| Polka | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early to mid-19th century, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire |
| Derivative forms | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Other topics | |
Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in 2
4 originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. [1]
The term polka referring to the dance is believed to derive from the Czech words "půlka", meaning "half-step". Czech cultural historian Čeněk Zíbrt attributes the term to the Czech word půlka (half), referring to both the half-tempo 2
4 and the half-jump step of the dance. [2]
This name has been changed to "Polka" as an expression of honour and sympathy for Poland and the Poles after the November Uprising 1830-1831. "Polka" meaning, in both the Czech and Polish languages, "Polish woman". [3] The name was widely introduced into the major European languages in the early 1840s. [3]
The polka's origin story first appears in the periodical Bohemia in 1844, [4] in which it was attributed to a young Bohemian woman named Anna Slezáková (born Anna Chadimová). As told by Čeněk Zíbrt, the music teacher Josef Neruda noticed her dancing in an unusual way to accompany a local folk song called "Strýček Nimra koupil šimla", or "Uncle Nimra Bought a White Horse" in 1830. The dance was further propagated by Neruda, who put the tune to paper and taught other young men to dance it. [2] Some versions of this origin story placed the first polka as being danced in Hradec Kralove, while others claimed it occurred in the village of Labska Tynica. [5] Historians believe the polka evolved as a quicker version of the waltz, and associate the rapid bourgeoning in popularity of the polka across Europe in the mid-1800s with the spread of the Romantic movement, which emphasized an idealized version of peasant culture. [6]
By 1835, this dance had spread to the ballrooms of Prague. From there, it spread to classical music hub Vienna by 1839, [7] and in 1840 was introduced in Paris by Johaan Raab, a Prague dance instructor. [4] It was so well received in Paris that its popularity was referred to as "polkamania." [8] The dance soon spread to London in 1844, where it was considered highly fashionable, and was also introduced to America. [4] It remained a popular ballroom dance in America, especially with growing Central, Northern, and Eastern European immigrant groups until the late 19th century. [9]
It may also be responsible for an increase in domestic popularity since the end of the 19th century, starting with the birth of recorded music, at first thanks to the many recordings provided by Emile Berliner's Gramophone company, which provided several examples of popular music. Some of the more desired American recordings include Berliner 230 ("Commodore Polka", played by W. Paris Chambers) [10] and the Berliner 3300s series (which include recordings like "The Signal polka" (BeA 3307) and "Exposition echoes polka" (BeA 3301), played by Arthur Pryor), [11] [12] though most early records are extremely scarce or nonexistent anymore due to their fragile nature.
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There are various styles of contemporary polka besides the original Czech dance, which is still the chief dance at any formal or countryside ball in the Czech Republic.
In the 1850s, polka was expanded among Belarusians, and was transformed by the national culture. [14] [15] In different regions, local variants arose, which assimilated with local choreographic folklore and gained popularity. The ease of penetration of the polka into Belarusian choreography was due to its degree of proximity to Belarusian national choreographic traditions. [16]
The 2/4 meter polka merged well with Belarusian traditional dance, which had a similar meter. For example, "Trasucha" (Belarusian: "Трасуха", "Trasucha" or "Пацяруха", "Paciaruchais") a symbol of a typical folk dance, from which it received its name, and polka. [15] Most often in Belarus, the polka is performed in pairs, moving half a step with turns in a circle. The dance is decorated with a variety of small pas, [16] often accompanied by chastushkae.
Belarusian polkas are extremely rich in their choreographic and musical patterns, and are distinguished by great modal and intonation diversity. [15] Polka demands both skill and physical endurance from the dancers.
Like the square dance, the polka also has many local variants: "Віцебчанка, Viciebčanka", "Барысаўская, Barysaŭskaja", "Ганкоўская, Hankoŭskaja", and the names were also given according to the peculiarities of the choreography: "Through the leg", "With a podkindes", "With squats", "On the heel", "Screw" and others. [15]
In the United States, polka is promoted by the International Polka Association based in Chicago, which works to preserve the cultural heritage of polka music and to honor its musicians through the Polka Hall of Fame. Chicago is associated with "Polish-style polka," and its sub-styles including "The Chicago Honky" (using clarinet and one trumpet) and "Chicago Push" featuring the accordion, Chemnitzer and Star concertinas, upright bass or bass guitar, drums, and (almost always) two trumpets.
