The music I grew up in…
The question that often accompanies me is when did it all start?
There is no specific date for the birth of music in me. In fact, it was born alongside me. The music of my family, my parents, uncles, cousins and brothers has surrounded me since I was a child.
The music of my ancestors, who wandered around the world in search of happiness and bread.
How did they find said happiness?
The forest people, as we call ourselves, are able to notice the smallest aspects of beauty and joy only familiar to us. It is an intuition they acquired during their endless travels, often around places and good people. Good people who gave them understanding and heart, because they knew perfectly well the taste of the desired bread. They were able to find happiness in what they got, in the gifts of everyday life, and to see the joys that they meticulously gathered like crumbs into a basket of happiness.
The beauty of this world and nature has always been their endless inspiration. The woods full of whispers known only to them, the morning dew that washed the feet of the children, full of joy because the sun had risen. It didn’t matter that they were hungry, they looked with hope in their hearts for the return of their mother and grandmother, who had already gone to the village at dawn for fortune-telling, to fetch the proverbial piece of bread.
Beautiful horses, caravans, feathers, whip, hat and feasting together are all found in songs, dance and stories by the fire.
Forest people can sing everything – love, beauty, pain, tears, joy and fear. In other words, all the emotions that accompanied them every day from dawn to sunset. This is how they are able to talk about life, about worries, troubles, the joy of being together, dreams of a world where there are no tears, where people are free from worries.
Roma’s philosophy is beautifully simple – what is important is today, what is here and now. No one really knows tomorrow or what the next day will bring. But as long as the sun wakes up the day, there is hope for another better tomorrow.
Roma are born, live and die in a beautiful, unique world of magical, musical life stories. The phenomenon of our culture and traditions is that they are passed on from generation to generation, one could say unknowingly – no one particularly thinks or dwells on it. It just happens – because what matters is the here and now.
The colour of the world of Romani music is rich in a variety of shades arising, for example, from the places in which it is created and from where it flows.
Considering the music of Polish Roma, it is already worth pointing out the difference between southern, northern, eastern and central Poland.
The Roma people in the mountains play music with influences of Hungarian and Romanian notes. This is altogether natural, because that’s where they came from, they grew up in that culture. Playing for a profit, for non-Roma, you can often hear Hungarian czardas or Romanian lautari (fiddle) music there.
Of course, the Roma in the south also have their own ethnic music, which is completely different from the music they play outside for money. Even the instruments they use in their music are surprisingly different. For example, clay pots/pots or cans for milk used as drum instruments. This is music characterised by a specific rhythm and vocalisation. This is the kind of music they play for themselves, and they do it really thrillingly well.
North and West in the Romani sound, it’s a music with a Polish touch, that is – extremely tuneful violins and harps, as well as melodious accordions or catchy guitars, so characteristic of the Polish Roma.
On the other hand, as far as the eastern wall is concerned, it is difficult to ignore the historical aspect here, which has had a huge impact on the character of the work of the Roma from the east. It is a completely different musical composition, a different dance (“Serbian”, “Moldavian”) and different romances and stories. These differences are a direct result of the aforementioned historical aspect, namely the change of borders of the Polish state. It can be said that our Roma ancestors always wandered to live simply in Poland and thus brought with them all the musical heritage of other lands, other cultures.
The centre of Poland is already a truly colourful musical workshop of the Roma. We have all the genres of our heritage here. Here we find folklore bands involving the best people of music, songs and dance from all over Poland. That is why it is so easy to find here hints of music-making from the south, namely the aforementioned string instruments and dulcimer, often in the excellent company of accordion, harp and guitar, which in turn are so characteristic of the west and north, and all this beautifully clothed in a hint of eastern stories, dance and romance.
It is impossible to mention all the bands and musical groups, but the “Roma” band and the wonderful soloist, Randia, cannot be left out. They are certainly the showpiece, the inspiration and the absolute foundation of Roma musicians. Their work has had and continues to have a huge impact on the development of Roma music in central Poland.
It is also hard not to mention the Roma who practised music for a living, playing on the streets, in restaurants or weddings. It is no secret that, of course, the greatest opportunities for work for the above-mentioned group were provided by the large cities of central Poland.
I was born in central Poland. I was born here and brought up. I grew up, precisely in this excellent current of phenomenal mix, one could say from the four corners of the world, but at the same time a current that unites all the Roma of Poland and the whole world, that is, art based on conveying the truest emotions and feelings flowing from the depths of our souls and hearts.
I was fortunate to grow up in a real Romani family, where tradition, culture and music formed one inseparable whole. My love for music awoke very quickly and invisibly. It was actually my natural environment. I remember exactly the day I saw my cousin Marian playing the guitar. His thin fingers were playing melodies so familiar to me. I don’t remember what song it was, but his performance grabbed my heart so strongly that I can still remember the chords. I was less than nine years old at the time, and Marian? It may seem unbelievable, but Marian is four years younger than me. You could say that music really does flow through our veins. It’s a great gift that the Lord God has given to the forest people.
