BIG BLOG II: ONE LAST MUSIC-CULTURE

The Musical Culture of Poland

When I first looked at the prompt for our final blog I immediately had an idea. I wanted to learn more about the musical culture of Poland. My reason being that my grandparents were raised in Poland, and growing up I have heard music and some of the polish language from them. My grandparents live far away in Michigan now, and I am not able to see them very often, so learning a bit about their musical culture makes me feel more connected to them.

History

The earliest evidence of Polish music dates back to the 10th century when christianity was adopted by the nation. This is evident in the earliest pieces of Polish music found, which are hymns and chants. An example of this is “Bogurodzica” meaning “The Mother of God”, which is Poland's earliest hymn and also its first national anthem. In addition to church hymns, there was also folk music that existed before chritianity came into the country. This folk music differed in location but the most popular and what is considered “standard” Polish folk music came from Mazovia in central Poland. This folk music came with many dances like polkas, obereks, and Mazurkas. Interestingly, Polish folk music was an inspiration for many famous composers like Fryderyk Chopin.  

Now what is a polka, oberek, and mazurka?

Mazurka

            Mazurka is the name of the polish folk dance and music it is performed too. The music is in 3/4 or  3/8  time signature with accents on the second beat. It was created around the 16th century by the Mazurs, a group of people living in east-central Poland. The dance was performed by couples who would click their heels and stamp their feet. Despite having these characteristics, the dance is open to a lot of improvisation with more than 50 steps that can be used. This dance was not only performed in villages, but also in the Polish court. It became so popular that it reached Russia, Germany, England, and France. Fryderyk Chopin composed around 57 Marukas, emphasizing how popular this dance was during his time.

Polka 

            Unlike the Mazurka being created in Poland, the polka was adopted by Poland from Bohemia, a neighboring country which is now called the Czech Republic. This music is very lively and has a 2/4  time signature. The dance that accompanies this music is also for couples and has a main dance move with 3 fast steps and a hop. Like the Mazurka, it became popular across Europe. It is still very popular today in ballroom and folk dance. 

Oberek

            The Oberek is also another folk dance in triple meter. It is the one that requires the most stamina as it is the most acrobatic. Like stated above, it began in central Poland in Mazowsze. It’s performed by couples whose main movements are to spin around the dance floor. This makes sense because the work “oberek” comes from the work “obracac się” which means “to spin”.

Instruments 

Burczybas

            As I was learning about the traditional folk music of Poland I came across a couple of weird instruments that I have never seen or heard before. The first instrument is called the Burczybas. This instrument is made of a barrel with a hole in one side where they will either have horse hair or a chain coming out. The instrument is classified as a drum but instead of hitting the barrel you pull the horse hair which is attached to the barrel, to make a low rumbling noise. One unique thing about this instrument is that one person must hold the Burczybas by their waist, while the other pulls the hair to create friction which in turn makes the noise. Along with two people having to play the instrument, another must come by and pour water on the hair, so that the proper sound is made.

Hurdy-Gurdy

Another interesting instrument I would love to share is called the Hurdy-Gurdy. This instrument sort of reminds you of a guitar. It is a string instrument that was primarily used by wandering beggars looking for shelter and food. The instrument is super unique, in that you sit down with it lying on your lap while your right hand cranks a wheel, and your left will pluck strings to create a sound. The actual design of the Hurdy-Gurdy looks very complicated.

Devil’s Fiddle

The last instrument I wanted to show was one called the Devil’s Fiddle. Contrary to its name, it was actually used to scare off devils and evil spirits. This instrument is just so fascinating, it's like 5 instruments in one. The  Devil’s Fiddle is a long wooden stick with a pair of cymbals on top, two bells, a long wooden block about three fourths of the way down to hit, a tambourine and finally there are strings which run across the tamboruine. This instrument comes with a drum stick which has been carved to have little teeth on one end to produce more sounds when used on the fiddle. Lastly to make the Fiddle the Devil’s Fiddle, on top of the long wooden stick is a Devil’s head. The fiddle is normally tapped on the group to make noise from the bells and cymbals. While the musician taps the fiddle on the ground they use the drum stick to either hit the wooden block on the fiddle to create noise, hit the tambourine, drag on wooden teeth across the tambourine's side, and to pluck the strings with the teeth of the drumstick.

Fryderyk Chopin

     Lastly I wanted to talk about the most famous Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin. All of Chopin’s compositions include the piano, to which he was famously known for. His first exposure to the piano was from his sister and mother who played the piano in their household. At the age of six Chopin started to play the piano and his piano teacher declared him to be a prodigy at it. Soon after he was playing the most difficult pieces of music and even composing some with the help of his father. This success traveled far and he was soon playing piano for very powerful people, and eventually got him to travel to western europe to perform all over. In 1831 he got his first major endorsement to play for Robert Schumann, who was a very famous composer of the time. This opened many doors for him to compose more music and play in front of others. Below I linked one of his most famous compositions. 

Works Cited 

“Oberek (Obertas).” Polish Music Center, 9 Feb. 2018, https://polishmusic.usc.edu/research/dances/oberek/. 

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "polka". Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Jun. 2013, https://www.britannica.com/art/polka. Accessed 17 May 2022.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "mazurka". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/art/mazurka. Accessed 17 May 2022.

“The Briefest History of Polish Music.” Polish Music Center, 7 Mar. 2018, https://polishmusic.usc.edu/research/publications/essays/briefest-history-of-polish-music/. 

24, Joanna Jasińska August, et al. “Do You Know Your Hurdy-Gurdy from Your Burczybas?” – The First News, https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/do-you-know-your-hurdy-gurdy-from-your-burczybas-15146.

“8 Most Unusual Polish Folk Instruments.” Culture.pl, https://culture.pl/en/article/8-most-unusual-polish-folk-instruments.

“Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin.” Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina, https://chopin.nifc.pl/en/chopin/etap-zycia/1_fryderyk-franciszek-chopin.

Schulz), Folkfriends oHG (Semmler &. “Devil's Fiddle.” Devil's Fiddle, https://folkfriends.com/en/Devil-s+Fiddle.htm.