William Helmcke
Nation/Culture. Poland is a homogenous Central European country of 38 million people, 90% of whom are Catholic. Catholicism strongly influences Polish culture and history, which began in 966 when Duke Mieszko I was baptized Roman Catholic. At its peak in the 1600s Poland was four times larger than today. In 1655 the Black Madonna of Częstochowa protected the monastery Jasna Góra from a Swedish invasion, thus leading to her being crowned Queen of Poland. In 1683 Jan Sobieski defeated invading Islamic Turks at the Battle of Vienna, thus keeping Europe Christian. The world's second Constitution was adopted in Poland on May 3, 1791. Later, Poland was partitioned by Austria, Germany, and Russia, eliminating it from the map from 1795 to 1918. Following WWI Russians attacked Poland’s fledgling democracy, which was established and defended by Józef Piłsudski. In 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising Varsovians valiantly defended the capital, which was 85% destroyed. Despite working with Allies during WWII, Poland fell behind the Iron Curtain. Between 1948-1981 Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński led Poland spiritually as “Primate of the Millennium.” In 1978 Karol Wojtyła’s election as Pope John Paul II in inspired the Poles; his 1979 Pentacost homily at Victory Square changed history. In the turbulent 1980s Lech Wałęsa co-founded Solidarność (Solidarity) and Blessed Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko was kidnapped and murdered by communists. In 1989 Poland ended Soviet-imposed communism. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. The US and Poland remain strong allies.
Music. Folk music was and is an important source of expression, as reflected in the five national dances: mazurka, polonaise, krakowiak, kujawiak, and oberek. Polish folk music inspired Fryderyk Chopin, who blended common-practice techniques with dance genres and rhythms. Famous Polish singers include Mieczysław Fogg (1901-1990), Czesław Niemen (1939-2004) and Jacek Kaczmarski (1957-2004).
During the 1960s-80s Niemen and Kaczmarski wrote and sang powerful protest songs like “Dziwny jest ten Świat” (Strange is this World) and “Mury” (Walls) respectively. Disco polo, blending folk and rock styles, developed in the 1990's. Known rock bands include Czerwony Gitary (Red Guitars), Skaldowie (Troubadours), and Dżem (Jam).
A variety of music festivals are held throughout Poland. One of which, the Fryderyk Awards (Grammies) takes place each April.
Significant Polish pieces include:
Bogurodzica (Mother of God) [oldest Polish composition]
Gaude Mater Polonia (Rejoice Mother Poland)
Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Dabrowski’s Mazurka) [National Anthem]
Boże, coś Polskę (God, Protect Poland)
Żeby Polska była Polską (Let Poland be Poland)
Sto Lat (100 Years) [Polish Happy Birthday]
Kolędy (Christmas carols) [beautiful and very popular]
Notable Musicians.
Wacław z Szamotuł (c. 1524-1560): Renaissance composer
Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (c.1665-1734): Baroque composer
Bartłomiej Pękiel (?-c.1670): Baroque composer
Józef Elsner (1769-1854): Classical composer, theorist, teacher of Chopin
Karol Kurpiński (1785-1857): Nationalist composer, national opera director
Maria Szymanowska (1789-1831): Early romantic composer, pianist
Karol Lipiński (1790-1861): Violinist, composer, rival of Paganini
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849): Romantic composer, pianist, heart in Warsaw
Oskar Kolberg (1814-1890): Ethnomusicologist, collector of 12,000 folksongs
Stanisław Moniuszko (1819-1872): Nationalist composer, father of Polish opera
Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880): Violinist, composer
Ignacy Paderewski (1860-1941): Pianist, Prime Minister of Poland
Mieczysław Karłowicz (1876-1909): Late romantic composer
Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937): Early 20th-century composer
Artur Rubinstein (1887-1982): Pianist
Roman Maciejewski (1910-1998): Sacred composer
Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994): Secular composer
Sir Andrzej Panufnik (1914-1991): 20th-century composer
Wojciech Kilar (1932-): Film and sacred composer
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933-): Sacred and secular composer
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010): Sacred and secular composer
Zygmunt Krause (1938-): Contemporary composer
Zbigniew Preisner (1955-): Film composer
Krystian Zimerman (1956-): Pianist
Paweł Łukaszewski (1968-): Sacred composer
Paweł Mykietyn (1971-): Contemporary composer
Music in Higher Education. Musicians can study at the following eight institutions, which are members of the European Association of Conservatories.