Polka is popular in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the "Beer Barrel Polka" is played during the seventh-inning stretch and halftime of Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks games. [17] Polka is also the official state dance of Wisconsin. [18]
The United States Polka Association is a non-profit organization based in Cleveland, Ohio. [19] Cleveland is associated with North American "Slovenian-style polka", which is fast and features piano accordion, chromatic accordion, and/or diatonic button box accordion. North American "Dutchmen-style" features an oom-pah sound often with a tuba and banjo, and has roots in the American Midwest.
"Conjunto-style" polkas have roots in northern Mexico and Texas, and are also called "Norteño". Traditional dances from this region reflect the influence of polka-dancing European immigrants from 1800s. In the 1980s and 1990s, several American bands began to combine polka with various rock styles (sometimes referred to as "punk polka"), "alternative polka".
Comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic is a fan of polka, and on every album since 1984 (with the exception of Even Worse ), Al has taken bits of famous songs and modified them to fit polka style.
The Grammy Awards were first presented for polka in 1985. The first award went to Frankie Yankovic, known as "America's Polka King", for his 70 Years of Hits album on Cleveland International Records. Cleveland International Records had another polka Grammy winner with Brave Combo's Polkasonic in 1999. Other polka Grammy nominees included Frankie Yankovic's America's Favorites (1986), Songs of the Polka King Vol. I, Songs of the Polka King Vol. II (1997), and Brave Combo's Kick Ass Polkas (2000). Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra is one of the most popular polka bands in America, having won 18 of the 24 awards for Grammy Award for Best Polka Album.
Polka Varieties was an hour-long television program of polka music originating from Cleveland, Ohio. The show, which aired in several U.S. cities, ran from 1956 until 1983. At that time, it was the only television program for this type of music in the United States. [20] A number of polka shows originated from the Buffalo Niagara Region in the 1960s, including WKBW-TV's Polka Time, which was hosted for its first half-year on air by Frankie Yankovic, and cross-border station CHCH-TV's Polka Party, hosted by Walter Ostanek. [21] In 2015, when Buffalo station WBBZ-TV launched the weekly Polka Buzz hosted by Ron Dombrowski, who also hosts the Drive Time Polkas radio show on WXRL Mondays-Saturdays from 5pm-7pm and on WECK Sundays from 8am-11am. [22] )
Beginning with its inception in 2001, the RFD-TV Network aired The Big Joe Show, a television program that included polka music and dancing. It was filmed on location in various venues throughout the United States from 1973 through 2009. RFD-TV replaced The Big Joe Show with Mollie Busta's Polka Fest in January 2011; after Big Joe's death, reruns of The Big Joe Show returned to RFD-TV in 2015. [23]
In 2009, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Grammy Awards, announced that it was eliminating the polka category [24] "to ensure the awards process remains representative of the current musical landscape". [24] A declining number of polka albums were considered for the award in previous years. [24]
Peruvian polkas (becoming very popular in Lima). In the pampas of Argentina, the "polca" has a very fast beat with a 3
4 time signature. Instruments used are: acoustic guitar (usually six strings, but sometimes seven strings), electric or acoustic bass (sometimes fretless), accordion (sometimes piano accordion, sometimes button accordion), and sometimes some percussion is used. The lyrics always praise the gaucho warriors from the past or tell about the life of the gaucho campeiros (provincial gauchos who keep the common way). The polka was very popular in South and Southwest of Brazil, where it was mixed with other European and African styles to create the Choro. There also exist Curaçaoan polkas.
