Record Reviews

MARIA POMIANOWSKA & FRIENDS ~ DANCE OF SUKA FOR TUNE 0169 (Barcode: 5906395808830) ~ POLAND ~ World Music & Folklore Recorded: 2020 Released: 2024 This is an album by Polish World Music / Folklore magician Maria PomianowskaFind albums by this artist, recorded with four of her musical friends: Karolina HulbujFind albums by this artist, who plays the cello and wspak (a viola like instrument, but with reversed symmetry), Sebastian WypychFind albums by this artist, who plays the double bass, Arad EmamgholiFind albums by this artist, a Kurd living in Warsaw, who plays the daf (a Middle Eastern frame drum) and Wojciech LubertowiczFind albums by this artist, who also plays frame drums. This superb quintet recorded in the midst of the Pandemic twelve tracks of completely unique music, two of which are contemporary compositions by Pomianowska and ten are new interpretations / arrangements of dances composed between the 13th and 17th Century. This album is a companion to the album “The Voice Of SukaFind albums with this title”, recorded by Pomianowska in 2016 and also released on the For TuneFind albums on this label Records label. Pomianowska plays on the instrument known as suka, a vertically played fiddle (or knee fiddle), close in sound to violin, which was part of the Polish musical tradition for centuries and almost forgotten in time, and now thanks to her dedication, brought back to “active duty” with great success. On this album she uses two variants the suka, as well as an old fiddle. The music is an exceptional amalgam between Classical Medieval and Baroque compositions and Folkloristic influences, which encompass a wide range of diverse sources, between Eastern European and Middle Eastern Cultures. Somehow Pomianowska manages to amalgamate all those seemingly completely separate elements into a coherent oneness, which is not only beautiful but also very clever, exciting and aesthetically pleasing. Listening to the album seems to be a wide magic carpet ride above countries, on one side, and a time machine trip on the other, constantly moving between one musical environment to another, almost making the listener dizzy at times, but inducing a wide smile at the same time. Of course people familiar with the many sources of the music, will also enjoy the familiarity, but those to whom everything here is previously unheard, the joy of surprise should be even more exciting. Overall, this is a wonderful piece of music, which splendidly combines many stylistically different types of music and different Cultural heritages into a comprehensible and enjoyable musical experience, with the unique signature of Pomianowska, who is taking the world by storm. I envy you your stamina, Maria my Friend, and thank you for your creativity. Godspeed in these crazy times!

Updated: 29/06/2024Posted: 29/06/2024

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend