A unique project bringing together a masterpiece of Polish Renaissance literature with the sensitivity of two remarkable artists – vocalist and performer Maria Peszek and pianist and composer Bartek Wąsik. Jan Kochanowski’s Pieśń świętojańska o Sobótce (A Midsummer Night Song of Sobótka) becomes, in their hands, a vivid and surprising new interpretation. 

Although Peszek and Wąsik speak here with one voice, their reading of the work unfolds through the polyphony and possibilities of the human voice and the piano. Alongside traditional singing, the performance incorporates sounds inspired by nature and by the emotions embedded in Kochanowski’s text. The piano, too, moves between classical expression and more experimental techniques, including prepared piano and extended methods of performance.

This unusual dialogue serves to evoke the fantastical atmosphere of Midsummer Night – a time when the real world intertwines with spirits, nature and Slavic ritual traditions. Maria Peszek and Bartek Wąsik created twelve original compositions while preserving Kochanowski’s text in its entirety. In the original work, twelve Maidens speak about celebration, love, dance, but also war and humanity’s relationship with nature. Nearly 450 years after its first publication, the text remains strikingly relevant — and it was precisely this sense of contemporaneity that drew Peszek and Wąsik to the project, artists whose work has long explored similar themes.

Kochanowski himself suggested that Pieśń świętojańska o Sobótce should be performed live during Midsummer celebrations, between sunset and sunrise. Following this idea – and the new interpretation created by Peszek and Wąsik – any space can briefly become a place of community, ritual and encounter.

About the artists: 

Maria Peszek – vocalist, performer, lyricist and actress. She has collaborated with artists including Jerzy Grzegorzewski, Agnieszka Holland, Krystian Lupa and Kazimierz Kutz. Since 2005, she has focused primarily on music, releasing albums such as Maria Awaria, Jezus Maria Peszek and Ave Maria, which achieved both critical and commercial success. She is the recipient of the Polityka Passport Award, multiple Fryderyk Awards and numerous cultural distinctions. Her work is known for its distinctive artistic language, combining music, theatre and personal social commentary.

Bartek Wąsik – pianist, composer and arranger, recipient of the Polityka Passport Award, the Fryderyk Award and the Coryphaeus of Polish Music prize. A co-founder of the ensembles Kwadrofonik and Lutosławski Piano Duo, he has performed across Europe, Asia and the Americas, presenting both original projects and reinterpretations of classical and alternative music. He has collaborated with artists including Ralph Kaminski, Katarzyna Nosowska, Mela Koteluk and Stanisława Celińska. His work combines classical music with experimentation, electronics and contemporary sensibility.