Music of Poland
Encyclopedia
Artists from Poland
, including famous composers like Chopin
or Lutosławski and traditional, regionalized folk music
ians, create a lively and diverse music
scene, which even recognizes its own music genre
s, such as poezja śpiewana.
, containing polyphonic
compositions related to the Parisian Notre Dame School
. Other early compositions, such as the melody of Bogurodzica
, may also date back to this period. The first known notable composer, however, Mikołaj z Radomia, lived in the 15th century. The melody of Bóg się rodzi
by an unknown composer was a coronation polonaise for Polish kings.
During the 16th century, mostly two musical groups - both based in Kraków
and belonging to the King and Archbishop of Wawel - led the rapid innovation of Polish music. Composers writing during this period include Wacław z Szamotuł, Mikołaj Zieleński, and Mikołaj Gomółka. Diomedes Cato
, a native-born Italian who lived in Kraków from about the age of five, became one of the most famous lutenists at the court of Sigismund III, and not only imported some of the musical styles from southern Europe, but blended them with native folk music.
and Władysław IV. These included Luca Marenzio
, Giovanni Francesco Anerio
, and Marco Scacchi
. Polish composers from this period focused on baroque
religious music, concerto
s for voices, instruments, and basso continuo, a tradition that continued into the 18th century. The best-remembered composer of this period is Adam Jarzębski
, known for his instrumental works such as Chromatica, Tamburetta, Sentinella, Bentrovata, and Nova Casa. Other composers include Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki
, Franciszek Lilius
, Bartłomiej Pękiel, Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński and Marcin Mielczewski
.
In addition, a tradition of operatic production began in Warsaw in 1628, with a performance of Galatea (composer uncertain), the first Italian opera produced outside Italy. Shortly after this performance, the court produced Francesca Caccini
's opera La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d’Alcina, which she had written for Prince Władysław three years earlier when he was in Italy. Another first, this is the earliest surviving opera written by a woman. When Władysław was king (as Władysław IV) he oversaw the production of at least ten operas during the late 1630s and 1640s, making Warsaw a center of the art. The composers of these operas are not known: they may have been Poles working under Marco Scacchi in the royal chapel, or they may have been among the Italians imported by Władysław.
The late 17th and 18th century saw a decline of Poland, which also hindered the development of music. Some composers attempted to create a Polish opera (such as Jan Stefani and Maciej Kamieński), others imitated foreign composers such as Haydn
and Mozart
.
The most important development in this time, however, was the polonaise
, perhaps the first distinctively Polish art music
. Polonaises for piano were and remain popular, such as those by Michał Kleofas Ogiński, Karol Kurpiński
, Juliusz Zarębski
, Henryk Wieniawski
, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Józef Elsner
, and, most famously, Fryderyk Chopin. Chopin remains very well known, and is regarded for composing a wide variety of works, including mazurka
s, nocturne
s, waltz
es and concerto
s, and using traditional Polish elements in his pieces. The same period saw Stanisław Moniuszko
, the leading individual in the successful development of Polish opera
, still renowned for operas like Halka
and The Haunted Manor
.
folk music
was collected in the 19th century by Oskar Kolberg
, as part of a wave of Polish national revival
. With the coming of the world wars and then the Communist state
, folk traditions were oppressed or subsumed into state-approved folk ensembles. The most famous of the state ensembles are Mazowsze
and Śląsk
, both of which still perform. Though these bands had a regional touch to their output, the overall sound was a homogenized mixture of Polish styles. There were more authentic state-supported groups, such as Słowianki, but the Communist sanitized image of folk music made the whole field seem unhip to young audiences, and many traditions dwindled rapidly.
Polish dance music, especially the mazurka
and polonaise
, were popularized by Frederick Chopin, and they soon spread across Europe and elsewhere. These are triple time dances, while five-beat forms are more common in the northeast and duple-time dances like the krakowiak
come from the south. The polonaise comes from the French word for Polish to identify its origin among the Polish aristocracy, who had adapted the dance from a slower walking dance called chodzony. The polonaise then re-entered the lower-class musical life, and became an integral part of Polish music.
has retained its traditions. The regional capital, Zakopane
, has been a center for art since the late 19th century, when people like composer Karol Szymanowski
, who discovered Goral folk music there, made the area chic among Europe's intellectuals. Though a part of Poland, Podhale's musical life is more closely related to that found in the Carpathian
mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Moravia in Czech Republic and Transsylvania. The people in the Tatra
mountains of Poland and Slovakia are descendants of Vlach shepherds who settled there from 14th to 17th century.
