Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Bagpipe by Andrei Oltean, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji, video by Farya Faraji & Étienne Nantel.
The Epic Slavic series is a project where the sounds of the current, living traditions of the Slavic peoples are used as a framing device to explore themes relating to the mythology, folklore and history of the Slavs. These are not historical recreations nor "epic music" in the cinematic soundtrack sense, but a project of ethnomusicological research and performance that showcases the epic narrative repertoire of the Slavs through their living musical traditions.
This is a rendition of the 17th century song Duma Rycerska rendered in a modern conservatory choral style, something that was quite common in the previous century, especially due to Soviet institutional influence, where large scale choral works were often put together on older songs, as can be evidences in this orchestral, choral version from the 20th century: youtube.com/watch?v=Vl6zMiW3iwQ Due to my channel's emphasis on ethnomusicology, I wanted to balance this choral affect with the traditional and historical sounds of Poland, and the arrangement therefore employs various instruments from the historical panoply of Polish music, primarily bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy, instead of modern orchestras.
The early modern era in Poland saw the rise of a genre of knightly-themed songs in this style, and was characterised by the ideology of Sarmatism, an ideology wherein Poles believed themselves to be descendants of the Iranic Sarmatian tribes of Late Antiquity, and as ethnic kin to the Iranians, Turks and Tatars. Given this belief in oriental, Iranian origins, 17th century Poland was marked by pronounced oriental influences coming primarily from the Ottoman Empire, mostly in terms of fashion, with the adoption of such clothing as the żupan worn here.
Lyrics in Polish:
Powiedz, wdzięczna kobzo moja,
Umie-li co duma twoja?
Cóż może być piękniejszego
Nad człowieka rycerskiego?
Cóż nad pograniczne kraje
Kędy, skoro lód roztaje,
Ujrzysz pola nieprzejrzane,
Młodą trawą przyodziane.
Usarz zasię w mocnej zbroi
Warownym obozem stoi,
Który po szczupłym obiedzie
Straż zarazem swą zawiedzie.
Pod świetnymi chorągwiami,
Głośny trąbą i bębnami,
Bieży pochylony lasem
Dla sławy, dla zysku czasem.
English translation:
Tell me, my grateful lute,
Does your sound know,
What could be more beautiful
Than a man of chivalry?
What's better than the frontier,
Where, when the ice melts,
You will see unexplored fields,
Clothed with young grass.
The winged hussar in strong armour,
Tending to his fortified camp,
After a lean lunch,
Will set off with his companions.
Under brilliant banners,
Loud with trumpets and drums,
He runs leaning through the forest
For fame, sometimes for profit.
Bagpipe by Andrei Oltean, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji, video by Farya Faraji & Étienne Nantel.
The Epic Slavic series is a project where the sounds of the current, living traditions of the Slavic peoples are used as a framing device to explore themes relating to the mythology, folklore and history of the Slavs. These are not historical recreations nor "epic music" in the cinematic soundtrack sense, but a project of ethnomusicological research and performance that showcases the epic narrative repertoire of the Slavs through their living musical traditions.
This is a rendition of the 17th century song Duma Rycerska rendered in a modern conservatory choral style, something that was quite common in the previous century, especially due to Soviet institutional influence, where large scale choral works were often put together on older songs, as can be evidences in this orchestral, choral version from the 20th century: youtube.com/watch?v=Vl6zMiW3iwQ Due to my channel's emphasis on ethnomusicology, I wanted to balance this choral affect with the traditional and historical sounds of Poland, and the arrangement therefore employs various instruments from the historical panoply of Polish music, primarily bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy, instead of modern orchestras.
The early modern era in Poland saw the rise of a genre of knightly-themed songs in this style, and was characterised by the ideology of Sarmatism, an ideology wherein Poles believed themselves to be descendants of the Iranic Sarmatian tribes of Late Antiquity, and as ethnic kin to the Iranians, Turks and Tatars. Given this belief in oriental, Iranian origins, 17th century Poland was marked by pronounced oriental influences coming primarily from the Ottoman Empire, mostly in terms of fashion, with the adoption of such clothing as the żupan worn here.
Lyrics in Polish:
Powiedz, wdzięczna kobzo moja,
Umie-li co duma twoja?
Cóż może być piękniejszego
Nad człowieka rycerskiego?
Cóż nad pograniczne kraje
Kędy, skoro lód roztaje,
Ujrzysz pola nieprzejrzane,
Młodą trawą przyodziane.
Usarz zasię w mocnej zbroi
Warownym obozem stoi,
Który po szczupłym obiedzie
Straż zarazem swą zawiedzie.
Pod świetnymi chorągwiami,
Głośny trąbą i bębnami,
Bieży pochylony lasem
Dla sławy, dla zysku czasem.
English translation:
Tell me, my grateful lute,
Does your sound know,
What could be more beautiful
Than a man of chivalry?
What's better than the frontier,
Where, when the ice melts,
You will see unexplored fields,
Clothed with young grass.
The winged hussar in strong armour,
Tending to his fortified camp,
After a lean lunch,
Will set off with his companions.
Under brilliant banners,
Loud with trumpets and drums,
He runs leaning through the forest
For fame, sometimes for profit.
