“RAKIETA” Tęgie Chłopy | concert

Concert at the Intergenerational Picnic

More than half a century after the first man landed on the moon and 14 years after the invention of the iPhone, country music still has the power to captivate. It touches, makes you think, entertains, stimulates movement and creativity. It can tenderly accompany modern man on a daily basis and on festive occasions. We have experienced this many times.

Would you like to find out too? Here are the keys to our rocket. It is waiting at the cosmodrome between Kielce and Sandomierz. Sit back and start the motor. Listen to how the nozzles-pistons-flaps-bellows-wires-sheet metal work. Soar into Earth’s orbit and feel the exhilarating lightness of the vortex. Fly into the unknown, towards new worlds.

It will take a while, but luckily you can sing! In the pilot’s storage space, you will find songs selected for interstellar travel. Rich in the macronutrients of laughter and – equally necessary for health – the micronutrients of sadness. They tell of the adventures of the plants, animals and musicians of planet Earth. They will dispel fleeting longings and are sure to interest any alien!

The Tęgie Chłopy band continues the dance music tradition of the Kielce region in its authentic and unstylized form. The repertoire and instrumentation are based on the best models – the traditional bands that used to play at weddings and country parties in Łagów and Opatów, such as the Witkowski brothers’ band from Orłowo, Krakowiaków band from Zbelutka, Antoni Witkowski from Cisowo and many others.

The band’s name is a musical statement: Chłopy primarily play Kielce “peasants” – three-beat, tuneful melodies typical of the eastern Kielce region, also known as “światowki” or “śpiw” Tęgie Chłopy want to play to dance so that “the ceiling rises” – as supposedly happened at the parties played by the famous Witkowki brothers’ band. The presence of a strong brass section – trumpet, clarinet and tuba – helps considerably in raising the ceiling.

The band is made up of musicians involved in the organisation of the Kielce Tabor Dance House in Sędek near Łagów (2013-2016). Most of them are co-creators of many acclaimed musical projects and animation activities in the world of Polish traditional music.

In an effort to access the oldest repertoire of the Kielce region, the band members travelled hundreds of kilometres in search of musicians and singers of the region. They spend time together learning local tunes, usually hosted by clarinetist Stanislaw Witkowski, as well as singers from Sędek and the surrounding area – Maria Kowalik and Maria Gałka.

The band has played at dance parties and festivals of traditional and contemporary music throughout Poland, as well as in Sweden, France, Germany, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, etc. In 2014, they took part in the performance “Orszak weselny/Żałobny rapsod” by Jacek Hałas and Darek Błaszczyk, produced by Polish Radio.

Tęgie Chłopy have released three albums to date: Dansing (published by Muzyka Odnaleziona, October 2015), Wesele! (December 2017, published by Wodzirej), and Rakieta! (November 2021, Echo Production). In 2019, Dansing was named the best Polish folk album of the 25th anniversary in a poll conducted by the Radio Folk Culture Centre among its listeners. Rakieta! – an album of songs not only for children – won the Polish Radio’s phonographic competition for the Folk Phonogram of the Year 2021.

• Maniucha Bikont – tuba, vocal
• Maciej Filipczuk – violin
• Ewa Grochowska – violin, vocal
• Mateusz Kowalski – accordion, baraban, violin, and vocal
• Michał Maziarz – tenor
• Dorota Murzynowska – baraban
• Szczepan Pospieszalski – trumpet
• Michał Żak – soprano saxophone, clarinet, vocal
• Marcin Żytomirski – violin, lyrics to songs from the album RAKIETA