Local ensembles use string instrument
s like violin
s and a cello
to play a distinctive scale called the Lydian mode
. The distinctive singing style used in this scale is called lidyzowanie. The lead violin (prym) are accompanied by several second violins (sekund) and a three-stringed cello (bazy). Duple-time dances like the krzesany, zbójnicki (Brigand's Dances) and ozwodna are popular. The ozwodna has a five bar melodic structure which is quite unusual. The krzesany is an extremely swift dance, while the zbójnicki is well-known and is perceived as being most "typical" of Podhale and Northern Slovakia. Folk songs typically focus on heroes like Janosik
.
s, such as the Kazimierz Festival, which are well-known and popular. Regional folk bands include Gienek Wilczek Band (Bukowina
), Tadeusz Jedynak Band (Przystalowice Male), Stachy Band (Hazców nad Wislokiem), Franciszek Gola Band (Kadzidło), Edward Markocki Band (Zmyslówka-Podlesie), Kazimierz Kantor Band (Głowaczowa), Swarni Band (Nowy Targ
), Kazimierz Meto Band (Glina), Ludwik Młynarczyk Band (Lipnica
) and Trebunie-Tutki
.
. In the 19th century the most popular composers were: Józef Elsner
and his pupils Fryderyk Chopin and Ignacy Dobrzyński. Important opera composers were Karol Kurpiński
and Stanisław Moniuszko
. Famous soloists and composers were Henryk Wieniawski
, Juliusz Zarębski
. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the most promiment composers were Władysław Zeleński and Mieczysław Karłowicz. Karol Szymanowski
gained prominence prior to World War II. Józef Koffler
was the first Polish twelve-tone composer
(dodecaphonist).
, Zygmunt Mycielski
, Michał Spisak and Tadeusz Szeligowski
.
Following World War II
, some composers, such as Roman Palester
and Andrzej Panufnik
, fled the country and remained in the exile. In the early 1960s, however, a number of composers known as the Polish Composers' School arose, characterized by the use of sonorism
and dodecaphonism. The style emerged out of the political crisis in 1956, following Stalin's death; that same year saw the Warsaw Autumn
music festival
inaugurated, from whence came additional popularity for the Polish Composers' School. Composers included Tadeusz Baird
, Boguslaw Schaeffer
, Włodzimierz Kotoński, Witold Szalonek, Krzysztof Penderecki
, Witold Lutosławski, Wojciech Kilar
, Kazimierz Serocki
and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki
.
More modern composers include Krzysztof Meyer
, Paweł Szymański
, Krzesimir Dębski
, Hanna Kulenty
, Eugeniusz Knapik
, Piotr Rubik
and Paweł Mykietyn.
Poland has always been a very open country to new music genres and even before the fall of the communism, music styles like rock
, metal
, jazz
, electronic
, and New Wave were well-known. Since 1989, the Polish scene has exploded with new talents and a more diverse style.
Every year, a huge gathering of young Poles meet to celebrate the rock and alternative music in Jarocin
, Żary
, and Kostrzyn nad Odrą
and at Open'er Festival
and Off Festival
. These events often attract more than 250,000 people and are comparable to the gatherings in Woodstock
and Roskilde
.
In jazz music, polish musicians created a specific style, which was most famous in 60s and 70s. Most famous polish jazz artists are: Krzysztof Komeda
, Adam Makowicz
, Tomasz Stańko
, Michał Urbaniak.
Two contemporary big Polish music festivals are Opole Festival and Sopot Festival. Among other important festivals there are: Jazz Jamboree
, Rawa Blues Festival
and Wratislavia Cantans
.
scene. One of the biggest record labels of death metal
in Poland is Empire Records. The death metal band Vader
is considered the most successful Polish heavy metal act and have gained commercial and critical praise internationally. Their career spans more than three decades with many international tours. They are often seen as a huge inspiration on modern death metal. Both Behemoth
and Decapitated
have also found significant success both inside and outside of Poland. Both have toured extensively across Europe, America, and in the case of Decapitated, have recently toured Australia and New Zealand. Recently Indukti
, Hate
, Trauma
, Crionics
, Lost Soul
and Lux Occulta
have started to become well known outside of Poland. Though there is also a healthy and active grindcore scene, death metal remains Poland's strongest and most successful genre in terms of heavy metal
. There is a healthy black metals scene as well, led by Graveland
, Darzamat
, Kataxu, Infernal War
and Vesania
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, including famous composers like Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
or Lutosławski and traditional, regionalized folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ians, create a lively and diverse music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
scene, which even recognizes its own music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
s, such as poezja śpiewana.
