Servais - Grande Fantaisie polonaise sur des Airs du Ballet La Noce de Cracovie, Op. 19 (Urtext Edition)

Grande Fantaisie polonaise sur des Airs du Ballet La Noce de Cracovie was known by different names during the life of Servais, among them Fantaisie slave and Wesele w Ojcowie: Grand-Caprice. The earliest known performance of Fantaisie polonaise happened on 29 April 1842 and was reviewed positively by the press, according to Servais specialist Peter François. Servais performed the work on 1 February 1859 in Sala Ratuszowa in Warsaw with Samuel de Lange. The prepublication performances might have been different from the published version, as we know that Servais typically revised his works. The first printing by Schott ran on 4 October 1861. Servais performed Fantaisie polonaise many times from 1842 until the year of his death.

The Fantaisie was dedicated to Stanislas (Stanisław) Jasiński (ca. 1823–1879), a notary whom Servais met in Cracow. He was also the dedicatee of Il trovatore de Verdi grand duo piano et violoncelle by Servais and Jacques Gregoir, and Maurice Dietrich's Valse Brillante.

The ballet upon which the Fantaisie is based, Wesele w Ojcowie, was compiled by Karol Kurpiński (1785–1857) and Józef Damse (1789–1852) in 1823. The ballet freely used popular music of the time. It must be noted that the German cellist-composer Bernhard Romberg composed his Capriccio sur des Airs et Danses polonaises, Op. 47 (ca. 1824, published in 1829) where he used four of the five melodies that Servais used in his Fantaisie.

Servais's Fantaisie opens with a tutti followed by a solo section based on "Zosiu ach już cię traciemy" by Josef Antonín Štěpán (1726–1797). The second part is a mazurka with a lengthy, bravura octave passage in the middle section. The third part is based on "Już śpiewasz, skowroneczku." The finale is based on "Nie uważaj miła Zosiu" by Štěpán as well. It is likely that the source of Servais's themes was ultimately Romberg's Capriccio, however. While each theme is thoroughly developed by Servais, this work does not contain any variations. The themes are stated in four large sections.

Fantaisie polonaise is unique in that the soloist tunes the C string down a semitone to B, not a common occurrence at the time. The first edition is printed in concert pitch throughout, making it difficult to gauge the fingering to be used on the lowest string. Our edition prints the concert pitch in the score; however, we use scordatura pitch in the solo part, making it more intuitive to play. Sections to be played on the lowest string are marked with a numeral "IV."