In traditional cultures, the winter solstice with its longest nights and shortest days was accompanied by magical rites and, in Christian traditions, the singing of songs about the birth of the Lord. It was a period of waiting for the symbolic moment of the coming of light – the time of Christmas. According to ancient, pre-Christian customs, people would then conjure up a harvest, pay homage to the powers of nature and tell fortunes about the future. The carols and pastorals performed at that time talked about the miracle of the birth of the Child, the adoration of the baby Jesus by the shepherds, and included wishes of prosperity, as well as success in the survival of human groups. It was widely believed that the words contained in these songs had magical, causative power. Perceiving time in its circular form of repeating seasons required the annual renewal of the world through singing accompanying ritual acts.
Among the artists who will be heard at the NFM will be the Highlander Song Theatre “Dunawiec” from Zbylutów. The group’s members are descendants of the Czadecki Highlanders from Bukovina, who were forced to expatriate to Lower Silesia in 1946. The group won the 3rd prize at the International Eisteddfod in Middlesbrough, UK, as well as the Baszta – the main prize at the festival in Kazimierz. Its repertoire includes archaic songs brought in the 19th century from its former homeland in Cieszyn Silesia. In 2024, it was honoured with the Oskar Kolberg Award for its entire activity to date. Two years earlier, this prestigious distinction was also awarded to the “Waliszowianie” Singers’ Group from Nowy Waliszów. Its members come from expatriate families originating from the pre-war Polish Borderlands. They came to Lower Silesia in 1945 from the village of Tarnowica Polna near Tłuszcz in the Stanisławów Voivodeship. Their songs are a relic of the borderland culture, and the language remains a monument of the old dialect of Poles from Podolia. The band is also a laureate of the True Musicians Tournament at the Szczecin Philharmonic. It has collaborated with museum institutions in the region, participating in the preparation of exhibitions devoted to the culture of post-war settlers in Lower Silesia. With the renowned Pieśń Kozła Theatre, the band members have prepared the premiere of the play entitled Pomnę, pomnę… [I shall remember…]
During the concert at the NFM, acclaimed soloists will also sing. Joanna Matusiak from Czarny Bór, a multiple laureate of Kazimierz festivals, continues traditions related to the culture of her native Skalne Podhale [Tatra Mountains], participating in ritual performances and presentations of songs and music. Zofia Tarasiewicz from Bolesławiec, who comes from a group of Czadecki Highlanders, has unique songs in her repertoire passed down by her parents’ generation. They are part of the repertoire canon of Polish communities that once inhabited the imperial, and later Romanian, Bukovina. She is one of the few laureates of the Kazimierz Dolny Festival of Traditions who were honoured twice with the main award – Baszta. In 2020, she received the highest distinction in the field of services to folk culture – the Oskar Kolberg Award.
The National Form of Music runs a project The Songs of Forests and Fields presenting repertoires of folk early music performed by singers coming from post-WW2 groups of settlers in Lower Silesia.