The polka (polca in the Irish language) is also one of the most popular traditional folk dances in Ireland, particularly in Sliabh Luachra, a district that spans the borders of counties Kerry, Cork and Limerick. [25] Many of the figures of Irish set dances, which developed from Continental quadrilles, are danced to polkas. Introduced to Ireland in the late 19th century, there are today hundreds of Irish polka tunes, which are most frequently played on the fiddle or button accordion. The Irish polka is dance music form in 2
4, typically 32 bars in length and subdivided into four parts, each 8 bars in length and played AABB. [26] [27] [28] [29] Irish polkas are typically played fast, at over 130 bpm, and are typically played with an off-beat accent. [30] [31]
The polka also migrated to the Nordic countries where it is known by a variety of names in Denmark (polka, reinlænderpolka, galop, hopsa, hamborger), Finland (polkka), Iceland, Norway (galopp, hamborgar, hopsa/hopsar, parisarpolka, polka, polkett, skotsk) and Sweden (polka). The beats are not as heavy as those from Central Europe and the dance steps and holds also have variations not found further south. The polka is considered a part of the gammeldans tradition of music and dance. While it is nowhere near as old as the older Nordic dance and music traditions, there are still hundreds of polka tunes in each of the Nordic countries. They are played by solo instrumentalists or by bands/ensembles, most frequently with lead instruments such as accordion, fiddle, diatonic accordion, hardingfele and nyckelharpa.
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Bedřich Smetana incorporated the polka in his opera The Bartered Bride (Czech : Prodaná nevěsta) and in particular, Act 1. [32] [33]
While the polka is Bohemian in origin, most dance music composers in Vienna (the capital of the vast Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was the cultural centre for music from all over the empire) composed polkas and included the dance in their repertoire at some point in their careers. The Strauss family in Vienna, for example, while better-known for their waltzes, also composed polkas that have survived. Joseph Lanner and other Viennese composers in the 19th century also wrote polkas to satisfy the demands of the dance-music-loving Viennese. In France, another dance-music composer, Émile Waldteufel, wrote polkas.
The polka evolved during the same period into different styles and tempos. In principle, the polka written in the 19th century has a four-theme structure; themes 1A and 1B as well as a 'Trio' section of a further two themes. The 'Trio' usually has an 'Intrada' to form a break between the two sections. The feminine and graceful 'French polka' (polka française) is slower in tempo and is more measured in its gaiety. Johann Strauss II's "Annen-Polka" , Op. 114, "Demolirer-Polka, Op. 269, the "Im Krapfenwald'l", Op. 336, and the "Bitte schön!" polka, Op. 372, are examples of this type of polka. The polka-mazurka is also another variation of the polka, being in the tempo of a mazurka but danced in a similar manner as the polka. The final category of the polka form around that time is the Polka schnell, which is a fast polka or galop . Eduard Strauss is better known for this last category, as he penned the "Bahn Frei" polka, Op. 45, and other examples. Earlier, Johann Strauss I and Josef Lanner wrote polkas designated as a galop (quick tempo) or as a regular polka that may not fall into any of the categories above.
The polka was a further source of inspiration for the Strauss family in Vienna when Johann II and Josef Strauss wrote one for plucked string instruments (pizzicato) only, the "Pizzicato Polka" . [34] Johann II later wrote the "Neue Pizzicato Polka" (New pizzicato-polka), Op. 449, culled from music of his operetta Fürstin Ninetta . Much earlier, he also wrote a "joke-polka" (German scherz-polka) entitled "Champagner-Polka", Op. 211, which evokes the uncorking of champagne bottles.
Other composers who wrote music in the style of the polka were Jaromír Weinberger, Dmitri Shostakovich and Igor Stravinsky.
The Donegal fiddle tradition is one of the distinct fiddle traditions within Irish traditional music. The distinctness of the Donegal tradition developed due to the close relations between County Donegal and Scotland, and the Donegal repertoire and style has influences from Scottish fiddle music. For example, in addition to the ”universally known” standard Irish dance tunes, there is an added volume of Scottish and Nova Scotia tunes played, with even some tunes from Shetland and Orkney. This includes standard tune types such as double jigs, slip jigs, reels, and hornpipes. It has been claimed that Donegal musicians play more slip jigs than any other region of Ireland. This is potentially due to the geographical borders/mountains keeping Donegal's repertoire more locally-known for decades. There is also a prevalence of mazurka playing. Mazurkas are historically mainland-European tunes very similar to a waltz, in its 3
4 meter, though generally livelier and with more emphasis being placed on the second beat of each measure. Another uniquely Donegal tune is called the barndance, stemming from the Germanic schottische, also similar to the Norwegian reinlander. The barndance is very similar to a hornpipe, but slower than a reel; typically they are played with less of a hornpipe's “swing” and more of the “drive” of a reel.
