A Funeral Rhapsody in Memory of General Bem
"A Funeral Rhapsody in Memory of General Bem" (in Polish Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod) is a poem by Polish poet Cyprian Norwid,[1] a descendant of the Polish king John III Sobieski. It is an elegy for a famous Polish commander, Józef Bem,[2] who was a hero of three nations, Polish, Hungarian and Turkish. It was written in 1851. The poem is a description of an imaginary funeral. It is described as a funeral of a medieval knight or Slavic warrior, encased in armour, with his horse and a falcon, accompanied by groups of boys and girls.[3] The poem is especially interesting because of its form. It was written in rhymed hexameter. All the lines are made up of fifteen (7+8) syllables according to the pattern ' x ' x x ' x || ' x x ' x x ' x.[4]
The rhapsody opens with a Latin citation of Hannibal:
iusiurandum patri datum usque ad hanc diem ita servavi
(The oath given to father I have kept even unto this day)
Norwid's poem was often used and performed by Zbigniew Herbert and was translated into English by Adam Czerniawski.
In popular culture[edit]
Mourner's Rhapsody was sung by Czesław Niemen[5][6] and published in 1970 in Poland (Niemen: Enigmatic).[7] In 1974 supported by John Abercrombie, Michał Urbaniak and some members of the Mahavishnu Orchestra the rhapsody was published by CBS Records International (Niemen: Mourner's Rhapsody).[8][9]
Intro of the 1970 Polish release was also bootlegged in 1977 by a German band Jane on their album Between Heaven and Hell.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ Jerzy R. Krzyzanowski, Cyprian Norwid, Polish poet at Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- ^ Józef Zachariasz Bem, Polish general at Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- ^ Lucylla Pszczołowska, Wiersz polski. Zarys historyczny, Fundacja na Rzecz Nauki Polskiej, Wrocław 1997, p. 218.
- ^ Wiktor Jarosław Darasz, Mały przewodnik po wierszu polskim, Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego, Kraków 2003, p. 72.
- ^ Gitarzysta Niemena: kocham ten czas, kiedy grałem z Czesławem at Polskie Radio Official Site.
- ^ Niemen - Bema Pamięci Żałobny Rapsod at YouTube (Polish)
- ^ Czesław Niemen - Bema pamięci rapsod żałobny (original video clip)
- ^ † Czeslaw Niemen - Mourner`s Rapsody at YouTube (English)
- ^ NIEMEN - Mourner's Rhapsody at YouTube (English)
- ^ Jane - Between Heaven and Hell 2/2
Bibliography[edit]
Cyprian Kamil Norwid, Poezje. Poems. Selection, translation and afterword by Adam Czerniawski, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 1986, ISBN 83-08-01469-0.
