadik Pasha gave Mickiewicz a horse named Crocodile. The morning cold forced him out of the tent. He would mount Crocodile and take two greyhounds with him – Karakus and Dumane – and hunt for hares.”

Listening to Haydamaky’s record is not only an opportunity to experience a unique collaboration of Ukrainian and Polish contemporary culture. It is a journey to a different time and place via Mickiewicz’s multi-faceted poetry that is as relevant today as it was in the 19th century. The words and music express a Ukrainian affection and longing towards a lost Crimea and encourage reflection on the meaning of freedom, sovereignty and pride. At the same time, the music provides a boost of positive energy.   

Translated by Daniel Gleichgewicht

Grzegorz Nurek is a Polish journalist specialising in cultural affairs.

Adam Mickiewicz, Andrzej Stasiuk, Music, Poland, Ukraine