suwalki violin

Suwalki violin is the instrument which belongs to chordophones group and it was the basic instrument in folk bands together with bagpipes, drum, bass and dulcimer. But it is the violin that had the greatest range and was the most popular. Folk violin is an instrument modelled on the professional violin but it differs with the choice of materials and construction details.

suwalki violin

The oldest information about Suwalki violin comes from the Polish documents from the fifteenth century and says that the violin is a developed form of folk instrument which native violin makers - craftsmen producing violin - gave a new shape, borrowed from the Italian lyre da braccio, in the sixteenth century.

Suwalki violin's strings are rubbing with a bow or twitching by fingers and also rubbing by the bow shaft, hitting by the shaft, the frog of the bow or a finger at the soundboard.

suwalki violin-legend
projekt - zespół

Team

The project involved a lot of people: musicians, theorists, animators.

Paweł Heppner – the originator of the project. A specialist in modern media, a scholar of Polish Film Institute, cinematographer and music composer of independent film. He is also a webdeveloper - web designer and an author of training courses.

Edyta Ołdak –  the co-originator of the project, responsible for the artistic form of the project and workshops. A graduate of Fine Arts in Warsaw, the founder of the Association "with headquarters in Warsaw". The author of several publications and projects carried out in the Association, a scholar of the Ministry of Culture.

Anna Grunwald – the head of Scientific - Educational section in the National Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, the head of the project team in Children's Museum, a PhD student in the Department of Teaching at the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw. Polonist and teacher (1996 - 2002) in Warsaw's primary and secondary schools.

In the project helped us (in alphabetical order):

Katarzyna De Latour – she is interested in Polish music and country singing for several years. She leads singing meetings in Warsaw House of Dance. Katarzyna De Latour has a degree in music (with a specialization in lead vocal). She plays the violin and pedal accordion in the band.

Romuald Jędraszak – Polish bagpiper from Great Poland. As an eleven year old boy visited Stanislaus Grocholski (the old bagpiper and band manager from Poznan) in his house and found bagpipes in the closet. Then he became highly interested in this instrument. He started learning to play the bagpipes during the summer in the house of his master. The first song which he learned to play was "Lelija".

Remigiusz Mazur - Hanaj – Since 2002 juror of Festival of Folk Bands and Singers in Kazimierz Dolny. He conducted workshops at the Institute of Polish Culture at Warsaw University (2003-07). He's a musician and plays the hurdy-gurdy.

Dr. musical arts Maria Pomianowska – She graduated from the Academy of Music in Warsaw. Specialized in playing the cello (1992). She is a student of Ram Narayan who comes from India and plays the sarangi. She studies the techniques of musical instruments from Asia by travelling to India, China, Korea, Japan and the Middle East. She also deals with exploration and reconstruction of the techniques of playing the old Polish stringed instruments such as Bilgoray Suka, Plock fiddle and others.

Janusz Prusinowski  a violinist, lyrist, composer and organizer. A student of village musicians: Stanislaw Lewandowski, Piotr & Jan Gac, Kazimierz Meto, Józef Zaraś and Józef Kedzierski. He has participated in many music projects continuing the tradition of Polish music, played in the Brotherhood of the Poor (1993) and was the initiator and co-founder of the Warsaw House of Dance (1994). He has given concerts in Poland, Italy, France, Russia, Croatia, Germany, Morocco, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Estonia, Denmark, Ukraine, Lithuania, England and Ireland.

Katarzyna Szurman – a musician, plays the violin and three row accordion. She plays in the band "Black Butterflies" which performs pre-war dance music and also ethno – jazz band "Cute Carnations". She leads music classes for children. Katarzyna Szurman works as a musician in the theater "Lublin Scene 30/32" and the Association of Polish traditional culture "The house of Dance".

Piotr Zgorzelski – a bass player and dancer. For 15 years he has been conducting the workshops of traditional Polish dances in Poland and in Europe, which derive from Mazovia, Opoczno, Radom, Great Poland region. He learned directly from village dancers as well as archival sources, creating curriculum which includes contemporary abilities and skills.