Folk Music in Poland: Songs, Dances, Instruments. A Study of Their Origins and TheirDevelopment by Czesław HalskiReview by: G. R. SeamanThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Jan., 1997), p. 145Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4212326 .

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REVIEWS I45

The most historically useful parts of this book for the student of literature are the definitions of Decadence. In one case, in linking Chekhov's contraction of tuberculosis with the increasingly Decadent nature* of his works, and in claiming that all Decadent writers were sick and died young, Masaryk virtually outnordaus Nordau (p. 322). The usable long definition of Decadence at the end, where everything that is Decadent constitutes an evincing of some weakness, ends with an echo of Nietzsche, in which Masaryk notices that an essential element in Decadence was the endeavour to overcome decay and degeneration (pp. 380-81).

School of Slavonic and East European Studies R. B. PYNSENT

University of London

Halski, Czeslaw. Folk Music in Poland: Songs, Dances, Instruments. A Study of 7Their Origins and Their Development. Polish Cultural Foundation, London, I 992.

I 73 pp. Illustrations. Music examples. Bibliography. Price unknown.

WITH the exception of occasional articles in music dictionaries and encyclo- paedias, a modern history in the English language on the music of Poland has yet to be written. Dr Czeslaw Halski's valuable survey of folk music in Poland, therefore, serves a useful role in providing an insight into an important aspect of Polish music.

Following an initial section on the pronunciation of Polish words, the book commences with a Proem, giving a concise history of the development of Poland, ancient Slav beliefs, contemporary accounts of Polish folk music, the first collections of Polish folk music and an outline of the principal folk genres. This is succeeded by Part One of the book, containing five chapters dealing with folk songs, describing their musical structure and modal features. An examination then follows of the principal musical forms - the ballad, folk laments, sacred performances, lullabies, ecclesiastical songs of folk origin, Christmas carols, harvest songs and customs, and songs associated with specific events of the Church year.

Part Two of the book, consisting of six chapters, discusses the question of Polish folk dances the kolo, early dances of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, dances from Silesia, the Vistula region, dances of the Hutsuls and the Ukrainians. Special chapters are devoted to the polonaise, mazurka, cracovienne, and the problematic issues pertaining to the origin of the polka.

Part Three is concerned with folk instruments, comprising those of the flute family, percussion, and strings. The book concludes with a substantial bibliography.

Throughout, Halski's work is enhanced by well-presented drawings taken from nineteenth-century Polish periodicals (Aosy, Bluszcz, Tygodnik Illustrowany) and from K. Moszyn'ski's book Kultura ludowa Slowian (Cracow, I 934-39), together with many music examples and illustrations. The only omission is that of an index, which would be helpful in providing rapid access to the many cultural and historical issues covered by this most informative volume.

School ofMusic G. R. SEAMAN

University ofAuckland

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.111 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 03:12:49 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions