„I dzwoni cicha dusza muzyczna”
“And the silent musical soul rings”

The Concept of Memory in Music by Juliusz Słowacki

Author(s): Małgorzata Łoboz
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Polish Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: poetry and music; musical memory; poetic world of sounds; works of Juliusz Słowacki
Summary/Abstract: The paper attempts to answer the question whether Słowacki possessed musical memory and whether the said fact can be proved. In his poem "Anioł ognisty – mój anioł lewy..." (“Angel of Fire – My Left Angel…”) Słowacki showed the problem of the musical soul as a result of the expressive function of poetry. The issue was also presented as an analysis of individual experience – every recipient can discover their own musical soul and Słowacki was well aware of the fact. In his poetic vision the Polish poet perfectly captured the said phenomenon. The question is whether in Słowacki’s works the ability to listen to the musical soul is connected with the ability to remember specific tones, rhythm, melodic tempo? Based on the fragments of his correspondence, it can be stated that interpretation and reproduction became the most important aspects of the sound reality he created. Recognizing the intriguing phenomena of the world of sound, Słowacki assigned them to certain emotions. The mentioned feelings presented recollection as a form of preservation of memory. There is no doubt that in Słowacki’s case one can speak of musical memory as a form of consolidating specific musical predispositions (the so-called musical hearing, sense of rhythm, the ability to shape the articulation of the sound). One can also distinguish a type of memory phases in music, when particular audio phenomena provoke the poet to remember specific events from the past.

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