Making Music in the Polish Tatras: Tourists, Ethnographers, and Mountain Musicians

Preface and Acknowledgments

Preface and Acknowledgments This book is a work of ethnography. Like all ethnographies it is a collaborative project relying on the generous contributions of many individuals and effectively having numerous co-authors. These contributors include the many musicians, dancers, and community members in the towns and villages in or near the Polish Tatras who endured my presence, questions, cameras, microphones , and so forth. Thank you. My gratitude and debt extends to individuals in Górale diaspora communities, especially in Chicago and Toronto. I also wish to express sincere gratitude to my teachers, to my students, and to my family and friends who have contributed in material, intellectual, and unfathomable ways to this book. You know who you are; thank you. My fascination with the people and music identified with the Polish Tatras began in Chicago, Illinois, when in 1989 I first met individuals who identified themselves as Górale or Tatra Mountain Highlanders. At the time I was working for the Illinois Arts Council as a folklorist and ethnomusicologist researching what that state agency called “ethnic and folk arts.” Meeting Poles in Chicago is not surprising—the windy city hosts a large population of Poles second only to Warsaw. What surprised me about the Polish Górale I met was their desire and ability to retain a distinct regional identity as Tatra mountaineers even when so far removed from their beloved mountains. One of the ways many Górale expressed their identity was through a vigorous music and dance quite distinct from any music that I was familiar with at the time. And yet the music resonated with another genre associated with mountains —American old-time stringband music with real and nostalgic links to the Appalachian Mountains. Górale violin styles featuring angular melodies that are pushed and pulled rhythmically within strongly articulated meters remind me of American old-time fiddle styles, a comparison first suggested by some of the Górale violinists I met in Chicago. Actively playing old-time music at the time on the banjo and guitar, perhaps I was aesthetically prepared to like Górale music, a music that seems either to attract or repulse listeners , leaving little room for ambivalence. In Chicago the first Górale musicians I met included prymista xii Preface and Acknowledgments (lead violinist) Władysław Styrczula-Maśniak and his student at the time, Andrzej Tokarz. A fine violinist, basy, bagpipe, and Górale flute player, Andrzej is a real mover and shaker in the Chicago Górale community. He keeps busy but has never refused me a request for information or assistance. It was Władysław’s passionate and virtuosic violin playing that first inspired the wonder that would lead me to Poland. Władysław not only opened my ears, but he also opened the doors to his house in Chicago, as well as the doors to the homes of his large and exceptionally talented family in Poland. For these reasons, the Styrczula-Maśniak family name figures prominently in this book. Another family of musicians and dancers who hosted me on occasion when I needed a place to stay in Chicago was the Maciata-Lassak family: violinist Halina Maciata; her sister Janina, a dancer; and the brothers who became their husbands, respectively Tomasz and Janusz Lassak. Halina, who wrote a fine master’s thesis on Górale flutes, was particularly helpful with a number of my projects by offering her language and music skills. In Chicago and in Poland I also benefited from the generosity and musicianship of Maria and Andrzej Krzeptowski-Bohac, their children, and their many students. The web of contacts among the Górale diaspora extended to Toronto, beginning with dancer and choreographer Tadeusz Zdybal. I am deeply grateful to all those in these communities, named here and left unnamed, who taught me so much. Thank you all. In Poland, as in Chicago, I generally experienced individuals within their families. The first place I lived in the Tatra region was with Władysław Styrczula-Maśniak’s father, Józef. At the time I was learning Polish and was far from conversant. For this reason I imagine I was not his easiest guest, but Józef, together with his warm and witty daughter Anna, were gracious hosts. Later I lived with Tadeusz Styrczula-Maśniak, Władysław’s uncle and Józef’s brother, for several extended periods. Tadeusz is a master dancer, singer, and basy player, as...