One in the Smithsonian Folkways series

Artist: Various

The complex interplay of ethnicity, national identity and global diaspora in Polish music is easy to understand when one takes into account that Polish lands have been occupied by foreign powers throughout much of recorded history. For most of the modern era, Poland was a territory divided among and controlled by Germany, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and during the 20th century it existed largely as a battleground for two world wars and the ideological struggles of the Cold War. In a very real sense, the idea of Polish national identity survived through its poetry and music.

This CD reflects typical vocal and instrumental folk music from all areas of Poland.

With every purchase comes documentation that explains not just the sounds but their circumstances -- their who, what, when and why.