rural poland's music life 100 years ago?

hello, i was wondering how was rural (say village/people living on the land) polands music scene say 100-500 years ago. My grandma was a subsistence farmer in a village and i would imagine that they just would not have indigenous musical instruments such as a drum for example to sing and dance every night with their community.

I would hate to have my people go to bed when the work is done not dance and sing like lets say numerous tribes of africa. My momther say's that they hired/or a guy came from some other part of poland and came with an orchestra and had a party once in a while.:is this true? Only once in a while?!!

In my opinion I would like to see some traditions or new traditions come to reality with respect to indigenous music in automonous rural communities. This idea really makes me sad:what if poland had no electricity ?what would the people do in terms of musical culture? Since all if not most people now listen to stuff heard through speaker and wires. people going to disco's,people listening and tunning into the globalized music scene.

In my opinion, unless one believes that the world can sustain this unsustainable, industrialized, and globalized world civilization,we cannot wait until the era comes where humankind will have to go back to more simpler and natural times and start to develop it's indigenous musical culture.

Hello pc701,
I don't know about 500 years ago (Chopin 1840s) but I think this can not be far off



This is mountain music and I don't think it is typical in the rest of Poland. But given the costume and instruments it must be a very old traditional music. I like it for it's originality and it is good craic after a dozen beers but I could not listen to it sober.

The costumes are beautiful but all European traditional costumes seem very similar.



The unofficial national anthem has to be



Originally it is for birthday celebration but Polish people sing it at ALL occasions. And is a great source of merriment!.


Very good point, I like your thinking.


Weddings are the BIG occasion here, lasting for days and drinking and singing like hell, good fun.


Do not dispear, Zakopane is alive and doing very very well. Infact it has a fair balance of old and new. Funnily enough there are a massive amount of tourists in Zakopane 99% of whom are Polish, which I like, as an Irish man living here, I appreciate being immersed in the culture (e.g. without other Irish).


Again don't worry, come over, you'll love it.
In Ireland there is a huge appreciation for traditional music and because of numerous reasons like our pub culture it has been able to flourish. I know this sounds silly but I know or have met more people here who do traditional dancing in full costume than play or sing it.

Lastly but by no means least some very good Polish folk music, this I can listen to.