This beautifully realized set includes six CD's recorded and released by Polskie Nagrania Records. Each volume of the set comes with its own jewel case type CD, with complete artwork and line notes.
The Best of Authentic Polish Folk and Dance Music
(6-CD's BOX-SET)
This beautifully realized set includes six CD's recorded and released by Polskie Nagrania Records. Each volume of the set comes with its own jewel case type CD, with complete artwork and line notes.
Performed by:
Feliks Dzierzanowski Polish Folk Band, Karol Namyslowski 'Wloscianska' Orchestra, Tadeusz Wesolowski Accordions Ensemble, Lucky 13 Band, Orchestra and Choir of Polish Radio, Symphonic Orchestra of National Philharmonics and various authentic Polish folk bands.
This set consists of six volumes:
Volume 1:
Polki
Polka is the modern Polish-American favorite dance, the polka is a lively couple-dance in a moderately fast duple meter. Because of its acceptance as a ethnic symbol by Polish immigrants to North America, the polka is gradually increasing its position among Polish dances and is often present in the repertoire of Polish folk dance ensembles in the U.S. The dance, however, is not Polish; it is not enumerated among the five "national" dances of Poland which include: polonaise, kujawiak, mazur, oberek, and krakowiak.
Volume 2:
Krakowiaki
Krakowiak is a Polish dance from the region of Krakow, the old capital of Poland (used by the Piast and the Jagiello dynasties) and the center of southern part of the country, called Malopolska (Little Poland). The common name used in English is cracovienne (from the French); in German the dance is known as Krakauer Tanz. The term refers to a group of dances from southern and central Malopolska, which are known by their places of origin (proszowiak from Proszow), or by the particular figures used in their choreography.
Volume 3:
Kujawiaki
Kujawiak is a Polish dance from the region of Kujawy after which it is named (the region is in central Poland, on the Mazovian plains). Folk music from the Kujawy area is predominantly in triple meter. The second part of each measure is frequently extended and accented; moreover, the performers often extend (or less frequently, shorten) whole measures of the melody. As a result, a folk version of the flexible tempo rubato emerges.
Volume 4:
Oberki
Oberek, also known as obertas (common in the 19th century), or ober (the name used less frequently), is - in its stage versions performed by Polish folk dance ensembles - the most vivacious and acrobatic of the so-called five national dances (with polonaise, mazur, kujawiak, krakowiak). The oberek originated in the villages of Mazowsze in central Poland; it is danced by couples to instrumental music in triple meter. The name oberek is derived from the verb obracac sie - to spin. The dance's main movement is rotational: the dancers spin and twirl around the room.
Volume 5:
Polonezy
The polonaise is a stately Polish processional dance, performed by couples who walk around the dance hall; the music is in triple meter and moderate tempo. The dance developed from the Polish dance (taniec polski) of the 18th century; this form, in turn, was derived from the chodzony (walking dance) which was popular in the 17th century and known as a pieszy (pedestrian), or chmielowy (hops) dance. The latter form had its roots in the folk wedding dances, from which it separated and then entered the dance repertoire of the nobility. The folk variants continued to develop independently of the "Polish dance," resulting in such dances as chodzony, chmielowy (in the villages), and wieczkowy (in the towns). The Polish name of the dance, polonez, stems from the polonized form of the French term polonaise which was introduced in the 17th century (also accepted in English); the Polish term replaced the earlier name of the "Polish dance" in the 18th century.
Volume 6:
Mazury
The mazur and mazurek (i.e. small mazur), or in English mazurka, are general terms for a series of Polish folk dances in triple meter, which originated in the plains of Mazovia around Warsaw. The people of the province were called Mazurs; thus, the dance mazur bears the same name as the male inhabitant of the region. The dances, known abroad as mazurkas, comprise more than one type: mazur or mazurek, the obertas or oberek, and the kujawiak from the neighboring district of Kujawy. In America, the mazurka (the title was usually in this spelling) appeared in 1840s; salon composers wrote the mazurkas as dances associated with Poland and its celebrated loss of independence, or as fashionable dances dedicated to society ladies.
all text courtesy of the Polish Music Center (USC)