Beginning
The origin of Polish music can be traced as far back as the 13th century, from which manuscripts have been found in Stary SączStary Sacz
Stary Sącz - is a town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, seat of the municipality Stary Sącz. It's a one of the oldest towns in Poland, founded in 13th century.- Geography :...
, containing polyphonic
Polyphony
In music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
compositions related to the Parisian Notre Dame School
Notre Dame school
The group of composers working at or near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from about 1160 to 1250, along with the music they produced, is referred to as the Notre Dame school, or the Notre Dame School of Polyphony....
. Other early compositions, such as the melody of Bogurodzica
Bogurodzica
Bogurodzica is the oldest Polish religious hymn. It was composed somewhere between the 10th and 13th centuries. The origin of the song is not clear....
, may also date back to this period. The first known notable composer, however, Mikołaj z Radomia, lived in the 15th century. The melody of Bóg się rodzi
Bóg sie rodzi
"Bóg się rodzi" is a Polish Christmas carol , with lyrics written by Franciszek Karpiński in 1792. Its stately melody is traditionally known to be a coronation polonaise for Polish Kings dating back as far as during the reign of Stefan Batory in the 16th century...
by an unknown composer was a coronation polonaise for Polish kings.
During the 16th century, mostly two musical groups - both based in Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
and belonging to the King and Archbishop of Wawel - led the rapid innovation of Polish music. Composers writing during this period include Wacław z Szamotuł, Mikołaj Zieleński, and Mikołaj Gomółka. Diomedes Cato
Diomedes Cato
Diomedes Cato was an Italian-born composer and lute player, who lived and worked entirely in Poland. He is known mainly for his instrumental music...
, a native-born Italian who lived in Kraków from about the age of five, became one of the most famous lutenists at the court of Sigismund III, and not only imported some of the musical styles from southern Europe, but blended them with native folk music.
17th and 18th centuries
In the last years of the 16th century and the first part of the 17th century, a number of Italian musicians were guests at the royal courts of Sigismund III VasaSigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
and Władysław IV. These included Luca Marenzio
Luca Marenzio
Luca Marenzio was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the form in its late stage of development, prior to its early Baroque transformation by Monteverdi...
, Giovanni Francesco Anerio
Giovanni Francesco Anerio
Giovanni Francesco Anerio was an Italian composer of the Roman School, of the very late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He was the younger brother of Felice Anerio...
, and Marco Scacchi
Marco Scacchi
Marco Scacchi was an Italian composer and writer on music.Scacchi was born in Gallese, Lazio. He studied under Giovanni Francesco Anerio in Rome. He was associated with the court at Warsaw from 1626, and was kapellmeister there from 1628 to 1649...
. Polish composers from this period focused on baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
religious music, concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
s for voices, instruments, and basso continuo, a tradition that continued into the 18th century. The best-remembered composer of this period is Adam Jarzębski
Adam Jarzebski
Adam Jarzębski was an early baroque Polish composer, violinist, poet, and writer. The first documented mention of Jarzębski was in 1612, when he became a member of the chapel of Johann Siegmund Hohenzollern in Berlin...
, known for his instrumental works such as Chromatica, Tamburetta, Sentinella, Bentrovata, and Nova Casa. Other composers include Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki
Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki
Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki was a Polish Baroque composer.-Life:Born in Rossberg near Beuthen in Silesia around 1665, little is known of his early life...
, Franciszek Lilius
Franciszek Lilius
Franciszek Lilius was a Polish composer, a descendant of the Italian Giglis family. He significantly contributed to the musical culture of Warsaw in the 17th century...
, Bartłomiej Pękiel, Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński and Marcin Mielczewski
Marcin Mielczewski
Marcin Mielczewski was, together with his tutor Franciszek Lilius and Bartłomiej Pękiel, among the most notable Polish composers in the 17th century....
.
