Music in Tadeusz Micinski’s drama on the example of Polish Thermopylae. The Mystery of the Life and Death of Prince Josef Poniatowski

Abstract

I begin this outline, dedicated to the music in Termopile polskie by Tadeusz Miciński, with a question regarding the author’s hearing, sensitivity and taste in music. I also consider the substantial importance of the playwright’s experience garnered from his sojourn in Leipzig and Dresden (e.g. fascination with Emil Jasques-Delcroze’s rhytmics and Adolphe Appia’s vision of theatre) in the use of music to create a modern mystery play. On the example of Termopile polskie. Misterium na tle życia i śmierci ks. Józefa Poniatowskiego I comment on the divergence between the spectacle’s musical layer and it’s storyline. I therefore seek to discover the proper place and character in the original dramatic concept. The article is completed with remarks concerning the use and importance of the musical component in creating a modern mystery play.