Customer Reviews

Folk Songs of Poland

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The bottom of the back cover of this Vanguard CD has the disclaimer: "This recording is being released for its musical and historical significance. It does not represent current Vanguard Classics quality standards." It is also a bit short, even at the Vanguard mid-price range, with a running time of just less than 35 minutes. So the missing star is for quantity, not for quality.

But who cares? The singing is delightful, the music bouncy without being vulgar, and the sentiments expressed are the same as in every country the world over. "I shall marry a man that comes from my own kind"; "Only fools seek riches"; "Why does he not love me?" No, I do not understand Polish. Vanguard was kind enough to provide both Polish and English texts. This is a very welcome addtion to my folk collection--as well as a gentle reminder of the origin of roughly half my genes.

I have been haunted by this recording since 1962 or 1963, when it was first released in this country. The singing is hypnotically beautiful, and there is a deep sorrow tugging at the music if you listen to it several times. In my opinion this music, wherever it came from or whoever produced it (some say it is not real "folk") expresses something quite profound about Poland.

My mom has the same title on her LP. My late grandparents came from Poland and its a celebration of my maternal parents' Polish heritage. The Cuckoo is one of the finest old folk songs of old Poland. And The Valley, so haunting and tragic.....my favorite. Most of the songs listed are as colorful as they were many years ago in this released cd.

I found this music to be happy, and uplifting to one's spirit. It has a catchy beat and it seems to be a calming rather than antagonistic in nature. I hadn't heard ethnic music such as this in a very long time, and I really thnk I may like to own some Polish folk music in the future.

My sisters and I grew up with this album in the sixties, and I'm delighted to see that it's finally been released on CD. The singing and orchestral arrangements seem just right to me: that may be nostalgia talking, but really I can't imagine the songs being presented more perfectly. There are some really beautiful melodies, and some of the songs make me want to get up and dance. Heartily recommended.

This ensemble has been designed (in early 1950s or so) to "properly" represent the people's culture of the socialist Poland. Original folk songs have been substantially reconstructed in almost a classical manner. It is not a random group of village musicians but a large selection of mostly professionally trained and organized vocalists. All together it is a fake image of Polish ethnicity but an original quality by itself. However, their best years are gone and so is the governmental support for such ensembles, and it reflects in technical quality of the recordings.