Academy of Music (F. Nowowiejski) in Bydgoszcz, http://www.amuz.bydgoszcz.pl/en.html
Academy of Music (S. Moniuszko) in Gdańsk, http://www.amuz.gda.pl/pds_pl_v2.php?site=ects_en&a=1&b=4&c=1
Academy of Music (Karol Szymanowski) in Katowice, http://www.am.katowice.pl/?a=am-katowice-en
Academy of Music in Kraków, http://www.amuz.krakow.pl/en/29/2/7/History
Academy of Music (Grażyna i Kiejstut Bacewicz) in Łódź, http://www.amuz.lodz.pl/en/
Academy of Music (I.J. Paderewski) in Poznań, http://www.amuz.edu.pl/page.php/2/0/show/121
Academy of Music (Karol Lipiński) in Wrocław, http://www.amuz.wroc.pl/language/en/
Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (Warsaw), http://www.chopin.edu.pl/en/
Additionally, students can earn academically-focused BA and MA degrees at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, and Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin; and BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees at University of Warsaw, University of Wrocław, and Jagiellonian University in Krakow.
Music in Schools. Polish students attend elementary (grades 1-6), middle (7-9), and high school (10-12). Wind ensemble or orchestra are rarely offered in the schools' curriculums. But in musical elementary and middle schools, students receive weekly individual lessons, while non-music schools students receive weekly general music. High school students take one year of music history or art and may take a music history test on their matura (exit exam). Traditionally, one hundred days before matura, seniors attend studniówka (prom), which always begins with a polonaise. Kilar’s polonaise from Pan Tadeusz or Michał Ogiński’s Farewell to the Fatherland are often employed for this opening dance.
Contacts.
William Helmcke, University of Warsaw
Email: [email protected]
Paweł Łukaszewski, Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (Warsaw)
Email: [email protected]
Katarzyna Naliwajek, University of Warsaw
Email: [email protected]
Maciej Gołąb, University of Wrocław
Email: [email protected]
Bożena Muszkalska, University of Wrocław
Email: [email protected]
Recommendations for Listening.
Chopin
Ballades (especially Op. 38)
Fantasy on Polish Airs Op. 13 and Fantasy Op. 49
Mazurkas (esp. Op. 7 no. 1, Op. 68 no. 3)
Polonaises (esp. Op. 40 no. 1, Op. 44, Op. 53)
Rondo-Mazur Op. 5 and Rondo-Krakowiak Op. 14
Scherzos (esp. Op. 20)
Songs (esp. “Leci Liście z drzewa” and “Melodia”)
Górecki
Symphony No. 3
Totus Tuus
Łukaszewski
Via Crucis
Resurrectio
Symphonies 1-3
Cruce Tuam
Nunc Dimittis
Ave Maria
Moniuszko
Halka
Straszny Dwór
300 songs (any are excellent examples)
Penderecki
St. Luke Passion
Polish Requiem
Credo
Ubu Rex
Threnody
Szamotuł
Już się zmierzcha (Already It Is Dusk)
Kolędy
Christmas Carols:
Bóg się rodzi (God is Born)
Lulajże Jezuniu (Sleep, Baby Jesus) [ Chopin’s Op. 20]
Oj, maluśki, maluśki (Oh Little One);
Wśród nocnej ciszy (In the Silence of the Night);
Gdy się Chrystus rodzi (When Christ is Born)
Recommendations for Viewing.
Warszawa 1935 (Warsaw 1935), 2013; Tomasz Gomoła, director.
Bitwa warszawska 1920 (Battle of Warsaw 1920), 2011; Jerzy Hoffman, director.
Mazowsze: The Music and Dance of Poland, 2007; Roy A. Hammond, director.
Pan Tadeusz [Polish National Epic], 2000; Andrzej Wajda, director.
Trzy Kolory: Czerwony, Biały, Niebieski (Three Colors: Red, White, Blue), 1994; Krzysztof Kieślowski, director.
Miś (Teddy Bear), 1980; Stanisław Bareja, director.
Sami Swoi (Our Folks), 1967; Sylwester Chęciński, director.
Popiół i Diament (Ash and Diamond), 1958; Andrzej Wajda, director.
Recommendations for Reading (in English).
Bellman, Jonathan, 2009. Chopin’s Polish Ballade: Op. 38 as Narrative of National Martyrdom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Davies, Norman, 2004. Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw. New York: Penguin.
Davies, Norman, 2005. God’s Playground: a History of Poland. New York Columbia University Press.
Eigeldinger, Jean-Jacques, 1989. Chopin: Pianist and Teachers as Seen by his Students. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Goldberg, Halina. 2008. Music in Chopin’s Warsaw. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Michener, James, 1984. Poland. New York: Fawcett Books.
Moran, Michael, 2009. A Country in the Moon: Travels in Search of the Heart of Poland. London: Granta Publications.
Samson, Jim, 1995. Cambridge Companion to Chopin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Samson, Jim, 2001. Chopin. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Thomas, Adrian, 2008. Polish Music since Szymanowski: Music in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.