Music
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This and That
Posted by gls on 07 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Music, Polska
Hania Chowaniec-Rybka was well known before she was famous. A singer who specializes muzyka goralska (the music the music of Podhale, the region spread beneath the Tatra Mountains), Hania had made a name for herself long before she was known outside the relatively small confines of Podhale.
Her album “i to, i to” (”This and That”) is a blend of jazz and muzyka goralska. When K told me about it and suggested we buy it, I cringed. Mixing goralski music with this or that genre is nothing new, but it’s seldom done well. Sometimes one style or the other stands out, but never at the sacrifice of the other. It’s music with integrity, in other words. So often, bands that mix Highlander music with anything else create nothing but a travesty, a mix in which bastardized forms of one music plays slave to the other. Sometimes it’s rock with a bit of muzyka goralska , but mostly its the goralska music that dominates. Or at least tries. Instead of sounding like a clever marriage it ends up like a bad date.
Hania’s mix of jazz and the styles of the Polish Highlanders bends both genres just enough to make an accommodating mix.
Here’s my favorite track from the album: “Ola boga.”
| Jo se jes dzieweczka Mam wesolo dusze Bez dzien moge robic Wieczor tanczyc musze. |
I’m just a little girl with a happy soul I can do without the day but I must dance at night |
| Ola boga swietego Co to komu do tego Ola boga swietego A kapela gra |
Oh dear God, it’s nobody’s business! Oh dear God, and the band’s playing! |
(Polish speakers: How would you have translated “Ola boga swietego” in this case? Nothing sounds right.)
A Wista
Posted by gls on 17 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Music
We got a bit of new music during our trip and I’ll be sharing a little here and there during the coming weeks. Sadly, much of it probably won’t be available in the States.
Once upon a time, there was a Polish folk band called “A Wista.” Comprised of highland students who’d landed in Krakow for studies, the band played a mix Slovakian, Moravian, Balkan, and Hungarian songs, along with traditional Polish songs from the southern, mountainous region of the country.
Their studies long completed, they’ve since gone their separate ways, though K and I have a connection to three of the band members.
- One is the husband of K’s good, better, bestest friend.
- Another, with a newly formed band, played at our wedding.
- A third, with K’s friend’s husband and two others, played at L’s baptism.
It’s a shame they’re no longer together, for their music is truly beautiful: virtuoso playing (violin, viola, and double bass) combined with strong singing.
Here is my favorite from their CD Festiwal Karpat: a haunting Slovakian number:
Anyone interested can buy individual MP3s of the album here.
For fun, here’s the Google translation of the page. The genre in the original Polish is listed as “Ludowa” (”folk”), but Google chose the equally valid translation of “China”.
Music
Posted by gls on 27 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: LMS, Music, Polska
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In Polska, L will be exposed to a whole new world of music, hopefully. Granted, we do try to expose her to traditional Polish music here in the house, but to hear it live…
Right now, she’s fond of “Gloria in excelsis Deo” from Vivaldi’s Gloria. I play it in the car and she just swings her head back in forth in time with the music. Once the exciting beginning is over, she makes the sign for “More” and says her own special version of the word: ma.
She’s excited during the first part, but the second — “Et in terra pax” calms her down significantly. We played it in the car last night and a minute into the piece, she was looking calmly out the window.
Thrill is Gone
Posted by gls on 17 May 2008 | Tagged as: General, Music
I had no idea they’d made a video of this.
Top Five Drafting Albums
Posted by gls on 21 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Music
My sophomore, junior, and senior years, I took drafting. I thought I wanted to be an architect. By the end of my junior year, I realized it wasn’t going to happen. It just wasn’t in my soul. But for some reason, I went ahead and finished up the whole three-year drafting, taking the two-block drafting III class.
During our senior year, the teacher — an odd fellow who, judging from his hair cut and ties, was definitely stuck in the 70’s — allowed us to listen to music while drafting.
Choices, choices.
My friend and I set out to find the perfect drafting album, to match the list of perfect albums for this or that activity.
A few albums that made it into my personal rotation with a great deal of frequency were…
- R.E.M. Document
- Metallica …And Justice for All
- Sonic Youth Daydream Nation
- Pink Floyd Momentary Lapse of Reason
- Anything from Gabriel-era Genesis
Were I to do any drafting now, I’d more likely head to Thelonious Monk or Chick Corea, Bill Monroe or Lightening Hopkins.
Hedges
Posted by gls on 11 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Music
Prophetic comments about ten years before his own death coming home from a concert.
And then there’s the music.
Earl Scruggs and Steve Martin
Posted by gls on 27 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Bluegrass, Music
Yeah, I couldn’t believe it myself.
Zakopower
Posted by gls on 13 Nov 2007 | Tagged as: Music, Polska
Just before K and I moved from Poland in 2005, Zakopower, a new band, was growing popular. They performed at a few festivals and they had a hit single.
Unusual music — a combination of traditional highlander music (the original music sounds and looks something like this) with modern beats and instruments.
The first time I heard them, I liked them, but I wasn’t overwhelmed. The song was “Kiebys Ty”
Original, but it just didn’t grab me.
When K’s dad came from Poland, he brought with him some music that K’d requested. Among the CDs was Zakopower’s Musichal.
Listening to it, I realized that Zakopower had committed an frequent-enough error: they’d released the wrong song! Most of the songs, while pleasant, didn’t grab me the first listen.
One did: “Love’s Regret,” with one Boguslawa Kudasik taking lead vocals.
If you’re interested you can get it at CD Universe.
I listened to this song at least half a dozen times yesterday. The opening violin is so mournful that it can make one positively long for Podhale, the mountainous region of southern Poland from which this music comes.
What I love so much about it is how it typifies Goralski singing without being, well, typical. That sense of hanging on with white-knuckled vocal chords (wonderfully mixed, thank you) is at the heart of Goralski music — singing as high and mightily as possible without losing control.
“That’s why all the Goralski songs are so short,” K explains. “No one can sing like that for too long.”
At YouTube
- Video for “Kiebys Ty
- Sopot Concert (Two song set: a cover of Kelis’ “Trick Me,” and “Kiebys Ty”)
Fan Participation
Posted by gls on 12 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: LMS, Music, Parenthood
I sometimes play guitar for L. She likes it, but she doesn’t sit quietly and listen, much to my dismay. It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate music — she loves music. The problem is she wants to play too:
It’s not that I mind her playing. Rather, it’s somewhat dangerous: her little fingers fit between the strings and a tug can cause her sudden pain as the string digs into her.
Still, it’s an enjoyable way to pass some time.