It was that moment, that one moment. I was stunned, I wanted that too. It became my only thought, an obsession, even a self-possession… I went home, told my mother about what had happened. My dearest mum, in secret from the whole world, bought me a guitar the next day. My uncontrollable childish joy and overwhelming amazement at getting my first ever guitar were so great that today I can say with full responsibility that it was the most beautiful day of my life. The most beautiful day of a nine-year-old for whom there were no more barriers. I could do anything!!! I remember the strong and unique emotions that gripped me. And this is how my adventure, learning and life with the guitar began.
My learning to play the guitar was a constant going and peeking at older cousins and uncles. On more than one occasion they would chase me away. They just had enough of me because I constantly wanted to learn something new, discover new chords, rhythms, melodies.
The guitar became my love and music became my passion. So slowly, yet very quickly, it became an inseparable part of me.
The kind of music I create, play, love and appreciate is a consequence of being brought up in a family honouring old traditions and principles, of which music is an essential part. In a family where customs and traditions are sacred. When asked, for example by an uncle, at the table to play or sing, one had to thank all the elders for the honour. It is a whole set of behaviours, etiquette at the table, where respect for the elders is crucial – father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, uncles and aunts. Respect is as important as hierarchy. There is a whole procession of behaviour, kissing the hand of the elders (both men and women) and greeting all the rest of the fellow guests at the feast. This, of course, teaches respect and modesty and, above all, is a great lesson and testimony for young people and children.
And it is the family feasting together that so unmistakably and intuitively teaches us our choice of repertoire. It is the Family that is our first critic and reviewer. It is here, at home, that we can afford to make mistakes so that we can take our audience to the other side flawlessly later on. The audience has many expectations, and we forest people intuitively and flawlessly know how to read these expectations. We play different music during the day and different music at night, different music when people want to forget themselves in the dance, different music when people want to take an active part and have fun with us by singing, and different music when people flow with the music into their dreams that allow us to release trapped emotions.
That was my childhood – growing up in the midst of tradition and music. Later came the times of rebellion – rock, blues, but my Roma soul wouldn’t let me play any other way. Playing blues in my first school band, “Gipsy Company”, it was always the Roma nature that prevailed.
I remember my high school days and the enormous fascination, curiosity and even pride of my teachers who allowed me to promote the music I love so beautifully. It is with great affection that I recall today a Polish language teacher who invited me to perform in her graduating class, in order to introduce to the graduating students a classmate from her first class who plays and sings music that is completely different from the music that was popular and available at the time. After performing the first song, the professor asked what I was singing about, as the music and emotions were understood, but the words in Romani were not. From that moment on, I understood that a verbal commentary is very important for the listener, but also for myself, because it allows me to reach the listener’s sensitivity in depth. This is a great lesson that the outside world has given me, which I didn’t get at home, because there, at the family table, everyone understands each other, you could say, without words.
My path so far, as I have already mentioned, has been for a very long time watching, imitating and constantly drawing from others, but above all it was all about searching for myself, my inner voice and sound. Finally there came that time, that day, when I started to understand it completely differently. I started playing my own interpretations and finally creating my own music.
Making your own music is vibrant, sometimes unpredictable and very much linked to inspiration. The biggest inspiration for me is, of course, life. Its glories, its shadows, its experience and its taste. I can also be beautifully inspired by the harmony of sounds that surround me from everywhere, sometimes by the light, or a room full of magical acoustics, by the audience that I take with me, seducing myself. That’s when the magic happens, I light the eyes – the windows of the soul – with thousands of fires. The emotion that fills not only me but also all those who attend this performance, the truth that touches the most sensitive strings. This allows one to free oneself, to become a part of the music.
Is this something that can be learned? Is it always so magical?
Well, no. You can perform music perfectly, read the notes perfectly. It will be beautiful music, but it will not have that indeterminate something. That something given from heaven. And here’s the interesting thing – it can be something different every time. The same piece that lives on stage changes because of different inspirations. This is the difference between true artists, even those only by passion, and musicians beautifully practising their profession.
Listeners, audiences, all of us want the truth. It is the truth that captivates us. When on stage, I feel a bond emerging between me and the audience. It’s a beautiful sign. A sign of real emotion.
The music that defines me is romances and ballads. It’s a difficult musical genre where, above all, unique emotions come into play. It’s a marriage of music and words. Beautiful, unexpected comparisons. It’s something that can squeeze out a tear of emotion. Romance is the art of conveying simple content. The discovery of obvious truths. All this together – it forces you to reflect, to look within yourself. This is why romance is so close to my heart. The music I create is a kind of exhibitionism, exposing my soul, my inner self, my own sensitivity.
Making songs in old, even archaic forms, is my mission. To save from oblivion everything that is most important in Romani culture and music – the truth of emotions, lovely, poetic lyrics, ways of making music with traditional instruments. Creating those new-old songs that come to me, not knowing from where. When a sound gives birth to a sound, and another one, and another one. I follow them and create harmony, finding the original joy.
The fulfilment of a musician is to find oneself, to find one’s sound, which will only be assigned to them. It’s important to hear your inner voice. To have a sound is to understand the essence of music. When we meet artists who captivate the audience, taking the audience along with them, they give them all these magical emotions.
Jan Wiśniewski
