The French Art of the Natural Horn Playing and the Adaptation of Valve Mechanisms in the 19th Century

The article is an attempt at identifying issues related to the problem of the adaptation of valve mechanisms in Parisian orchestras and Conservatory. Opinions and postulates of supporters and opponents are being presented, as well as the concepts of combining the valve instrument with the  use of the natural horn playing technique. In this context, the perspective of natural horn players, who contributed to the significant delay in the adaptation of valve horns in Paris, are being discussed. Further parts of the text explain the construction of natural horns commonly used in the discussed period in France (cor solo and cor d’orchestre), as well as various issues related to the specific playing technique. The differences between cor alto and cor basse are being examined as well as the concept of cor mixte proposed by Frédéric Duvernoy.

Adam Franciszek Epler (1902–1940): A Forgotten Musician of Interwar Lviv

This article is an introduction to the artistic profile of a Polish conductor, composer and guitarist Adam Franciszek Epler. This forgotten creative persona left the artistic legacy of compositions and arrangements for mandolin orchestra ensemble. Moreover, he was the first Polish guitarist playing Polish lute music, a founder of the first Polish guitar trio named Lwowskie Trio Gitarowe and a musician in the most popular interwar radio broadcast Wesoła Lwowska Fala. As a composer and conductor of the Orchestra of Mandolin Society “Hejnał” from Lviv, he also took part in numerous radio broadcasts of Polish Radio Lviv. His musical activities, similarly to the entire mandolin heritage in Poland and guitar history in interwar Poland, requires further research, and this article is one of the first contributions to these research topics.

Sinfonietta for String Orchestra by Weronika Ratusińska in the Context of the Issue of (Sub)Genre

The purpose of the article is to focus on certain terminological and historical aspects related to the genre of sinfonietta in the Polish music of the 20th and 21st century. In the introduction, the author presents the definition and general characteristics, listing the sources and the most representative works in the Polish music. Additionally, she presents numerical statistics and classification of the sinfonietta in Polish music and on this basis she analyses one of the most interesting works representing the type of sinfonietta-transcription – Sinfonietta for string orchestra by Weronika Ratusińska from 2009. The author analyses the use and manner of modification of musical motifs, the way in which the sound layer is shaped and the relation between Ratusińska's work and tradition of the genre.

Capturing Ephemerality: George Brecht’s For a Drummer from the Perspective of a Performer

The main purpose of the article is to present an individual approach of analysing and reperforming For a Drummer by George Brecht, a legendary composer and a member of Fluxus. The text is divided into several parts. The first half of the article is dedicated to the history and definition of performance art, the second one focuses on a performer persona and their artistic abilities. The latter leads to an actual analysis of a creative process, starting with a short biographical background of Brecht, followed by reading and understanding of the event score with a culmination found in the author’s re-performance.

Gender in Traditional Music: An Overview of the New Challenges Related to Polish Ethnomusicology in the 21st Century

The subject of the article is to present the feminist trend in Western ethnomusicology and then to compare it with the state of research in Poland. The query included the latest Western musicological and ethnomusicological literature, as well as the known sources about gender in Polish traditional music. The author, based on the experience gained during the field research carried out in recent years, indicates possible changes in conducting and analysing the field in order to obtain more accurate knowledge about gender performativity in Polish folklore.

Bones and Concertina: The Sailors' Instruments that Have Survived Over the Centuries

The history of the sailors' instruments is currently a barely investigated area. In the past, bones were used frequently in a variety of music genres, whereas today they seem to be forgotten in certain countries. The simplicity of playing that once was their advantage has also resulted in the small number of written sources concerning the technique of playing as well as the way of producing of this instrument. Despite this fact, bones were the ground for what is called the "musical recycling". Concertina, in spite of its much more complicated structure and technique of playing, is more popular and has been described in several secondary sources. There are even schools of playing on this instrument available. Unfortunately, concertina is rarely used in concert halls too. Both instruments, thanks to their simplicity and small size, visited almost every part of the world in the era of great sailing ships, but today they remain known and used only in specialised environments.