Kaminsko (Poland) (AFP) - Dancing couples spin, whirl and pirouette on their heels transported by the lively tempo of traditional Polish folk dances brought to life on rustic instruments, some plucked straight out of the Middle Ages.
Polish Folk Instruments
A revival began around 30 years ago when followers of celebrated Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski -- who developed an eclectic theatrical style that included a wide range of vocal expression including folk songs -- discovered elderly musicians near Warsaw who were still playing authentic folk music.
The revival has gained steam in recent years, with rural folk dance halls springing up and the annual "All Mazurkas of the World" folk music festival in Warsaw drawing ever greater numbers of both young and old.
The Museum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydłowiec was established in September 1968 as a branch of the Świętokrzyskie Museum in Kielce (later renamed the National Museum) by decision of the Ministry of Culture and Art and the authorities of the then Kielce Voivodeship. The Museum was located on the first floor of the eastern wing of the Castle in Szydłowiec and the Museum was entrusted to Danuta Słomińska-Paprocka. Between 1968 and 1975 the preparation stage was completed: field research was conducted, unique instruments at risk of disappearance were acquired and collected. The Museum opened to the public on 19 May 1975, presenting Polish musical instruments and folk bands as well as the musical instruments from the Kielce region at its first permanent exhibition. The Museum as a specialist institution, since 1976 operating independently, presented the current state of Polish folk instrumentation. Dr. Erich Stockman, the head of the study group aimed at researching folk musical instruments at the International Folk Music Council and the vice-president of this international organization, expressed the opinion that the Museum in Szydłowiec is the first independent museum in the world dedicated to folk musical instruments. Since 1978, in addition to the successive collection of musical instruments, the Museum has also begun to acquire artistic and historical exhibits, including written materials, iconography with musical motifs, documents, furniture and objects of everyday use. The exhibits include documents related to the activities of Szydłowiec guilds from the 16th to the 19th century, architectural details from the 16th and 17th centuries from the Szydłowiec castle, paintings by Władysław Aleksander Malecki, Teodor Axentowicz, Jacek Malczewski.
Since 2011, the Museum has been gradually developing a new formula and strategy. It actively participates in the cultural development of Poland by organizing temporary exhibitions, concerts, lectures, workshops, competitions for building folk musical instruments, as well as other educational activities.
Chopin could have also been familiar with a different kind of the drone effect, resulting not from the instrument's construction but the way it was played. I am talking here about the rhythmic drone effect, commonly employed by 19th-century violinists and bassists to accompany the melodic part. In practice, this boiled down to producing rhythmic harmonies of fifths, on open (not fretted) strings, due to the instruments's all-fifths tuning. In folk instrumental practice, the intonation of some scale degrees (3, 4, 7) often changes, which is due to zonal tonality characteristic for traditional folk music. You may still notice this when you listen to today's folk violinists, bagpipers, or pipers, especially in the Carpathian region.
As for the meter and rhythm, Chopin drew on national dances, in particular the polonaise and mazurka, sometimes also the krakowiak. All of them have folk origins: the polonaise and mazurka derive from a variety of dances known under different names, all in a mazurka-style triple meter, typical for Mazovia, Kuyavia or north Lesser Poland, while the krakowiak comes from various krakowiak-style dances in duple time (with syncope), also of different names, popular in Lesser Poland, especially in the area of Kraków. Chopin was also drew inspiration from the wiwaty, characteristic for Greater Poland (in triple metre and duple time).
As for the manner of playing, it is important to mention tempo rubato, that is changing the duration of the notes of the melody within a bar or phrase, while maintaining the same tempo and metric pulsation of the accompaniment. It was popular amongst folk singers and instrumentalists, especially in Mazovia, Kuyavia, north Lesser Poland, as well as Podhale. Chopin used it as well when he played the piano.
The above features of folk music can be found in the pieces Chopin wrote in his younger years, in Poland, as well as later, after he emigrated from his home country. The best examples are Mazurkas, e.g.: in E major Op. 6 No. 3, A minor Op. 7 No. 2, C major Op. 7 No. 5, C major Op. 56 No. 2 and F major Op. 68 No. 3. To some degree we can also notice these features in: Nocturnes, Trio in G minor for piano, violin and cello Op. 8, Concerto in E minor for piano and orchestra Op. 11, Fantasy on Polish Airs in A major for piano and orchestra Op. 13, Rondo á la Krakowiak in F major for piano and orchestra Op. 14, Rondo in E-flat major Op. 16, Scherzo in B minor Op. 20, and Concerto in F minor for piano and orchestra Op. 21.
The traditional instruments have also evolved. The basis were string bowed instruments with traditional drums and vocals. At the turn of the 20th century the accordion established itself as a the main instrument.
Through the years, the constructions became more and more regular, and modern accordionists use regular accordions. There are some enthusiasts who work on renovations of old Polish instruments, and it is possible that some of them will try to reconstruct vintage Polish instruments.
Today, these traditions are cultivated, and in fact still growing. Young people want to know the customs of their ancestors, as well as their way of living, working and having fun. There are schools that teach playing traditional instruments. Krakow Music Academy gives students a chance to study and practice traditional instruments.
Also, the great contribution of the Polish artist Maria Pomianowska in researching and reconstructing playing techniques of old type string bowed instruments can not be overrated. She is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and pedagogue who educates young students of traditional music. Her work includes research and curation of instruments from Europe, India, Japan, Iran, China and other parts of the world. She has collaborated with the famous Yo-Yo Ma while living in Japan (where she used to perform at Imperial Court in Kioto).
Most popular are of course adaptations of traditional music and folk sounds as a source to popular music. It can be found at different levels in the music of many bands and artists. For example, Golec uOrkiestra, founded in 1998 by twin brothers Paweł and Łukasz Golec. They are mixing folk music with rock and pop. At the time of writing, they have released 11 albums and sold over million copies.
Traditionally, the lyrics of Polish folk songs tell stories about love and romance, and daily hard work. They are full of descriptions of beautiful and distinct landscapes, fauna and flora. With our album made exclusively for Shockwave-Sound we would like to invite you for a musical journey through the beautiful regions of Poland.
The Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw is holding the official launch of its new website www.instruments.edu.pl dedicated to Polish folk instruments on 17 March 2015 at midday at the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw.
The website presents music instruments and sound-making tools used all over Poland from the 18th to the 21st century. Its is a valuable educational resource for everybody, yet its quality will satisfy specialists and academics.
No existing website contains such wealth of comparative material: brand new photographs with descriptions provided by experts, audio and video recordings, and information on instruments' construction.
On the website you will find almost 1000 high quality photos. Some instruments have even been captured using 360 degree imaging. The database is easily searchable thanks to useful filters: you may search by instrument type, time of construction, region, collection, or maker. The website also contains overviews of the musical traditions of different Polish regions, and information on the role each instrument played in folk culture. The database works as a catalogue to which new records may be added.
The multimedia resources available on www.instruments.edu.pl come from the "Sources of Polish Folk Music" collection of Polish Radio and the Institute of Music and Dance (IMiT), archives of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ISPAN), Muzyka Odnaleziona Music Lost&Found Foundation, and materials collected by IMiT's as part of its two folk revival programmes: Masters of Tradition School and the Master School of Folk Instrument Makers.
All instruments in the database have been classified based on the latest version of the Hornbostel and Sachs classification of music instruments, courtesy of Musical Instrument Museums Online. For this purpose, the classification has been translated into Polish for the first time. 2ff7e9595c
Comments