The oldest known depiction of bagpipes in Poland is of Saint Margaret playing the instrument. It is a Romanesque-Gothic polychrome from around 1360 in the chancel of the Church of St. James in Mieronice near Jędrzejów (Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship). Medieval and early modern sources, be it iconographical or written, depicting or mentioning bagpipes generally do not provide personal details of the bagpipers. Even in tax registers (musicians were taxed from the last quarter of the 16th century onward), only the name of the locality, the instrument played by the musician and the amount of the tax were recorded. These registers clearly indicate that the art of bagpiping was among the main manifestations of traditional musical activity in old Poland, as they very rarely recorded other musicians: violinists, pipers, and occasionally organists. Other historical sources also generally do not provide the names of bagpipers. Among the exceptions are the names of members of the royal-electoral band of King August II of Dresden, which sometimes came to Warsaw (such as in May 1726). Judging by their names, they were mostly German musicians, perhaps Lusatian.
In general, historical sources indicate that bagpipers were active in Lesser Poland, including Sandomierskie, Lubelskie and foothill and mountain areas (Beskids, Podhale), where they were most numerous, as well as in Mazovia, Pomerania, Greater Poland and Silesia. This was the case until mid-17th century, the time of the disasters that befell our homeland, namely the Cossack uprisings, the plague in 1652-1653 and the Swedish invasion. These disasters resulted in depopulation and impoverishment of the population, especially in urban areas. The bagpipers became too expensive, they lost their “market”, so they had to emigrate to Western Europe, mainly German-speaking countries, where they found employment in cities and at ducal courts. In Poland, these musicians disappeared from the musical map of the country — in some regions completely, in others to a large extent. Their place was taken by violinists, once few in number, later and until now playing in the bands of all Polish regions. Until the 20th century, when bagpipers began to be scientifically documented, they survived in Lesser Poland, in its southern, mountainous regions (Żywiec Beskids, Beskid Sądecki), similarly in southern Silesia — in the Silesian Beskids and in Greater Poland. At the same time, the proportions of their regional activity changed: they became most numerous not in Lesser Poland, as they had been for centuries, but in Greater Poland, but not in every part of Greater Poland to a similar degree. Still, they remained mostly anonymous. Even Oskar Kolberg’s works, which are, after all, comprehensive in terms of documentation, do not contain complete information on the subject. Nevertheless, various historical sources have preserved the few names and localities of the bagpipers’ musical activity. It was not until the interwar period and after World War II that the question of the identity of the bagpipers (and other musicians) entered the documentary canon of researchers.
Greater Poland
In the Greater Poland region, thanks to the lively and abundant practice of bagpiping there, we can speak of families of bagpipers also called “koźlarz” in Polish, whose progenitors often lived as early as the 19th century. Thus, with regard to the bagpipers, in the Leszczyńskie region it was the Kurzawskis, in the Krotoszyńskie region — the Kaczyńskis, in the Kościańskie region — the Bartkowiaks, in the vicinity of Buk — the Rutkowskis and the Wawrzyniaks. As for the “koźlarze”, it is worth mentioning the families from Nowyomyskie: Tomiaks from Perzyn, Rybickis from Stefanowo or Śliwas from Perzyn.
In general, Greater Poland’s bagpiping activity in the 19th , 20th and partly 21st centuries took place or is still taking place in such subregions (poviats) as: Ostrowskie (Józef Nadobny from Wielka Topola, 1826), Gnieznieńskie, Gostyńskie (Biskupizna), Grodziskie, Jarocińskie, Krotoszyńskie, Leszczyńskie (Grzegorz Dudek from Bukówiec Górny, 1890-1910), Kościańskie, Nowotomyskie, Poznańskie (with an outstanding bagpiper Romuald Jędraszak from Kostrzyn near Poznań), Rawiczkie, Szamotulskie, Wolsztyńskie (where the bagpipers lived alongside “koźlarze”, as the southeastern boundary of the range of the “ kozioł” ran here at least since the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the most famous “koźlarz” being Tomasz Śliwa).
The Lubuskie region (understood here as the area of Lubuskie voivodeship, established in 1999).
The “kozioł” was (and is) played here in Babimojskie and Zielonogórskie (Dąbrówka Wielkopolska, or Podmokle Wielkie and Podmokle Małe) and Świebodzińskie (Zbąszynek, where Jan Kotkowiak, now Jerzy Skrzypczak, lived after World War II).
The Silesian Beskids
In the highland villages located in the Silesian Beskids, the practice of bagpiping has taken place mainly in the so-called Beskid Tri-village: Jaworzynka, Istebna and Koniaków. In the 19th century, the most famous bagpiper was Jan Juroszek (Przigoniok) from Istebna, during the interwar period — Michał Sikora from Koniakowa, after World War II — Jan Kawulok from Istebna. At present, particularly distinguished for the cultivation of the region’s musical tradition are: Józef Broda from Istebna Zaolzie, and Zbigniew Walach and Jan Kaczmarzyk from Istebna.