James W. Sturr Jr., commonly known as Jimmy Sturr, is an American polka musician, trumpeter, clarinetist, saxophonist and leader of Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra. Media outlets have often dubbed him the "King of Polka," with his recordings having won 18 out of the 24 Grammy Awards given for Best Polka Album. Sturr's orchestra is on the Top Ten List of the All-Time Grammy Awards, and has acquired more Grammy nominations than anyone in the history of musical polka awards.
Frank John Yankovic was an American accordion player and polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King", Yankovic was considered the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during his long career. He was not related to fellow accordionist "Weird Al" Yankovic, although the two collaborated.
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument:
The polka-mazurka is a dance, musically similar to the mazurka, but danced much like the polka. Many polka-mazurkas were composed by Johann Strauss II and his family. Johann Strauss I did not compose any of this type of music; the first polka-mazurka example written by the Strauss family was in the year 1854 by Johann Strauss II, entitled La Viennoise op. 144.The polka-mazurka was not credited to the Strauss family alone, as many Viennese composers in the 1850s era also wrote many examples. This variant of the polka was seen as cross-cultural, as many of its influences can be seen in the French-polka with its feminine and deliberate steps as well as the exciting schnell-polka, where Eduard Strauss composed many famous pieces of this type.
The vast majority of the inhabitants of the United States are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. This article will focus on the music of these communities and discuss its roots in countries across Africa, Europe and Asia, excluding only Native American music, indigenous and immigrant Latinos, Puerto Rican music, Hawaiian music and African American music. The music of Irish- and Scottish-Americans will be a special focus, due to their extreme influence on Appalachian folk music and other genres. These sorts of music are often sustained and promoted by a variety of ethnic organizations.
Josef Strauss was an Austrian composer.
The Fleadh Cheoil, or "music festival" in English, is an annual Irish arts festival and competition run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, or CCÉ, a non-profit organisation which aims to promote the learning of and performance of Irish traditional music and dance internationally and domestically, as the group maintains international branches in several countries.
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D is the second studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his modestly successful debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic.
Polka Party! is the fourth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on October 21, 1986. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between April and September 1986, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his successful 1985 release, Dare to Be Stupid. The album's lead single, "Living With a Hernia", failed to chart.
Ladislav John "Walter" Ostanek, CM is a Canadian musician. He is known as "Canada's Polka King." He has received twenty-one nominations for Grammy Awards and won three.
Slovenian-style polka is an American style of polka in the Slovenian tradition. It is usually associated with Cleveland and other Midwestern cities.
Polka is a music and dance style that originated in Bohemia in the 1830s and came to American society with immigrants from Europe. A fast style in 2
4 time, and often associated with the pre–World War II era, polka remains a dynamic niche music in America.
Irish traditional music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
LaVerne Donald "Verne" Meisner was an American polka musician born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and raised in Whitewater, Wisconsin. He was inducted into five halls of fame, including the International Polka Association Hall of Fame as a "Living Legend" in 1989. He is best known for the songs "Memories of Vienna" and "El Rio Drive."
Canadian fiddle is the aggregate body of tunes, styles and musicians engaging the traditional folk music of Canada on the fiddle. It is an integral extension of the Anglo-Celtic and Québécois French folk music tradition but has distinct features found only in the Western hemisphere.
Paddy O'Brien was an Irish button accordion player and composer. He was instrumental in establishing the B/C style of button accordion playing in Irish traditional music.
Belarusian folk dance is a Belarusian folk dance art, presented in the form of folk domestic or staged scenic dance. The history of Belarus and efforts to preserve Belarusian traditions have shaped the dances in use today, which have many ancient and archaic elements. These dances started to form in the 14th century, and originated in East Slavic rites. In the middle of the 19th century, traditional folk dancing began to merge with quadrilles and polkas from Western Europe.
Aidan Connolly is an Irish fiddler and teacher from Dublin. Connolly is known for his unique style of fiddle playing and is a highly sought-after performer both in Ireland and abroad. He has been described by musician Cormac Begley as "one of the best musicians in his generation" and by others as "a leading fiddle player of the current wave of great Irish Traditional music".
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