The work is based on the natural timbre of folk instruments: four hurdy-gurdies, four złóbcoki fiddles, four bagpipes, four Bieszczady Mountains fujaras (pipes), and eight sheep bells. These instruments are played by only four musicians, who alternate them in the course of the performance. They also walk while playing. Four female singers participate in the work, performing quotes from folk music of various regions of Poland. The work’s electronic layer contains sounds of nature: rain, thunder, sounds of domestic animals as well as industrial and urban sounds.

The work’s idea is to recreate the now lost rural peacefulness of ancient times, subject to destruction when confronted with the sounds of modern everyday life.

The instrumental parts are partly improvised. The vocal ones, on the other hand, are strictly notated but include a degree of performance freedom. Both instruments and voices are electronically amplified.

Idyll 2 is a continuation of the work Idyll (1974). Duration: about 35 minutes.

The work was commissioned by the Warsaw Autumn festival.