Among enthusiasts of Wojciech Kilar’s (born 1932) music, a large part consists of his film music lovers. His talent in this regard is appreciated by distinguished directors with whom he cooperated  (Francis Ford Coppola, Jane Campion, Kazimierz Kutz, Roman Polański, Jerzy Stuhr, Andrzej Wajda or Krzysztof Zanussi). The second large group of his fans is composed of people who value him for his purely musical works that he colours with highlander folklore and a specific Polish nostalgia. His Tatra polyptic belongs to the second type of his work and consist of pieces such as “Kościelec 1909”, “Krzesany”, “Siwa mgła” or “Orawa”.

 

„Orawa”, for chamber string orchestra, composed in 1986, quickly gained popularity and could be heard in concert halls around the world. The piece belongs to Kilar's so-called "highlander period". The composer explains that: “For a long time […] I dreamed of creating a composition inspired by highlanders folk group and I managed to accomplish it in “Orawa”. It is basically a piece for a multiplied folk group”. That specific atmosphere of a highlanders folk group,  that was capture in “Orawa”,  is one of the main reasons of its success, not only in the composers home country but it can be also enjoyed by listeners on both sides of the Atlantic. In the piece, Kilar skillfully combined repetition technique characteristic to musical minimalism with Podhale folklore elements such as the use of Podhale scale. Incredibly energetic expression in "Orawa" makes the listener want to hear it again. How much joy the piece can bring, not only to listeners but also musicians, can be seen by the "Hej!", yield out by the performers at the end of the composition. Marek Pijarski aptly summed up: “Kilar is a unique phenomenon in our musical culture. He operates with simple composition means, that  make his music go directly to the hearts of the listeners."