GRASSROOTS ART IN THE POLISH ENVIRONMENT OF XIX CENTURY

Abstract

The article, through the prism of the work of Polish composers of the 19th century, reveals the pan-European tendency of the emergence of a new quality of musical creativity – the so-called household music for every day, intended for a wide range of connoisseurs. The growing popularity of this layer of creativity among the general public formed a separate urban tradition of salon, home music making. The gradual simplification of the semantics of the plot of the content of the works, their technical simplicity provided for performance mainly by amateur musicians remains insufficiently understood to this day. Accordingly, it requires a re-examination and analysis, first of all, from the point of view of the proper definition of the quality of these works, which does not fit into the generally accepted terminology of “high”, “low” or “grassroots” art, and therefore needs clarification. The term Grassroots proposed in the article to describe the quality of musical creativity for salon and home use is devoid of pejorative nature and corresponds to the characteristics of samples of musical culture, both amateur and professional levels. At the same time, the universality of this term lies in the fact that it expresses the qualitative aspects of any national art, the basis of which is the ethnic, folklore principle. In the art of music, a sign of belonging to the Grassroots can be considered to rely on metro-rhythmic, modal and melodic foundations, as well as on verbal content. Focusing, first of all, on the social and national dimensions, Grassroots can also be differentiated according to the “high” and/or “grassroots” levels of culture, in compliance with the main principle – reliance on folklore national sources with the initiative “from below – up”. At the same time, Grassroots art on the example of the work of the composers mentioned in the article testifies to the existence of a separate level between “grassroots” and “high” styles. Musical samples of Grassroots art, due to the possession of the qualities of a high style and, at the same time, due to the simplification of certain elements of musical expression, are usually aimed at a wide, democratic audience, and are available for understanding and perception.