In addition, a tradition of operatic production began in Warsaw in 1628, with a performance of Galatea (composer uncertain), the first Italian opera produced outside Italy. Shortly after this performance, the court produced Francesca Caccini
Francesca Caccini
Francesca Caccini was an Italian composer, singer, lutenist, poet, and music teacher of the early Baroque era. She was the daughter of Giulio Caccini, and was one of the best-known and most influential female European composers between Hildegard of Bingen in the 12th century and the 19th century...
's opera La liberazione di Ruggiero dall'isola d’Alcina, which she had written for Prince Władysław three years earlier when he was in Italy. Another first, this is the earliest surviving opera written by a woman. When Władysław was king (as Władysław IV) he oversaw the production of at least ten operas during the late 1630s and 1640s, making Warsaw a center of the art. The composers of these operas are not known: they may have been Poles working under Marco Scacchi in the royal chapel, or they may have been among the Italians imported by Władysław.
The late 17th and 18th century saw a decline of Poland, which also hindered the development of music. Some composers attempted to create a Polish opera (such as Jan Stefani and Maciej Kamieński), others imitated foreign composers such as Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
and Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
.
The most important development in this time, however, was the polonaise
Polonaise
The polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin....
, perhaps the first distinctively Polish art music
Art music
Art music is an umbrella term used to refer to musical traditions implying advanced structural and theoretical considerations and a written musical tradition...
. Polonaises for piano were and remain popular, such as those by Michał Kleofas Ogiński, Karol Kurpiński
Karol Kurpinski
Karol Kazimierz Kurpiński was a Polish composer, conductor and pedagogue.Karol began his studies under his father, Marcin Kurpiński, an organist. At the age of 12, he became organist at a church in Sarnowa near Rawicz, where his uncle Karol Wański was a parish priest...
, Juliusz Zarębski
Juliusz Zarebski
Juliusz Zarębski was a Polish composer and pianist, pupil of Franz Liszt.In his works, Zarębski referred to Franz Liszt and Fryderyk Chopin...
, Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer.-Biography:Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, had converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris...
, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Józef Elsner
Józef Elsner
Józef Antoni Franciszek was a composer, music teacher and music theoretician, active mainly in Warsaw...
, and, most famously, Fryderyk Chopin. Chopin remains very well known, and is regarded for composing a wide variety of works, including mazurka
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
s, nocturne
Nocturne
A nocturne is usually a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night...
s, waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
es and concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
s, and using traditional Polish elements in his pieces. The same period saw Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanislaw Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
, the leading individual in the successful development of Polish opera
Polish opera
Polish opera may be broadly understood to include operas staged in Poland and works written for foreign stages by Polish composers, as well as opera in the Polish language....
, still renowned for operas like Halka
Halka
Halka is an opera by the Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko. The libretto was by Wlodzimierz Wolski , a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas.-Performance history:...
and The Haunted Manor
The Haunted Manor
The Haunted Manor is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by Jan Chęciński...
.
Traditional music
PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
was collected in the 19th century by Oskar Kolberg
Oskar Kolberg
Henryk Oskar Kolberg, , was a Polish ethnographer, folklorist, and composer.- Life :He was born in Przysucha, the son of Juliusz Kolberg, a professor at Warsaw University, and Fryderyka Mercoeur...
, as part of a wave of Polish national revival
Romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...
. With the coming of the world wars and then the Communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
, folk traditions were oppressed or subsumed into state-approved folk ensembles. The most famous of the state ensembles are Mazowsze
Mazowsze (folk group)
Mazowsze is a famous Polish folk group. It is named after the Mazowsze region of Poland.-History:...
and Śląsk
Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble
Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble is one of the largest Polish folk ensembles. It was founded on July 1, 1953 by Stanisław Hadyna and is named after the Silesia region...
, both of which still perform. Though these bands had a regional touch to their output, the overall sound was a homogenized mixture of Polish styles. There were more authentic state-supported groups, such as Słowianki, but the Communist sanitized image of folk music made the whole field seem unhip to young audiences, and many traditions dwindled rapidly.
Polish dance music, especially the mazurka
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
and polonaise
Polonaise
The polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin....
