Polish Christmas Music & Carols
Our delightful medley of traditional Polish Christmas music and Polish carols recount the Christmas season in a way that typifies Polish heritage as a whole. Music is a true and timeless gift, to yourself or your loved ones, that will surely help spread peace, joy, and hope throughout the season. Explore the lovely collection we’ve curated, and read on to learn more about traditional Polish carols and the history that makes them so enchanting.
The carol, or koleda in Polish (from the Latin "calendae"), is a song thematically connected with Christmas, and carols are sung in Poland from December 24 to February 2 — that is, to the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, or Candlemas. The carol comes from the sphere of folk culture and the tradition of singing at home. In the folk repertoire, carols hold a special place, not only in view of their specific character and variety but also for their sheer number. For centuries, they were composed in monasteries, royal courts, knights' castles, and the courts of the nobility. Their authors were members of the Polish clergy, church organists, parish school teachers, and on occasion our distinguished writers and poets. The musical canvas of the Polish carol is formed above all by the melodies and rhythms of dances such as mazurkas, krakowiaks, obereks, kujawiaks, polonaises, and sentimental dumkas or elegies. Many Christmas carols likewise possess a touch of majestic choruses and hymns, whose melody line and deep theological content testify to their origins in Latin Gregorian chant (From the introduction by Wanda Gladysz to "The Pastoral Mass").
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