Why I Became a Musician
We talk to Jakub Józef Orliński about his life and work.
Barbara Skowrońska, “Kraków Culture” quarterly
Complete the sentence: I love baroque music, because…
Jakub Józef Orliński: It brings freedom! In baroque masterpieces – and let’s not be afraid of the term – composers wrote extraordinary things, but they also left huge spaces for performers to filter the sounds and to show themselves through them as artists and as people. Of course plenty is written in the score, and the historically informed performance practice shows us that certain things should be done one way rather than another. And I believe that you need to know all the rules inside-out so you can know how and when to break them.
For example, performers are free to play around with pauses: “Here you can add something from yourself, show your thinking”. In the most common form of baroque arias, ABA, you are free to play around with the repeated A part, add something of your own. I just love this creative process. I am rather slow at it, but that’s precisely because I take such delight in it. I spend six, sometimes eight hours rehearsing and coming up with one version, then another… Some parts of the work are more rigid, and those which are less so are more my own.
Before I step onto the stage…
I have a routine. First of all I must be ready physically. Lots of people think that singing comes just from here [points to his head and throat]. But the truth is that it’s physically demanding, and your entire body needs to be ready. I’m glad I’m highly conscious of my body, partly through breakdancing. I do some modified yoga exercises and simple stretches. I also like to do handstands so I can feel my shoulders working, to be upside-down and to feel the gravity pull my soft palate down… which means up… Or do I mean up… that is down? [laughs] What else? Breathing exercises, of course, because about 70% of success in singing comes from controlling your breathing. And I drink lots of water.
The most difficult part of my work is…
…the fact that when you’re an artist, your work never stops. Everything is about your work, 24 hours every day. Of course if you love what you do, you don’t really call it work – it’s your entire life. But it can be difficult, especially when you’re touring. Plus in today’s world there is a lot of media stuff you need to do: post to social media, take pictures and videos, do interviews. And that’s all great, but you have to really know yourself and know what you can manage and what you can’t – what could affect your performance and what doesn’t matter. I stick to the principle that on concert days I plan nothing else – I won’t even arrange to meet friends at a particular time. I need to chill out and focus, and clear my mind.
Oh, and another thing I just thought of: it’s difficult to turn down interesting projects I simply haven’t got the time for. For example, if something is happening halfway round the world and it would take two weeks, but I’m already doing something else. Yeah, saying no is one of the most difficult things, because there are so many fantastic, exciting projects!
My favourite baroque composer is…
I haven’t got one. And, to be honest – and I’m sorry – I don’t really like this question. It’s the same with pieces from both my albums, or the cities I visit. Every piece, every city, every composer has a completely different energy and I have very different memories and feelings about them.
The composer I sing the most frequently is Handel – that’s what I am asked to sing, so I have a lot of his music in my repertoire. But there are so many composers! That’s why my solo albums feature so many little-known names. Even fellow musicians ask me, “Where on earth did you find this, who is this, how did you get it?!” But it’s the result of hard work, which I share with Yannis François – my treasure hunter. So I love Cavalli, Bononcini and Boretti just as much as I love the far more famous Purcell, Handel, Vivaldi, Bach and Gluck. They all have their own style and fascinating stories to tell.
My favourite rock band is…
The Offspring. When I was in primary and middle school, I had a Walkman and all their tapes. Me and my friends skateboarded – we were this little gang of four – and, well, we were excited like little kids. I suppose, we were just kids [laughs]. You listen to this indie rock and skate around a skate park… just awesome!
I would like to perform with…
Great question, but I don’t know. But I can tell you a story from when I was just starting university. I used to listen to the L'Arpeggiata ensemble a lot, and I dreamed about performing with them. Or really I dreamed of seeing them live. A few years later I went to see Christina [Pluhar, leader of the ensemble – ed.], I sang a sort of audition at her house, and a couple of weeks later she gave me a job! The concert was in Utrecht, and it was one of my favourites, because I also got to fulfil another dream. I really wanted to meet Nuria Rial, who frequently appears on L'Arpeggiata’s albums – she’s an absolute goddess of early baroque music. And it turned out that she was at the concert, as were Giuseppina Bridelli and Vincenzo Capezzuto. I was over the moon! Later I recorded two or three pieces by Rossi with L'Arpeggiata. It was a really memorable collaboration – I just wanted to see them, meet them, hear them live, and I got to make music with them. It was A-MA-ZING!
