"Chocolate, iguana and ping-pong eyed pirate" for music ensemble: accordion, vibraphone, percussion, piano, violin, cello, double bass and tape composed by me in 2019.
It is a piece based on my childhood memories from a winter vacation in Świeradów Zdrój, that took place around 2003. I tried to catch the ethereal and dreamlike atmosphere of my childhood memories, which with time are losing contours and vivid colors.
Programme note:
"Spa House in Świeradów Zdrój, 2003. When you entered the cafe run by the always smiling Mrs. Madeleine, you could warm up with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, grog, or in the case of children, hot chocolate with whipped cream, which the owner never spared for the children. A pair of green iguanas proudly sunning themselves under the infrared lamp had their terrarium along the wall from the floor to the ceiling. The sociable reptiles, to the delight of my brother, graciously allowed themselves to be petted, because they knew that under the watchful, bulging eye of the pirate figure standing motionless in the corner, nothing would happen to them. The warm and unique, magical atmosphere of this place made these memories, deeply rooted in my head, force me to think whether our childhood was not a dream from which we would one day wake up?"
Accordion - Paweł Irzyk
Vibraphone - Michał Kram
Percussion - Mikołaj Rutkowski
Piano - Michał Skowronek
Violin - Aleksandra Głuch
Cello - Michał Bień
Double bass - Ania Pawłowska
Tape/electronics - Olgierd Żemojtel
Recorded at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław on Composers Concert on 23 of January 2020.
Sorry for the poor video quality, it's the only recording that I have.