POLISH FOLK MUSIC - Highlanders Music from Poland: Tatry and Sudety

Label: Polskie Nagrania - Muza (1993)
Catalogue No: PNCD 227
Format: CD

Tracks:

1. Muzyka Obrochtow z Zakopanego ze spiewem dziewczat (Music from Obrochtow with girls singing, medley):
Kiedy jo se miala - Dunajecko woda - W starym rebowisku - Kochani, kochani - Ślebodno kozicka - Przyjdź ze chlopce do nas - Nie bede, nie bede - Siwa mgla - Regle moje regle - Idzie bystro woda - Sabalowa Wierchowa - Krzesany po 4 - Krzesany po 3 - Zielona

2. Muzyka Masniakow z Koscielisk (Music from Koscielisk, medley):
Marsz - Nuta Sabalowa - Wierchowa I - Wierchowa II - Krzesany po dylu - Wychodna Liptowska – Ozwodna stara - Drobna - Ozwodna - Zielobna - Ozwodna – Krzesany po 4 – Krzesany po 3 – Krzesany po 2 - Wierchowa - Zbojnicki

3. Bacowka (excerpts) 

4. Wesele goralskie (Highlander's weeding, excerpts) 

5. Muzyka gorali sadeckich (Music of Sadecki Highlanders, medley):
A gdziezes ty, moj Jasiu (spiew pasterski) – Ej, nie bede jo pasla (spiew pasterski) – Pokiel jo se, pokiel (spiew pasterski) – Obyrtany – Oj, zagroj mi, zagroj – Juz jo więcej wiecor po wsi – Pasterski (kapela) – W olsynie jo wolki pasla (spiew pasterski) – Obyrtany: Hopa Siupa po ciupinie – Polka: Jak kowale w kuzni kujom – Polka: A moj ojciec robil dziyzki – Polka: Hej, hej, mama mi nie wierzy

Performed by:

Track 1 - Kapelea Obrochtow z Zakopanego

Track 2 - Kaplea Masniakow z Koscielisk

Track 3 - Kapela Masniakow z Koscielisk

Track 4 - Kapela Jana Cudzicha-Duszy z Bialego Dunajca

Track 5 - Regionalny Zespol Spoldzielczosci Pracy LACHY w Nowym Saczu

About:

The goralski is one of the two basic dances of the Skalne Podhale region (Rocky Foothills of the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland). The goralski and zbojnicki do not occur in the neighboring mountains of Pieniny and Beskidy, and the districts of Orawa and Spisz. The goralski is a general name of the solo dance of one couple who perform a series of dances (3-8). In each segment of the dance, the male dancer sings a selected tune (nuta) in a freely structured rhythm. The ensemble of musicians picks up this tune and performs it for the couple to dance to.

Krakusy in goralski, 1999. The goralski varies in content and style from one village to another and from one dancer to another. Although the goralski is a couple dance, the partners touch only during the final turning together figure, called "zwyrtanie" (according to Ada Dziewanowska, Polish Folk Songs and Dances, p. 267). The man plays the leading role and performs the most intricate steps. The woman has only two or three different patterns to perform and mostly responds to the actions of the man.

There were few transcriptions of gorale music in the first half of the 19th century and none earlier; an explosive growth in the outsiders' interest began in the late 19th century. At that time, Dr. Tytus Chalubinski organized many excursions into the Tatras accompanied by groups of gorale musicians. Despite the presence of gorale themes in 19th-century Polish opera (Karol Kurpinski's Zabobon, czyli krakowiacy i gorale; Stanislaw Moniuszko's Halka), a serious interest in the stylistic traits of the Podhale folklore was expressed only in the 20th century, starting with Karol Szymanowski (his Mazurkas, ballet Harnasie), and continuing with Artur Malawski (symphonic poem Tatry), Henryk Gorecki (two string quartets), and Wojciech Kilar (Krzesany for symphony orchestra).

The goralski dance is performed by a solo couple; the man is the dominant partner and selects the tunes and figures to perform. He sings to te musicians the tune he wants to dance and they respond by repeating it with ornaments. According to the description of the goralski by Wlodzimierz Kotonski, the dance begins when another male dancers introduces the girl onto the dance floor and turns her around ("Wyzwyrtanie"). During the following sequence of dances, the male partner dances solo, circling around the woman and presenting a variety of figures. The woman responds by turning, performing heel clicks, and stamping. The dance sequence usually begins with the slower nuta ozwodna and the steps of drobiony (minced), running, and regular. After a couple of ozwodnas the dancers performs a krzesany (from "sparks" of the flint; the name comes from the regular, heavy accents in the music) or drobny (tiny; the name reflects the small size of the fast-paced steps).

Podhale is the only area of Poland where the folk culture is still alive as it is present in the daily activities of the gorale. They wear their costumes, speak the local dialect, and sing and play the traditional melodies. The music of this region strongly differs from Polish folk music of its northern regions, especially because of its predominantly duple meters (triple meter is the most popular on the Mazovian plains). However, Timothy Cooley discovered that the 19th century collectors, especially Oskar Kolberg, found numerous triple-meter melodies in the Tatras; the change of the repertoire may be attributed to the influence of outsiders, the tourism promoters and ethnographers, who emphasized the differences between the music of the gorale and that originating from the rest of the country (Cooley 1998, 2000).
Several types of melodies are used for the dance: nuta ozwodna, krzesana, drobna, and zielona. The man sings one couplet in a high and tense falsetto voice and a quasi-improvisatory manner. The band (called kapela or muzyka), led by a violinist, responds with repeats of the ornamented melody (performed by lead violinist). The strongly accented rhythmic foundation is provided by the accompanying violins and the basy (see the entry on zbojnicki for a description of the band and the instruments).

text courtesy of the Polish Music Center