![]() Furthermore, Italian and Spanish songs, like the lilting barcarole, Barka, were a novelty, and quite different from Polish tunes. Many melodies became adopted into Polish liturgical hymnbooks because there were not very many new songs being composed in Poland. Szmidt answered, “Yes, but I was the one who wrote it in Polish.” At that the Holy Father kissed him on the forehead and the photographers snapped a series of pictures.īarka was one of many foreign melodies introduced in Poland in the 1970s. The pontiff replied, “But the original is likely Latin American,” Fr. When the pope was 3-4 steps from him, he said, “Holy Father, I am the author of Barka. On a certain Wednesday he went very early to St. When the course was almost over, he was determined to meet the Holy Father. Szmidt was pleasantly surprised when in 1979 John Paul II came on a pilgrimage to Gniezno, and he saw and heard the pope singing it by heart.įather Szmidt had never had an audience with John Paul II, but in 1980 he was in Rome studying monastic formation. And it was this priest, a missionary and homilist, who took the song all over Poland, teaching it to all the people, especially to the Polish youth.įr. Ireneusz Chmielewski singing “his” Barka. Some time later he went to Lodz and heard Fr. He spent much of the night laboring over it, finally figuring it out by using his knowledge of Latin. Since he was busy teaching during the day, he started the translation from the Spanish at night, and it was not coming out right because he didn’t know Spanish. Stanislaw Szmidt, says that he made the Polish translation either in 1974 or 1975. His friend from the seminary, a Silesian, Fr. Stanislaw Skopiak brought to Poland a whole mass of melodies. ![]() How did Barka become so popular in Poland, I wondered? Like various songs over the millennium, many of them came from Italy. As poet-composer, he left a repertoire of some 500 songs, but not all of them are known to the public at large. Father Cesareo Gabarain, a Franciscan priest in Madrid, had just completed 32 years in the priesthood and had written some 20 popular melodies for religious celebrations. I searched on the internet under the author’s name, and found an “In Memoriam” for the 10th anniversary of the author’s death on April 30, 2001. ![]() Now I knew that the song had been around for several decades, but how did it get to Poland? I called Milagros Ramos, the Spanish language editor of our diocesan paper, and she assured me that the song was Spanish, and that she had been singing it since she was a little girl. Then and there I decided to do some research on it. Not quite believing it, I thought, “Oh, it’s been translated into Spanish!” Next, I looked for a name at the top of the page, and found that it was not Polish at all, for Cesareo Gabarain was the author. My first awakening to the origins of this song was when I found it in Spanish in a church hymnal. And it was with this same homily that Benedict XVI began his pontificate. It contained the theme that he adopted for his pontificate, since Christ had called him, as he called his apostles, and told him not to be afraid, as henceforth he would be a fisherman of men. The song, Pan kiedys stanal nad brzegiem, or Barka (The Barge), as it is better known, (Lord you have come to the seashore), was most significant for the Holy Father. That song had a deep meaning also for our Holy Father, who knew that in the same way he, too, albeit for other reasons, would never again return home. It is Goralu, czy ci nie zal? (Highlander, do you not grieve?) This favorite of our Holy Father was part and parcel of my family’s experience when we, and thousands of other Polish refugees after World War II, were stranded in Europe between the tyranny of communism and the despair of homelessness. What would you think when a song that you especially liked was also a favorite of John Paul II? There is one that many of us can name and, perhaps, sing. Now I ask myself how many more “Polish” songs do I know which did not originate in Poland? The notation at the top said it was “Traditional,” which usually means it has been handed down from generation to generation, until the author or composer’s name is lost. I heard the familiar melody with a slight variation. Joseph’s Church, in Niagara Falls, celebrated by the late Msgr. The first time was with the hymn, My chcemy Boga (We want God.) It was at a Mass in St. Twice, in recent years, however, I was mistaken. ![]() When I learned Polish religious songs early in life, naturally, I thought that they were written and composed by Polish authors. (Sung during the “Light-Life Oasis” spiritual retreats conducted by Archbishop Wojtyla for teenagers)Įveryone has favorite songs.
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