Christmas Presents (Étrennes), op. 27 by Juliusz Zarębski (1854-1885) is a set of six piano pieces published in 1885, the only work that the composer wrote with young pianists in mind. These compositions are ideally suited to the repertoire of fifth- and sixth-form pupils of primary schools of music. Interestingly, there are no discernible references to Christmas in the music, and the title may be seen rather as a nineteenth-century marketing ploy, aimed at encouraging musicians to buy the music at Christmas time. The composer presents here graceful works with charming melodies and - for the most part - a dance character, which set a variety of challenges before the performer, such as rapid passagework and varied articulation (in the two Waltzes and the March), the singing rendition of melody using both the right and left hand (especially in Melody) and the suitable interpretation of Romantic expression and contrasts (in the Minuet, Tale and Melody). We hope that Zarębski's Christmas Presents, in these arrangements by Piotr Sałajczyk, will represent an appealing introduction for young pianists to the work of this interesting, but still relatively little-known nineteenth-century Polish composer.

 

 

 

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