"And couples after couples were going boisterously and merrily,
The circle was turning, turning again,
Like a giant snake, in a thousand breaking coils;
The mottled, variegated colors of the costumes
The mottled, variegated hue of women's, ladies', soldiers' outfits, like shining scales,
Gilded by the rays of the western sun
And reflected on the dark turf of the bed.
Dancing is in full swing, music sounds, applause and health!"
("Pan Tadeusz, czyli Ostatni Zajazd na Litwie" Adam Mickiewicz)
Dance polonaise, or the Polish dance called polonaise in its native country, is a ¾ rhythm social dance with a moderate tempo, enclosed in a repeating eighth-note pattern with two sixteenths. It is difficult to write about music, however, because music is something that must be felt. Someone who does not "read notes" cannot imagine the emotions aroused by a piece of music by reading about the notes themselves. But how else can you describe the feelings that dance evokes without talking about music? Let's close our eyes and imagine a ballroom, beautifully decorated, lit with hundreds of candles, women dressed in festive gowns, men in gala robes. One of the dignitaries, perhaps the host or a distinguished guest, asking a beautiful lady to dance, begins the polonaise. The rest of the dignitaries line up behind the first couple and follow them to the rhythm of the music with dignified, graceful steps, from time to time embellishing the "Polish step" with different figures. This is how balls in Poland have started since the 16th century. Over time, the polonaise gained in popularity and expanded its reach to Europe.
The origin and characteristic features of the polonaise is presented by Dr. Tomasz Nowak:
The oldest origin [among national dances - editor's note] is shown by the polonaise, whose origins should be sought in a formation of a procession, quite common throughout the world. This formation assumes someone's leadership, and often even an internal hierarchical arrangement, in which the more important proceed before the less important, and the older before the younger. The emphasis in this dance is on moving in a plane, and the leadership of one of the dancers at the edge allows him to lead "the group out of the strict formation of the circle and lead it to other forms, such as the spiral and the serpentine," or even to "lead the group to another place". [after F.Lange]. From ancient sources (processional dances) to the results of modern anthropological research (ceremonial dances in both religious and social functions) we can give many examples of this type of dance. [...]
Parade dances [...] came to Poland from Western Europe, first taking root in Silesia, and then spreading throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It should be remembered, however, that the local patterns cultivated both among the peasantry and the aristocracy were also important (especially simple walking dances used, for example, during wedding ceremonies). [bold].
At German manors the polonaise was danced in honor of the lady for whom a ball was given, the polonaise was also a form of greeting guests. Similarly, when it was adopted throughout Europe-from Vienna to St. Petersburg-it was the first dance at all events in the upper classes, such as at the costume ball given in honor of the Tsar on June 6, 1844. This is the period from which descriptions have survived of balls at which "one walked as if in procession" and danced figures such as the couple to the left, the couple to the right, bridges, fans, carrying out partners. (Marta Guzy, Polish national dances)
The Polonaise was and is an inaugural dance. It used to start the court ceremonies, along the way it gave rise to salon parties, to add solemnity to such events as proms today.
Initially, the polonaise dance existed under the name chodzony. It was not until the 18th century that the name polonaise was created, derived from the French dance polonaise. The polonaise was very popular in France, and in the European century there was a fashion for "Frenchness".
Three pieces are definitely among the most popular versions of the polonaise. The first of them is Michał Kleofas Ogiński's "Farewell to the Homeland". It was written at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. For a long time it enjoyed the greatest popularity. It is very famous in Belarus.
Another medalist among the polonaises is a piece by Frederic Chopin Polonaise in A Major Study 40 No. 1. It is commonly known as Military. It is a lively piece in the key of A major (Chopin described the tempo in the score as energetic, with life). If I could play this piece to most Poles, it would awaken one association - Polish Radio. In September of 1939, Program I of Polish Radio broadcast Chopin's Polonaise every day, which became a symbol of Polishness, a sign of protest and national mobilization at the time. As a result, the German aggressors imposed a ban on public performances of Chopin's music. In 1940, as part of their manifesto, the Nazis destroyed Warsaw's most famous monument to Chopin from 1926, located in Lazienki Park (the monument was rebuilt in 1958).
Chopin created his work in 1839, or at least the manuscript was ready to print. The Polonaise in A major was written in tandem with the Polonaise in C minor, which is more nostalgic, but also heroic. Both works were written on a single manuscript. In 1837, a German poet who was a contemporary of Chopin's, and who also worked in Prague, was to say of the pianist: "Poland gave him the spirit of chivalry and the suffering of her history. This quotation can be transferred to the polonaises mentioned above, where the Polonaise in A major conveys "the spirit of chivalry", and the Polonaise in C minor "the national suffering". There is a rumor that Chopin supposedly referred to the A Major Polonaise as a coronation polonaise, which is how he imagined it when he was composing it. It should be noted that Poland was under partition at the time, so such a confession by Chopin testifies to his desire to revive his homeland. In a letter to his friend Fontana in 1848 (that is, a year before his death resulting from a long debilitating illness) he wrote: "but at the end of it all is Poland, great, big, in a word: Poland. That moment is near, but not today. Maybe in a month, maybe in a year".
The third most popular polonaise today is Wojciech Kilar's piece for Andrzej Wajda's film "Pan Tadeusz," an adaptation of Adam Mickiewicz's epic.
"They asked me how many times I had read Pan Tadeusz while writing this music," says Wojciech Kilar. - Wojciech Kilar says. "God forbid! I haven't read it once. Because for me at the moment there's only Wajda's Pan Tadeusz, and I didn't write music to Mickiewicz's poem, only to Wajda's film. But Pan Tadeusz is in every Pole, so it's in me too, although I don't have it by my bed. But I've read it many times and all those scenes are stuck in me. It is a part of my Polishness. And when I came to compose, the music seemed obvious."
A characteristic element of Kilar's piece is the oboe, which begins the sounds of the polonaise. Kilar's interpretation dethroned its predecessors in popularity and now reigns supreme at proms. It is a cheerful piece thanks to the variety of instruments such as the oboe, flute, and trumpet.
On the first page of the score of the polonaise, Kilar used the verbal description "majestically Polish" to describe the tempo of the piece. It should be noted that Pan Tadeusz describes a period of Poland during the Partitions of Poland. People's longing for their homeland was very much alive. They lost their independence and tried to defend their identity, therefore Polish customs were of great importance in everyday life. Polonaise was one of such elements. It became a manifesto of Polishness. In "Pan Tadeusz", the engagement polonaise of Zosia and Tadeusz also has a symbolic meaning, showing the national pride of Poles and a triumphant step towards freedom.
Marshal Guebriant of France said of the polonaise: "I do not know of any dance that combines politeness, solemnity and pleasure to such an extent.
(Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator)