The Music of Poland covers diverse aspects of music and musical traditions which have originated, and are practiced in Poland. Artists from Poland include world-famous classical composers like Frédéric Chopin, Karol Szymanowski, Witold Lutosławski, Henryk Górecki and Krzysztof Penderecki; renowned pianists like Karl Tausig, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Arthur Rubinstein and Krystian Zimerman; as well as popular music artists, and traditional, regionalised folk music ensembles that create a rich and lively music scene at the grassroots level. The musicians of Poland, over the course of history, have developed and popularized a variety of music genres and folk dances such as mazurka, polonaise, krakowiak, kujawiak, polska partner dance, oberek; as well as the sung poetry genre and others. Mazurka (Mazur), Krakowiak, Kujawiak, Oberek and Polonaise (Polonez) are registered as Polish National Dances, originating in early Middle Ages. The oldest of them is Polonaise that comes from the Medieval pageant dances and it was originally called "chodzony", a "walking dance".
Behemoth is a Polish extreme metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground.
Orthodox Celts is a Serbian band formed in Belgrade in 1992 which plays Irish folk music combined with rock elements. Despite their uncharacteristic genre in their home country, the band is one of the top acts of the Serbian rock scene and has influenced several younger Serbian bands, most notably Irish Stew of Sindidun and Tir na n'Og.
Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.
Myslovitz is a Polish rock band. The band take their name from their industrial hometown of Mysłowice in the Upper Silesia region of southern Poland.
Celtic fusion is an umbrella term for any modern music which incorporates influences considered "Celtic", or Celtic music which incorporates modern music. It is a syncretic musical tradition which borrows freely from the perceived "Celtic" musical traditions of all the Celtic nations, as well as from all styles of popular music, it is thus sometimes associated with the Pan-Celtic movement. Celtic fusion may or may not include authentic traditional music from any one tradition under the Celtic umbrella, but its common characteristic is the inspiration by Celtic identity.
Shooglenifty are a Scottish, Edinburgh-based six-piece Celtic fusion band that tours internationally. The band blends Scottish traditional music with influences ranging from electronica to alternative rock. They contributed to Afro Celt Sound System's 1996 album Volume 1: Sound Magic. The band have performed in countries including Australia, Austria, Cuba, Belgium, France, Norway, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa, Lebanon, Spain, the US, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, India, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Russia, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Switzerland, Portugal, Mexico and the UK. They have performed for a number of notable fans, including Prince Charles, Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela, and Emperor Akihito of Japan.
Ortigueira, a seaport and borough in County Ferrolterra in Galicia, celebrates its patron saint day -Saint Martha of Ortigueira's Day- on 29 July.
Pagan Altar is an English doom metal band formed by Terry Jones and his son Alan in 1978 in the borough of Brockley in London.
Alfapop was a Serbian power pop band. The band was formed in Belgrade in 2000 under the name Tir na n'Og. Initially, the band performed Irish folk and Celtic rock and was a prominent act of the Serbian Celtic rock scene, releasing one Celtic rock-oriented album. In 2008, the band changed the name to Alfapop and turned towards power pop sound, releasing their second album in 2010 and disbanding soon after the album release.
Irish Stew of Sindidun is a Serbian Celtic rock band from Belgrade. While initially playing Irish folk music, the band later made a shift towards light punk rock, inspired by Irish folk music and other genres. Beside their own songs, the band performs covers of Irish traditional songs and songs by The Pogues.
Czerwone Gitary is one of the most popular rock bands in the history of Polish popular music. The band formed in 1965 and achieved its greatest success from 1965 to 1970. Often considered the Polish equivalent of the Beatles, many of their hits are now classics in Poland. The group toured extensively outside Poland but had mostly disappeared from the Polish scene by the 1980s. The band reformed in the 1990s.
Beltaine's Fire was a five-member hip hop/folk-rock/Celtic fusion collective from the San Francisco Bay Area in California fronted by Emcee Lynx. Their music evolved considerably over the years. Starting out as a mix of "traditional Irish and Scottish music with rock, folk, and rap elements"., they described themselves as "folk-rap" and their last album was primarily hip hop, albeit with elements borrowed from Latin, world, American folk, Celtic trad, funk, jazz, and rock.
"Foggy Dew" is the name of several Irish ballads, and of an Irish lament. The song chronicles the Easter Rising of 1916, and encourages Irishmen to fight for the cause of Ireland, rather than for the British Empire, as so many young men were doing in World War I.
Jaroslaw Pijarowski is a Polish avant-garde artist, art curator and founder of Teatr Tworzenia. He creates contemporary music, poetry, photography, fine arts and theatre-music spectacles.
Suite Sud-Armoricaine is a bawdy Breton song in Breton, popularized by Alan Stivell in the 1970s. It is the only song in Breton ever to make the number one chart spot on French radio Europe 1. The lyrics are from the Pardon Speied date from 1950s and they are in the public domain because the author is unknown. The song is originally a traditional Breton musical air.
Celtic music in Poland has become more and more popular in culture, inspiring artists to perform this type of music. Since 2003, in the last week of the summer holiday Celtic Music Festival ZAMEK takes place in Będzin. It is one of the biggest Celtic festivals in Central Europe.
Golden Bough is a Celtic-music band formed in 1980 and based in California. The band performs at music festivals and has toured Europe several times. They are known for their acoustic musical performances of folk music and Celtic music and for their 22 albums. They are also known for their association with Lief Sørbye and with the band Tempest.