, were popularized by Frederick Chopin, and they soon spread across Europe and elsewhere. These are triple time dances, while five-beat forms are more common in the northeast and duple-time dances like the krakowiak
Krakowiak
The Krakowiak, sometimes referred to as the Pecker Dance, is a fast, syncopated Polish dance in duple time from the region of Krakow and Little Poland. This dance is known to imitate horses, the steps mimic their movement, for horses were well loved in the Krakow region of Poland for their civilian...
come from the south. The polonaise comes from the French word for Polish to identify its origin among the Polish aristocracy, who had adapted the dance from a slower walking dance called chodzony. The polonaise then re-entered the lower-class musical life, and became an integral part of Polish music.
Podhale
While folk music has largely died out in Poland, especially in urban areas, the tourist destination of PodhalePodhale
The Podhale is Poland's most southern region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains, and is characterized by a rich tradition of folklore that is much romanticized in the Polish patriotic imagination...
has retained its traditions. The regional capital, Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
, has been a center for art since the late 19th century, when people like composer Karol Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
, who discovered Goral folk music there, made the area chic among Europe's intellectuals. Though a part of Poland, Podhale's musical life is more closely related to that found in the Carpathian
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
mountains of Ukraine, Slovakia, Moravia in Czech Republic and Transsylvania. The people in the Tatra
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
mountains of Poland and Slovakia are descendants of Vlach shepherds who settled there from 14th to 17th century.
Local ensembles use string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s like violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s and a cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
to play a distinctive scale called the Lydian mode
Lydian mode
The Lydian musical scale is a rising pattern of pitches comprising three whole tones, a semitone, two more whole tones, and a final semitone. This sequence of pitches roughly describes the fifth of the eight Gregorian modes, known as Mode V or the authentic mode on F, theoretically using B but in...
. The distinctive singing style used in this scale is called lidyzowanie. The lead violin (prym) are accompanied by several second violins (sekund) and a three-stringed cello (bazy). Duple-time dances like the krzesany, zbójnicki (Brigand's Dances) and ozwodna are popular. The ozwodna has a five bar melodic structure which is quite unusual. The krzesany is an extremely swift dance, while the zbójnicki is well-known and is perceived as being most "typical" of Podhale and Northern Slovakia. Folk songs typically focus on heroes like Janosik
Janosik
Janosik can refer to:* Janosik , a Polish movie* Janosik , a Polish TV series* Janosik. Prawdziwa historia, a Polish historical filmJanošik:* Janošik, a village in Serbia Jánošík:...
.
Other regions
Outside of Podhale, few regions have active folk scenes, though there are music festivalMusic festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s, such as the Kazimierz Festival, which are well-known and popular. Regional folk bands include Gienek Wilczek Band (Bukowina
Bukowina
Bukowina may refer to:*Bukowina, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Bukowina, Biłgoraj County in Lublin Voivodeship *Bukowina, Piotrków County in Łódź Voivodeship...
), Tadeusz Jedynak Band (Przystalowice Male), Stachy Band (Hazców nad Wislokiem), Franciszek Gola Band (Kadzidło), Edward Markocki Band (Zmyslówka-Podlesie), Kazimierz Kantor Band (Głowaczowa), Swarni Band (Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ is a town in southern Poland with 34,000 inhabitants , and the historical capital of the mountain region . The town is situated in the confluence of the rivers Biały and Czarny Dunajec, in a valley beneath the Gorce Mountains. It's in Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship...
), Kazimierz Meto Band (Glina), Ludwik Młynarczyk Band (Lipnica
Lipnica
Lipnica may refer to:* Lipnica, Środa Śląska County in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-west Poland* Lipnica, Wołów County in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-west Poland* Lipnica, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland...
) and Trebunie-Tutki
Trebunie-Tutki
Trebunie-Tutki is a folk musical group consisting of a family of musicians originating from Biały Dunajec village near Zakopane, Poland. Though there are many members of the extended family that play music, the core musicians currently are Władysław Trebunia-Tutki , his son Krzysztof and daughter...
.
Classical music
At the end of the 18th century, Polish classical music evolved into national forms like the polonaisePolonaise
The polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin....
. In the 19th century the most popular composers were: Józef Elsner
Józef Elsner
Józef Antoni Franciszek was a composer, music teacher and music theoretician, active mainly in Warsaw...
and his pupils Fryderyk Chopin and Ignacy Dobrzyński. Important opera composers were Karol Kurpiński
Karol Kurpinski
Karol Kazimierz Kurpiński was a Polish composer, conductor and pedagogue.Karol began his studies under his father, Marcin Kurpiński, an organist. At the age of 12, he became organist at a church in Sarnowa near Rawicz, where his uncle Karol Wański was a parish priest...
and Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko was a Polish composer, conductor and teacher. His output includes many songs and operas, and his musical style is filled with patriotic folk themes of the peoples of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
. Famous soloists and composers were Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer.-Biography:Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, had converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris...
, Juliusz Zarębski
Juliusz Zarebski
Juliusz Zarębski was a Polish composer and pianist, pupil of Franz Liszt.In his works, Zarębski referred to Franz Liszt and Fryderyk Chopin...
. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the most promiment composers were Władysław Zeleński and Mieczysław Karłowicz. Karol Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
gained prominence prior to World War II. Józef Koffler
Józef Koffler
Józef Koffler was a Polish composer, music teacher, musicologist and musical columnist.He was the first Polish composer living before the Second World War to apply the twelve tone composition technique .- Biography :...
was the first Polish twelve-tone composer
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
(dodecaphonist).
Contemporary classical music
Between the wars, a group of composers formed the Association of Young Polish Musicians; these included Grażyna BacewiczGrazyna Bacewicz
Grażyna Bacewicz was a Polish composer and violinist. She is only the second Polish female composer to have achieved national and international recognition, the first being Maria Szymanowska in the early 19th century.- Life :Bacewicz was born in Łódź...
, Zygmunt Mycielski
Zygmunt Mycielski
Zygmunt Mycielski was a Polish composer and music critic. He was born in Przeworsk and completed his childhood education in Kraków, where he was taught by Bernardino Rizzi. In 1928, Mycielski moved to Paris, where he studied composition at École Normale de Musique with Paul Dukas and Nadia Boulanger...
, Michał Spisak and Tadeusz Szeligowski
Tadeusz Szeligowski
Tadeusz Szeligowski was a Polish composer, educator, lawyer and music organizer. His works include the operas The Rise of the Scholars, Krakatuk and Theodor Gentlemen, the ballets The Peacock and the Girl and Mazepa ballets, two violin concertos, chamber and choral works.As a music teacher he was...
.
Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, some composers, such as Roman Palester
Roman Palester
Roman Palester was a Polish composer of classical music. Palester composed his most significant work during the 1960s, and in 1964 was the first Polish musician to be awarded the Alfred Jurzykowski Prize. His work was individual in style, and not noticeably Polish in character.Palester was born in...
and Andrzej Panufnik
Andrzej Panufnik
Sir Andrzej Panufnik was a Polish composer, pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II...
, fled the country and remained in the exile. In the early 1960s, however, a number of composers known as the Polish Composers' School arose, characterized by the use of sonorism
Sonorism
Sonorism is an approach to musical composition that focuses on the characteristics and qualities of sound. Emphasis is placed on a search for new types of sounds on individual instruments, as well as the creation of textures by combining different instrumental sounds in unusual and unique ways.In...
and dodecaphonism. The style emerged out of the political crisis in 1956, following Stalin's death; that same year saw the Warsaw Autumn
Warsaw Autumn
Warsaw Autumn is the largest international Polish festival of contemporary music. Indeed, for many years, it was the only festival of its type in Central and Eastern Europe. It was founded in 1956 by two composers, Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki, and officially established by the Head Board...
music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
inaugurated, from whence came additional popularity for the Polish Composers' School. Composers included Tadeusz Baird
Tadeusz Baird
Tadeusz Baird was a Polish composer.He was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, to Scottish immigrant parents. He studied composition, piano and musicology in Warsaw with, among others, Kazimierz Sikorski. In 1956, with Serocki, he founded the Warsaw Autumn international contemporary music festival...
, Boguslaw Schaeffer
Boguslaw Schaeffer
Bogusław Julien Schaeffer is a Polish composer, musicologist, and graphic artist, member of the avantgarde "Cracow Group" of Polish composers alongside Krzysztof Penderecki and others...
, Włodzimierz Kotoński, Witold Szalonek, Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...
, Witold Lutosławski, Wojciech Kilar
Wojciech Kilar
Wojciech Kilar ; b. 17 July 1932 in Lwów, Poland) is a Polish classical and film music composer.-Biography:Wojciech Kilar is one of Poland’s esteemed composers. Born in 1932 in Lwów . His father was a gynecologist and his mother was a theater actress...
