Making Music in the Polish Tatras

by Timothy J Cooley

[nannah]

This is definitely one of my favorite books -if not my Most Favorite Book- on the Góral (Polish Highlander) people of Southern Poland that's ever been published. My college dissertation/lecture & composer's recital was on Górale music, and this book was an invaluable asset. It covers so much, and Timothy J. Cooley talks about it all in layman's terms, too. I actually read it for fun now; I'm a nerd, though, so maybe that doesn't mean much.

The book covers the people of Skalne Podhale (a small area in Southern Poland, right above Slovakia), a little bit behind the history there, a little bit of the geography; it covers some of the famous people from Podhale - and the music they've made, like the famous composer, Szymanowski - and it covers how tourism has changed the little "isolated" area of the mountains and what the difference between the music is like on stage and backstage. There's also so much more, plus a CD to listen to while you read, which makes understanding things a lot easier.

I don't know what it is about the Góral music that just draws me in (maybe it's because I have some Góral ancestry in me, too), but it has a sound that you either love or hate. And if you love it, I think you love it something fierce.

It's also a really good read if you're at all interested in ethnomusicology.