Duma Rycerska - Epic Slavic Music of Poland

Bagpipe by Andrei Oltean, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji, video by Farya Faraji & Étienne Nantel.

This is a rendition of the 17th century song Duma Rycerska done in a modern style using various instruments from the historical panoply of Polish music, primarily bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy.

The early modern era in Poland saw the rise of a genre of knightly-themed songs in this style, and was characterised by the ideology of Sarmatism, an ideology wherein Poles believed themselves to be descendants of the Iranic Sarmatian tribes of Late Antiquity, and as ethnic kin to the Iranians, Turks and Tatars. Given this belief in oriental, Iranian origins, 17th century Poland was marked by pronounced oriental influences coming primarily from the Ottoman Empire, mostly in terms of fashion, with the adoption of such clothing as the żupan worn here.

Lyrics in Polish:
Powiedz, wdzięczna kobzo moja,
Umie-li co duma twoja?
Cóż może być piękniejszego
Nad człowieka rycerskiego?

Cóż nad pograniczne kraje
Kędy, skoro lód roztaje,
Ujrzysz pola nieprzejrzane,
Młodą trawą przyodziane.

Usarz zasię w mocnej zbroi
Warownym obozem stoi,
Który po szczupłym obiedzie
Straż zarazem swą zawiedzie.

Pod świetnymi chorągwiami,
Głośny trąbą i bębnami,
Bieży pochylony lasem
Dla sławy, dla zysku czasem.

English translation:
Tell me, my grateful lute,
Does your sound know,
What could be more beautiful
Than a man of chivalry?

What's better than the frontier,
Where, when the ice melts,
You will see unexplored fields,
Clothed with young grass.

The winged hussar in strong armour,
Tending to his fortified camp,
After a lean lunch,
Will set off with his companions.

Under brilliant banners,
Loud with trumpets and drums,
He runs leaning through the forest
For fame, sometimes for profit.