I spent the first money I earned on stage on…
I have no idea. When I was at university I moved out of home, I had to pay fees and bills, so I was working to support myself. It was such a busy time with university rehearsals and work – I produced a breakdance show, did some ads and dance shows, worked for a fashion company and sang occasional concerts. So I think all the money just went on everyday expenses. I don’t recall buying appliances or TVs [laughs]. I haven’t got a TV now, either.
I became a musician…
Because of my need to share with others. And because of a need to focus on here and now. When it comes to music you can’t think back, or too far ahead. It is most important right here, right now, when it inspires and touches us all… It gives me freedom, it enchants and fills me, and it takes me to completely new worlds, as though through meditation. I love this feeling and I always want to share it with the audience. I am absolutely delighted every time I get it right.
If I hadn’t become a singer, I would be…
Oh, I could have lots of ideas! I love all sorts of manual activities. It’s interesting, because my family is very into visual arts – painters, architects – and I can’t draw or paint to save my life. I’d be more into physically shaping objects, maybe sculpture. Or I could be a carpenter. I recently made a trellis for the balcony, for the ivy. Cutting, measuring, polishing, a lick of paint, some nails and screws here and there, brilliant! Or, here’s another idea: I could be a gardener at a chateau on the Loire. I’d live in a little cottage, trim hedges into all sorts of shapes and create constellations of flowers – a truly baroque living!
I never leave home without…
My rucksack is my home. It contains everything – a 19th-century bottle opener I got for my birthday, pens, tape to mend music scores, water, a stretching ball, elastic, also for stretching, a multitool for my bike… I’ve even got hairbands, because during the rehearsals or recordings one of my friends always loses theirs, so bang! Got them right there.
And music, of course. I know it’s not very eco-friendly of me – and I try to make up for it in other ways – but I have to have paper scores. Then I can make notes, turn the pages, touch them, see them… I have a very visual memory and I can’t remember page 64 on an e-reader. When I use paper scores, I always know that the second phrase of Cara sposa starts in the third system on the second page. It also helps me find myself – for example if I have a memory blank on stage.
Something I do every day…
Hmm, sing, I guess [laughs]! My life is changing all the time and something’s always going on, but practice is essential: so I can keep going forward without stalling, so I can keep getting better. So I spend a lot of time on my routine: physical and vocal exercises.
I can’t…
Oh, I’m not great at cooking. Terrible, I know. Well, maybe some simple pasta… My excuse is that I travel a lot, and you don’t get to cook in hotels. During productions I have so many rehearsals, friends and I go out to eat during breaks, so I only make breakfast and supper. When we’ve got a good team – which is most of the time – then we take turns cooking for the group. When it’s my turn, well, I do my best… But fortunately there are always bonus dishes from my colleagues!
Oh, and another thing – I mentioned my family of artists, sculptors and architects, and I just can’t draw or paint. I keep trying, looking at YouTube tutorials, but I never get anywhere… The will is there, so I try every few months or so, but every time I remember that I just can’t.
I relax by…
I have two favourites, both a bit meditative. One is breakdancing training with friends, because those times are totally separate from the world I usually inhabit. The other, which I love and which really relaxes me, is that I can’t play piano very well. I am a complete amateur, so I pick three, four chords and keep repeating them, do some ornamentation, maybe some improvisation. And it creates an ambient effect, and this music really calms me.
I’m proud when…
Not so much “when” but “of”: of my endurance. Not many people realise how many obstacles I faced in the past – I laugh about it now, but the beginning wasn’t easy at all. So I am proud of myself that I endured those times and now I can derive real joy from what I do.
When I’m in Kraków, I like…
Going for walks, definitely! I love strolling around the Main Market Square and meeting friends – I have quite a few in Kraków. And it’s always – I used to come to Kraków regularly in the past, and also recently I’ve popped over for concerts quite often – a real pleasure.
Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński, one of the greatest rising stars in classical music of recent years, performs two concerts at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre on 17 July as part of the ICE Classic cycle. More details: [CLICK!]
The text published in the 2/2021 issue of the “Kraków Culture” quarterly.
