Song of the Earth, ballet in three scenes, 1937.

Commissioned by the World’s Fair in Paris for the Polish Ballet, Song of the Earth is one of Palester’s last folklore-inspired works. The composer used in it large fragments of his First Symphony, which was lost during the turbulent time of World War Two. This is how the author himself described the circumstances in which the piece was written:

"They paid so well that I was unable to refuse, but I was in a hurry to join Barbara who was waiting for me in Carry-le-Rouet near Marseille. So I picked up some bits and pieces that I meant to discard and quickly put together this ballet which – surprisingly – various theatres still go back to and no one complains, which would certainly be the case with a symphony. Anyway, at that time I was already miles away from that awful folklore style, so it did not matter to me a bit..."

The ballet, the libretto of which was developed by the composer himself from Leon Schiller’s idea, consists of three scenes preceded by an orchestral introduction. They depict successively Midsummer Day, Wedding and Harvest Festival. Palester’s vivid music was highly appreciated at the World’s Fair and rewarded with a gold medal. A French reviewer wrote: "Palester’s composition is superb, with its nervous dance-like rhythm, colourful and skilful orchestration, full of poetry". In 1938 Palester’s ballet was performed at Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki and on 19 April 1939 – at the Festival of the International Society For Contemporary Music in Cracow.