In Wisła, the practice of bagpiping had already disappeared in the 19th century, and only in the 1970s and 1980s was it reactivated (Karol Chmiel, Paweł Pilch, Jan Pilch), and in isolated cases also today (Maciej Rosenberg). Polish bagpipers also practiced their craft musically in Czech Zaolzie (Paweł Zogata from Jaworzynka, and after World War II from Hrčava and his son Władysław, or Andrzej Niedoba from Mosty u Jablunkova (the Czech Republic). In the east of the Silesian Beskids there is a mutual intermingling of cultural influences with the Żywiec region. In the practice of bagpiping, this is expressed in the occurrence of the Żywiec type of bagpipes here as well. Such an instrument is played by Antoni Gluza from Szczyrk and his son Rafał.
Żywiec Beskids
In the interwar period and after World War II, bagpipers played in Milówka (on the “śląskie gajdy” – silesian bagpipes and “żywieckie dudy” – żywiec bagpipes), Cisiec (Czesław Węglarz), Pewel Wielka (Edward Byrtek), Koszarawa (Jan Hulbój), Żywiec (Feliks Jankowski), Sopotnia Mała, Jeleśnia (Przemysław Ficek), Krzyżówki, Rycerka Górna, Lipowa.
Few bagpipers could be found in Beskidian villages east of the Żywiec region. In the 19th century, Walenty Polak of Grzechynia near Maków Podhalański belonged to them. More information about them can be found mainly from the post-World War II period. They practiced in Zawoja, Sucha Beskidzka, and Lachowice. The title of “the last bagpiper of Nowy Sącz” was given to Wincenty Pyrdoł from Zarzecz, who cooperated with Mieczysław Cholewa in promoting the folklore of his region.
Podhale
In the 19th century, historical sources recorded several bagpipers from the region. These include: Tomasz Maciata from Biały Dunajec (1809), Błażej from Groń (1840s), Stanislaw Gąsienica Janków (Gladczan) from Zakopane, Wojciech Gal (senior shepherd from Olcza and Kondratowa), Jan Furmanski (senior shepherd in Kondratowa), Wojciech Zegleń from Chycówka, Pawel Chyc from Spyrkówka near Zakopane, Jan Marcinkowski from Zakopane.
In the interwar period, the practice of bagpiping was continued in Podhale, as a rule, by musicians who had begun playing the instrument back in the 19th century. These included Stanisław Budz Lepsiok from Poronin (Mróz) and Stanisław Gąsienica Janków from Zakopane (Gładczan). The younger generation included Mróz’s son Jan and grandson Stanisław and Józef Galica (senior shepherd) from Olcza. After World War II, the practice of bagpiping in Podhale declined. Stanisław Gąsienica Byrcyn form Zakopane still played the instrument, as did Józef Galica (senior shepherd), who passed the tradition on to the next generation of highland musicians. Younger generations of bagpipers (among others) were represented by Mróz’s descendants — grandsons: Stanisław and Jan Budz and Władysław Trebunia-Tutka from Biały Dunajec, Adam Kuchta from Bukowina Tatrzańska, Stanisław Graca Gobera from Poronin, or bagpipers from Zakopane: Bolesław Trzmiel, Tomasz Skupień and Jan Karpiel Bułecka, while the youngest included: Krzysztof Trebunia-Tutka, Szymon Bafia, Szymon Hyc-Magdzin, Łukasz Gąsienica-Samek, Adam Gąsienica-Makowski, Maciej and Szczepan Gąsienica-Mracielnik, Piotr Haza, Sebastian Karpiel-Bułecka, Bartłomiej Koszarek, Rafał Michalski, Stanisław Michałczak, Paweł Migiel, Tomasz Skupień (son), Sławomir and Piotr Zięba. We should especially highlight the figure of Piotr Majerczyk-Tyrlity from Chabówka (formerly from Poronin), an excellent musician, multi-instrumentalist, including a bagpiper.
In recent years, we have observed a certain feminization of the practice of bagpiping, with varying degrees of intensity in different regions: least in the highlands (Zuzanna Kawulok from Istebna, Dorota Gazurek from Istebna, Elżbieta Porębska-Mędoń from Biały Dunajec, Martyna Galica from Olcza and Dorota Majerczyk with her daughters: Katarzyna and Maryna from Chabówka). It is the most pronounced in the Greater Poland or Lubuskie regions, where about 3/4 of the bagpipers are women. There was also an all-female bagpipe band in Zielonogórskie formed by Weronica Kokocińska (wedding bagpipe), Marta Kokocińska (violin) — Podmokle Małe and Andżelica Drozda (E flat clarinet) — Kolesin.
Uniquely musicians-bagpipers find a liking for bagpipes from other regions or even countries than they themselves come from. On the other hand, people from outside the circle of folk musicians are interested in playing the bagpipes (e.g., in the interwar period Stefan Szymanski, a Warsaw doctor, played the Podhale bagpipes. Nowadays, playing the Greater Poland (as well as Scottish) bagpipes has been mastered by Tadeusz Piskorski from Poznań (a professor at Poznań University of Technology).
In Poland (as in other countries) bagpipes were played solo or in a band — in the past with a shawm, in modern times, traditionally with a violin, and in Western Greater Poland additionally with an E flat clarinet.