Raraszek / Poland

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Raraszek is one of the underground spirits that do favours for people in exchange for their souls. It could be hidden in a pocket, snuff box or coin purse; it was very easy to offend, which makes it extremely vindictive.”
[Oskar Kolberg, Dzieła Wszystkie Tom 7 – Krakowskie]

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The musical interests of Raraszek include the region of historic Małopolska. The members of the band, who live in Krakow, have been visiting local singers and instrumentalists to listen to local music archives. They are particularly fond of the melodies from the northern and south-eastern borders of the Krakow territory, which have the most characteristic traits of dance music, non-stage and non-stylised. In 2017, they decided to form a band that plays Małopolska music. They are assembling a repertoire based on Oscar Kolberg’s records and archival Polish Radio recordings.

The group was the winner of this year’s Old Tradition competition. For the 20th edition of EtnoKraków/Crossroads meetings with Prof. Andrzej Bieńkowski and the screenings of Muzyka żydowska w pamięci wiejskich muzykantów [Jewish Music in the Memory of Rural Musicians] – they are preparing a special Jewish repertoire from the records of Oscar Kolbert and the Found Music collection. We will hear Jewish and Polish music from the same regions, featuring musical references of parallel, intermingling and co-existing cultures.

Maria Stępień – first violin
Darya Butskaya – second violin
Katarzyna Chodoń – vocals, dance
Aleksander Kwietniak – clarinet
Arkadiusz Szałata – basolia

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The concert took place in 2018.