Traditional Polish folk and dance music is a living form of Poland’s natural heritage which exerted a major influence on European and global culture. The Mazurkas of the World Festival collects and shares folk music traditions and it celebrated the 200th birthday of Oskar Kolberg, the father of Polish and European ethnomusicology. The festival took place from April 21-26.
The 2014 Festival was devoted to the wealth of tradition that Kolberg chronicled. His monumental, eighty-volume work The Folk is a treasure trove full of melodies, rhymes, and stories reflecting over 500 years of culture. The Territories of Kolberg’s Republic listed in his work were presented in three concerts: The Northwest, The Northeast and The Southeast. All of them came together during the festival’s Dance Night (date). A fourth concert focusing on The Southwest will take place on November 28-30 during the fall edition of the Festival.
The Festival also held the Stara Tradycja [Old Tradition] competition on Tuesday, April 22 in the Mazovia Regional Center of Culture and Arts in Poland. The competition seeks to promote young instrumentalists and vocalists who attempt to include traditional Polish folk music into contemporary culture.
[Source: en.poland.gov.pl , festivalmazurki.pl]