Making Music in the Polish Tatras

Timothy J. Cooley

Description

2006 Orbis Book Award winner

Challenging myths that mountain isolation and ancient folk customs defined the music culture of the Polish Tatras, Timothy J. Cooley shows that intensive contact with tourists and their more academic kin, ethnographers, since the late 19th century helped shape both the ethnic group known as Górale (highlanders) and the music that they perform. Making Music in the Polish Tatras reveals how the historically related practices of tourism and ethnography actually created the very objects of tourist and ethnographic interest in what has become the popular resort region of Zakopane. This lively book introduces readers to Górale musicians, their present-day lives and music making, and how they navigate a regional mountain-defined identity while participating in global music culture. Vivid descriptions of musical performances at weddings, funerals, and festivals and the collaboration of Górale fiddlers with the Jamaican reggae group Twinkle Brothers are framed by discussions of currently influential theories relating to identity and ethnicity and to anthropological and sociological studies of ritual, tourism, festivals, globalism, and globalization. The book includes a 46-track CD illustrating the rich variety of Górale music, including examples of its fusion with Jamaican reggae.

Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Note on Citations of Fieldwork Media

Introduction
1. Podhale
2. Making History
3. Making Mountain Music: A History of Ethnography in Podhale
4. Village on Stage
5. Global Village
6. Village for Hire
7. Back to the Village
Epilogue: Village Exhumed

Glossary
Notes
References Cited
List of Illustrations
List of Audio Examples
Index

Sujets

• Musique
• Culture musicale
• Europe
• Musiques du monde
• Music
• International
• Cultural Studies
• Anthropology
• World music
• Eastern Europe
• Ethnomusicology
• Ethnic group
• Multiple signal classification
• Ethnic

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 14 avril 2005
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253002549
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Making Music IN THE Polish Tatras
Making Music IN THE Polish Tatras
Tourists, Ethnographers, and Mountain Musicians

Timothy J. Cooley
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
http://iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail [e-mail]
2005 by Timothy J. Cooley
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cooley, Timothy J., 1962- Making music in the Polish Tatras : tourists, ethnographers, and mountain musicians / Timothy J. Cooley. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-253-34489-1 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Folk music-Tatra Mountains (Slovakia and Poland)-History and criticism. 2. Tatra Mountains (Slovakia and Poland)-Social life and customs. 3. Ethnomusicology. I. Title. ML3611.T38.C66 2005 781.62 9185043862-dc22
2004014534
1 2 3 4 5 10 09 08 07 06 05
For the people of Podhale
G role, g role g ralsko muzyka ca y wiat obyjdzies nima takiej nika.
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Note on Citations of Fieldwork Media
INTRODUCTION
1 Podhale
2 Making History
3 Making Mountain Music: A History of Ethnography in Podhale
4 Village on Stage
5 Global Village
6 Village for Hire
7 Back to the Village
EPILOGUE : Village Exhumed
Glossary
Notes
References Cited
List of Illustrations
List of Audio Examples
Index
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 G rale 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 G rale 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 G rale 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 G rale 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. G rale 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 G rale 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 G rale music, a music that seems either to attract or repulse listeners, leaving little room for ambivalence.
In Chicago the first G rale musicians I met included prymista (lead violinist) W adys aw Styrczula-Ma niak and his student at the time, Andrzej Tokarz. A fine violinist, basy, bagpipe, and G rale flute player, Andrzej is a real mover and shaker in the Chicago G rale community. He keeps busy but has never refused me a request for information or assistance. It was W adys aw s passionate and virtuosic violin playing that first inspired the wonder that would lead me to Poland. W adys aw 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-Ma niak 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 G rale 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 G rale 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 W adys aw Styrczula-Ma niak s father, J zef. At the time I was learning Polish and was far from conversant. For this reason I imagine I was not his easiest guest, but J zef, together with his warm and witty daughter Anna, were gracious hosts. Later I lived with Tadeusz Styrczula-Ma niak, W adys aw s uncle and J zef s brother, for several extended periods. Tadeusz is a master dancer, singer, and basy player, as well as a Tatra Mountain wilderness ranger and an excellent skier. He taught me much about life in the Tatras. In his beautiful log house I enjoyed the hospitality and wisdom of his wife, Stanis awa, and their son Edward. Edward is a true intellectual and an accomplished ethnographer who helped me both as a colleague and an adviser. Edward s brother Wojtek, together with his wife, Ewa, have also hosted me in their warm home, situated high in the hills of the village Ko cielisko with an exceptional view of the Tatras.
I thank my mentor and friend, J zef Staszel, and his wife, Maria, son Pawe , and daughter-in-law Stanis awa Trebunia-Staszel. This exceptional family of musicians and thinkers is a model of passionate and compassionate engaged living. A perfect winter day for me was when J zef would teach me to play a tune on the violin, take me to his favorite spot of wilderness for an hour or so of cross-country skiing, and then see how well I remembered the tune when we arrived home again. I hope to be such a fine teacher someday. An ethnographer in her own right (see references cited), Stanis awa speaks English well and helped me out on many occasions when my Polish failed. Pawe , to his professional colleagues and students, is a professor of nuclear physics, but to me he is a fine violinist in the G rale tradition, and a kind and generous gentleman.
A third family, again of musicians and otherwise accomplished individuals, that was exceptionally helpful to me in Poland is the Trebunia-Tutka family. I have already mentioned Stanis awa (Trebunia-Stasze ), whom I met on the same day (my first ever in the Tatras) in 1992 that I met her cousin Krzysztof and her uncle W adys aw. This father and son team of violinists, together with other family members, is quite well known throughout Poland and beyond. Yet both take hours each week to teach young children the very basics of the local music practices. I had the pleasure of rehearsing with one of Krzysztof s children s ensembles when living in Poland. Krzysztof and W adys aw also welcomed me into their homes on several occasions to talk about music and culture in the Tatras. See especially chapters 4 and 5 .
I wish to thank the Karpiel family, especially Zofia Karpiel (the Queen of the Tatras ), Jan Karpiel-Bu ecka, Anna Karpiel-Bu ecka, Boles aw Karpiel-Bu ecka, and others from this extended family. Each of these individuals welcomed me into their homes and shared with me something of their lives as old-family residents of Poland s Tatras. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to Marek Nowak and Katarzyna Krajewska, and their daughter Karolina, who opened their warm home to me whenever I was in Krak w. They were my friends and constant Polish language tutors, reminding me when I was speaking in the G rale manner and perhaps not as they do in Krak w. In Vienna, not far from the Tatras, ethnomusicologist Rudolph Pietsch and his wife and violist Francisca were my frequent hosts. They introduced me to ethnomusicologist Emil Lubej, who, together with his son, documented for me the wedding of Stanis awa Trebunia-Tutka and Pawe Staszel when I was unable to attend.
In Poland I also had the honor and pleasure of working with a community of scholars whom I hope I may call colleagues. Before traveling to Poland, I was introduced to the fine tradition of scholarship there by these individuals published articles and books. In particular, I thank Anna Czekanowska at Warsaw University who generously opened her home to me and provided advice from her extensive ex