, Kazimierz Serocki
Kazimierz Serocki
Kazimierz Serocki was a Polish composer and one of the founders of the Warsaw Autumn contemporary music festival.-Life:...
and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki
Henryk Górecki
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki was a composer of contemporary classical music. He studied at the State Higher School of Music in Katowice between 1955 and 1960. In 1968, he joined the faculty and rose to provost before resigning in 1979. Górecki became a leading figure of the Polish avant-garde during...
.
More modern composers include Krzysztof Meyer
Krzysztof Meyer
Krzysztof Meyer is a Polish composer, pianist and music scholar.-Biography:Meyer was born in Cracow. As a boy he played piano and organ. He began his composition study early – in 1954, with Stanisław Wiechowicz...
, Paweł Szymański
Pawel Szymanski
Paweł Szymański is a Polish composer. His music is based on strict technical discipline and the initial sound material of Szymański’s pieces has roots in past conventions but is always processed and composed from the beginning...
, Krzesimir Dębski
Krzesimir Debski
Krzesimir Dębski is a Polish composer, conductor and jazz violinist. His music career as an musician has been that of a performer as well as composer of classical music, opera, television and feature films.-Professional career:...
, Hanna Kulenty
Hanna Kulenty
Hanna Kulenty is a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. Since 1992, she has worked and lived both in Warsaw and in Arnhem .- Musical education :...
, Eugeniusz Knapik
Eugeniusz Knapik
Eugeniusz Knapik is a Polish pianist and composer of classical music best known for his 1980 chamber piece String Quartet No. 1. Knapik studied composition and piano with Henryk Górecki and Czesław Stańczyk at the University of Music in Katowice...
, Piotr Rubik
Piotr Rubik
Piotr Rubik is a Polish composer of symphonic pop music for orchestra, films and theatre.-Biography:He learned to play the cello from the age of 7, went on to a musical secondary school, and then studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. Later he became a member of the...
and Paweł Mykietyn.
Contemporary popular music
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, and New Wave were well-known. Since 1989, the Polish scene has exploded with new talents and a more diverse style.
Every year, a huge gathering of young Poles meet to celebrate the rock and alternative music in Jarocin
Jarocin
Jarocin Jarocin Jarocin ( is a town in central Poland with 25,700 inhabitants (1995). Since 1999 Jarocin has been located in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, prior to that it was located in the Kalisz Voivodeship (1975–1998).- History :...
, Żary
Zary
Żary is a town in western Poland with about 39,900 inhabitants , situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship...
, and Kostrzyn nad Odrą
Kostrzyn nad Odra
Kostrzyn nad Odrą is a town in western Poland, at the confluence of the Oder and Warta rivers, on the border with Germany. Located in the Lubusz Voivodeship, in Gorzów County, it had 19,952 inhabitants as of 2007.- History :...
and at Open'er Festival
Open'er Festival
The Heineken Open'er Festival is a music festival which takes place on the North coast of Poland, in Gdynia. The first edition of the festival was organized in Warsaw in 2002 as Open Air Festival. The main organizer of the festival is the concert agency Alter Art, but the performance took its name...
and Off Festival
Off Festival
OFF Festival is alternative music festival held annually since 2006, sponsored by mBank and Lech, and promoted by one of Poland's national radio stations, Program 3 Polskiego Radia. Until 2009 it was held at Słupna Park in Mysłowice, Poland in August and lasts four days...
. These events often attract more than 250,000 people and are comparable to the gatherings in Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
and Roskilde
Roskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
.
In jazz music, polish musicians created a specific style, which was most famous in 60s and 70s. Most famous polish jazz artists are: Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...
, Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz born Adam Matyszkowicz is a Polish-Canadian pianist and composer living in Toronto. He performs jazz and classical piano pieces, as well as his own compositions...
, Tomasz Stańko
Tomasz Stanko
Tomasz Stańko is a Polish trumpeter, composer and improviser. Often recording for ECM, Stańko is strongly associated with free jazz and the avant-garde....
, Michał Urbaniak.
Two contemporary big Polish music festivals are Opole Festival and Sopot Festival. Among other important festivals there are: Jazz Jamboree
Jazz Jamboree
Jazz Jamboree Festival, one of the biggest and oldest jazz festivals in Europe, takes place in Warsaw. Organized by .-History:The first Jazz Jamboree was organised by Hot-Club Hybrydy. It was three days long and it was called "Jazz 58". The first three editions of the festival took place in the...
