Brass Band Contests in Poland as an Expression of Socio-musical Movement

Abstract

This paper deals with the issue of brass bands’ contests in Poland and is analysed using both the diachronic and systematic approaches. The sources for this inquiry are the international literature relating to the working class contest phenomena and the outcome of my ethnomusicological field research conducted in 2001–2005 in the Mazovia region (Central Poland). I briefly examine the history of contests of brass bands in Poland since the interwar period. The systematic part deals with different aspects of contesting, which include motivations of musicians, organisers’ assumptions, performed repertoire, as well as evaluation criteria. I explore the structure of brass band contest and its roles in bands’ development. The national, multileveled format of musical contest, is described in relation to the fireman band movement, which was being animated by the Main Board of Voluntary Fire Brigades – a non-musical organisation, and corresponds with the well-researched phenomenon of brass band movement in Great Britain.