Chopin's Ethno-world
In the audiosphere of Chopin's early youth - Polish folk musical instruments of the 17th - 21st centuries
Part of temporary exhibiton Instruments… — see and hear the tradition.Museum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
"Instruments… – see and hear the tradition"
Opened in 2015, the exhibition presents the folk bands from the most important ethnographic regions in Poland and folk musical instruments in the Hornbostel-Sachs classification.
Bands from Wielkopolska region
During his travels around Greater Poland, Fryderyk Chopin may have heard instruments typical of that region, such as mazanki (folk fiddle), bagpipes, bladder pipe, and perhaps a wedding reception goat- intruments that are stillused there nowadays.
Mazanki- folk fiddle from Wielkopolska region (end of the 19th c.) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Mazanki (fiddle)
A small, three-string, archaic instrument from Greater Poland, made using the gouging method. The underside of its soundboard with a neck ending in a pin chamber is made of a single piece of wood.
There is common element in old string instruments - the so-called "support with a leg" - one leg is longer and connects the top plate with the bottom plate acting as a soundpost in the instrument, the other is shorter and is based on its top plate.
Bagpipe- bladder pipe (1971) by Domagała FranciszekMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Bladder pipe
A single-voice bagpipes, its air reservoir is made of an animal's bladder and is inflated with the mouth. It is the shepherd's instrument and is used by children to learn how to play the bagpipes.
Bagpipe from Wielkoposka region (end of 19th c.) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Badpipe from Wielkopolska region (bukowsko-kościański type)
A type of bagpipe that comes from north-west Wielkopolska region. It is larger and lower in pitch than other types of these instruments in the region. A characteristic element of decoration is tusks and wide ears made of brass sheet.
Bagpipe from Wielkopolska region (20th c.) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
White goat (wedding reception goat)
It is an instrument with the 16th-century roots. It is characterized by the lowest sound among all Polish types of bagpipes.
The air is pressed into the bag with a wooden bellows, which resembles a blacksmith's bellows.
Bagpipe from Wielkopolska region (20th c.) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
There is a specific combination of a bag with white fur on the outside with a wooden pipe with a wooden elbow in the form of a carved head of goat with horns.
Folk music played a large role in shaping Chopin's musical sensitivity. He experienced it many times during his youthful journeys.
Double bass with a bow (1890) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Double bass
It happened that Fryderyk Chopin would have taken the bass and he had played the dance.
Fiddle (1900-1939) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
The band at that time usually included the violin.
The collection of the Museum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydłowiec includes about 200 violins- from pseudo-violins, i.e. toy violins, primitive forms, through the co-called a proper violin, to a violn distinguished by its unique form. Folk instruments differ from professional ones in that they are not limited by a choice of materials, imposed dimensions or decoration techniques, the limits are only set by a creator's imagination.
Part of temporary exhibition "The magic of instruments. Peculiarities of the three-voice invention".Museum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Some of them can be admired at the exhibition "Magic of instruments. Peculiarities of three-voice invention", which combines the historical and artistic values of the15th-16th century interiors with instrumentological values, and where folk freedom meets the elegance of professionalism
Single-skin frame drum (second half of the 19th c.) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Apart from the violin, the oldest known line-up of a Polish folk band also included a single-skin drum.
Single-skin frame drum- detail (second half of the 19th c.) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Vessel rattles or bells by the drums enriched the sound of the instrument.
Single-skin frame drum (second half of the 19th c.) by UnknownMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
The drumsticks had a wooden, felt or leather-wrapped head.
Painting "The Musicial Jew" (1931) by Abraham WeinbaumMuseum of Folk Musical Instruments in Szydlowiec
Abraham Weinbaum "Jewish musician"
During long journeys, Chopin stayed in inns and taverns, where Jewish musicians often accompanied the meals.
Musical instruments in the museum in Szydłowiec are part of the richness of Polish musical tradition, which shows the originality of artistic concept of folk masters and theirs evolution in construction, form and ornamentation. It is a fragment of bygone world that Chopin once experienced.
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