, Rawa Blues Festival
Rawa Blues Festival
Rawa Blues Festival is one of the largest and most popular blues festivals in Europe and in the world. The festival was named after the Rawa River, which flows through the city of Katowice...
and Wratislavia Cantans
Wratislavia Cantans
Wratislavia Cantans, also referred to as the International Festival of Oratorio and Cantata Music, is held every September in Wrocław...
.
Heavy Metal
Poland has one of the strongest and best-respected heavy metal scenes in Europe, specifically the death metalDeath metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
scene. One of the biggest record labels of death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
in Poland is Empire Records. The death metal band Vader
Vader (band)
Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn, formed in 1983. According to Piotr Wiwczarek, the band's founding singer and guitar player, the band's name was inspired by Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series. Lyrical themes include stories by H. P. Lovecraft, WW2, horror and anti-christian...
is considered the most successful Polish heavy metal act and have gained commercial and critical praise internationally. Their career spans more than three decades with many international tours. They are often seen as a huge inspiration on modern death metal. Both Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....
and Decapitated
Decapitated (band)
Decapitated is a death metal band that formed in Krosno, Poland in 1996. The group comprises guitarist, founder and composer Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka, vocalist Rafał Piotrowski and Austrian drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner. Decapitated have gained recognition as one of the genre's most widely respected...
have also found significant success both inside and outside of Poland. Both have toured extensively across Europe, America, and in the case of Decapitated, have recently toured Australia and New Zealand. Recently Indukti
Indukti
Indukti is a progressive metal band from Poland, founded in 1999. Indukti's debut album, S.U.S.A.R., featured Mariusz Duda of the Polish band Riverside on vocals....
, Hate
Hate (band)
Hate is a Polish death metal band from Warsaw, Poland, formed in 1990. Their most recent album, Erebos, was released in 2010, under Listenable Records.-Biography:...
, Trauma
Trauma (Polish band)
Trauma is a Polish death metal band formed in 1986 in Elblag. The band plays energetic technical music with an emphasis on colorful guitar techniques and extremely accurate kick fast on drums...
, Crionics
Crionics
Crionics is a Polish blackened death metal band from Kraków, formed in 1997 by Michał Skotniczny, Dariusz Styczeń, "Marcotic" and Maciej Zięba. In their early years they played fast and melodic music under the strong influence of Norwegian black metal band Emperor.-Band history:A year after the...
, Lost Soul
Lost Soul (band)
Lost Soul is a Polish technical death metal band established in 1990 in Wrocław. Till 2009 Lost Soul has released four studio album highly acclaimed by both fans and journalists...
and Lux Occulta
Lux Occulta
Lux Occulta was a Polish avant-garde metal band, founded in late 1994. Their work, also strongly influenced by progressive metal and black metal, commonly incorporates elaborate arrangements often featuring multiple sections and unpredictable time changes.- Biography :The band was started when...
have started to become well known outside of Poland. Though there is also a healthy and active grindcore scene, death metal remains Poland's strongest and most successful genre in terms of heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. There is a healthy black metals scene as well, led by Graveland
Graveland
Graveland is a Polish black metal band which was formed in 1992 by Rob Darken . The lyrics of Graveland are strongly inspired by nature, paganism and nationalism.-History:...
, Darzamat
Darzamat
Darzamat is a Polish symphonic black metal band formed in 1995. Although there is a claim about Darzamat being a name of a Slavonic forest god, it comes from Latvian mythology denoting garden goddess . Their latest album, Solfernus' Path, was released on August 28, 2009...
, Kataxu, Infernal War
Infernal War
Infernal War is a Polish blackened death metal band from Częstochowa, formed in 1997. Their sound is inspired by old thrash, death and black metal. Bands like Sodom, Protector, Slayer, Torture, Morbid Saint etc. The band members are huge fans of such bands....
and Vesania
Vesania
Vesania, , is a Polish symphonic black metal/blackened death metal band. They were formed in 1997 by Orion, Daray, and Heinrich. Later members were Annahvahr and Hatrah, who left the band in 1999 and was replaced by Siegmar....
.
External links
Audio clips: Traditional music of the Poland. Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.- BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): World Routes in Poland. Accessed November 25, 2010.
- Early Polish Music.