THE ISLAND ON BIRD STREET

Caldera Records proudly presents Zbigniew Preisner's score for Soren Kragh-Jacobson’s “The Island on Bird Street.”

A young boy named Alex lives with his father and a friend of the family, whom Alex with great affection calls Uncle, in a Polish ghetto at the height of the Second World War. The film tells the story of Alex’ survival. Following the arrest of his father and his uncle, he has to fend for himself in the rubble that is his playground of death.

Zbigniew Preisner received a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for his music in the film. It is indeed one of his grandest achievements. The director and his composer were careful to avoid the usual cliches in films about the horrors of the Holocaust. Thus, “The Island on Bird Street” doesn’t feature any instruments or orchestral colours that could be deemed ethnic. Instead, it is a both aggressive and tender meditation for large orchestra with solo instruments that get their chance to shine. The piano – and the harp, which also features prominently in the music – proved a particularly fitting choice since their fragility captured Alex’s situation and his fear, the fragility of his existence within the tragedy of the Second World War. 

For the album, Zbigniew Preisner assembled shorter cues into more extended suites that reveal new facets of his composition. Their context is now different. It is as if a whole new work has emerged. The 68th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Zbigniew Preisner and produced by Stephan Eicke and Zbigniew Preisner.

Part I Separation from the Family (6:33)

Part II Empty Street (6:55)

Part III Escaping the Ultimate Solution (8:30)

Part IV Dream (1:53)

Part V The Final Stage of the Fight for Life (13:15)

Part VI The Island on Bird Street (4:23)