Kapela Braci Adamczyków / The Adamczyk Brothers Band

Szydłowiec, Mazowieckie Voivodeship, Ziemia Szydłowiecka (Szydłowiec Land)

The ensemble is made up of two brothers: Czesław and Jan, who know plenty of folk tunes and perform them on the pedal accordion and the fiddle. Their musical collaboration started out when they were teenagers playing at small parties and developed into a highly popular local wedding group known as Ścigłe Felki.

Today, they perform dance music applying traditional tempos and styles z muzykańską werwą (‘with musical verve’), as the local people say. They are renowned for their energetic (ścigły/ścigłe, hence the name mentioned above) manner of playing, and their repertoire mostly consists of mazurkas, obereks and polkas, but also tangos, foxtrots and
waltzes. They take part in all kinds of events, at varied parties and concerts, and they offer workshops and classes to teach their unique repertoire. Musical gatherings are invariably excellent occasions to reminisce about the good old days and showcase their inimitable style.

The Adamczyk brothers have had several students under their wing, amongst them Katarzyna Zedel, an enthusiast of the musical traditions from the lands of Szydłowiec and Radom. Since 2013, she has played the frame drum and the baraban drum in an ensemble, in a manner that is highly characteristic of the region.

Czesław Adamczyk and Jan Adamczyk belong to the oldest generation of folk musicians; they are considered masters in their field, esteemed by the lovers of traditional music. The brothers are invited to share their music at cultural events organised by the Stowarzyszenie Dom Tańca (House of Dance Association), the Mazurkas of the World Foundation and the Radomska Szkoła Tradycji (Radom School of Tradition). Besides playing in and around Szydłowiec, they still travel and perform further afield, in larger cities such as Warsaw, Kraków and Radom. In 2019, they appeared at the Ambasada Muzyki Tradycyjnej (Embassy of Traditional Music), where they taught the fiddle and the pedal accordion.

Other than his career of a musician, Czesław Adamczyk also makes and restores accordions: standard as well as the three-row variety. In his opinion, the tunes he performs sound the best on the pedal accordion, because „when you’re playing the hand accordion, you find it impossible to keep up the tempo and the music comes out all wrong”.