agregandado & Skrzypkowie Dzielni are bands from Toruń whose natural stage and dance floor for many years have been the dance parties organised by the group n obrotów. They perform traditional dance music, drawing inspiration from forgotten melodies of Kujawy, Pałuki, Kurpie, and Sweden, revealing their structure and charm in a new light. Much of their repertoire is rooted in archival music written and recorded in past centuries. Their set includes kujawiaks and mazurkas, Swedish polkas and polonaises, as well as Kurpie powolniak dances.
Though drawn from different traditions, these dances share striking common features, clearly evident when listening to old recordings. A unique part of Skrzypkowie Dzielni’s repertoire is rafter music preserved in Oskar Kolberg’s writings on Kujawy. Once heard in rafter communities, these melodies now resound both on Vistula River rafts near Toruń and on contemporary dance floors. Their interplay of variety and cohesion enriches the Kuyavian tradition, centred on triple-time dances such as chodzony, kujawiak, and mazurek. Their duality and uniformity add variety to the Kuyavian repertoire, which consists of triple time dances such as chodzony, kujawiak and mazurek. Kujawiaks are rather calm dances, with an inconsistent rhythm. They are accompanied by female singers and by violins, sometimes gentle and sometimes more feisty.
line-up
Natalia Kucharska – fiddle, vocals
Martyna Ślęk – fiddle
Kazuma Ishio – fiddle
Izabela Strąk – fiddle, frame drum
Piotr Stachoń – basolia / violoncello
Dominik Wóltański – fiddle, vocals
photo: Herbert West
