{"id":50892,"date":"2024-12-14T13:40:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T12:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/782fafa2-1bf6-4f9d-98b8-f0462f718652"},"modified":"2024-12-14T14:09:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T13:09:20","slug":"polish-christmas-carols-seven-of-the-best-loved-festive-carols-from-poland","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/polish-christmas-carols-seven-of-the-best-loved-festive-carols-from-poland\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish Christmas carols: seven of the best-loved festive carols from Poland"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Saturday, 14 December 2024 at 12:40 PM<\/p>

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Poland has amongst the most varied Christmas carols of any country, but which are the most popular, the most tuneful, and the most famous of them all? Here is our round-up of favourite Polish Christmas carols.<\/p>

The greatest Christmas carols of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul>
Best Polish christmas carols<\/h2>
B\u00f3g si\u0119 rodzi (God is born)<\/h3>
Probably the most famous of all the Polish carols is ‘B\u00f3g si\u0119 rodzi’ (‘God is born’). With its stately melody<\/a><\/strong>, it was even briefly considered by some as an alternative to the Polish national anthem<\/a><\/strong>. The lyrics were written in 1792 by Franciszek Karpi\u0144ski, but the music was written hundreds of years earlier and was used as the coronation hymn for Polish kings dating back as far as the reign of Stefan Batory in the 16th century.<\/p>

The best Polish composers: how music influenced Poland during the turmoil of the 20th century<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul>

<\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gdy Si\u0119 Chrystus Rodzi (When Christ was born)<\/h3> <p>Some say this smoothly melodious carol came from France, but, due to scarcity of sources, it’s difficult to say for sure. The earliest printed version dates from 1843 and was found in ‘Pastora\u0142ki i carols’ with melodies by Fr. Micha\u0142 Mioduszewski.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gdy si\u0119 Chrystus rodzi\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KRhb-uBKiTk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/the-best-christmas-classical-music-albums\/\">The best Christmas classical music albums and recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/michael-buble-christmas-songs\/\">Michael Bubl\u00e9’s Christmas songs: 5 of the best for the festive period<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gdy \u015aliczna Panna (When the Lovely Virgin Mary)<\/h3> <p>Dating from the early 18th century, this anonymous carol was very popular in its time, particularly in convents. Its lyrics describe the Virgin Mary rocking the baby Jesus as he sleeps.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gdy \u015bliczna Panna\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/89FgaUDfobQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">P\u00f3jd\u017amy Wszyscy do Stajenki (Let’s all go to the stable)<\/h3> <p>The lively character and marching rhythm of this song is appropriate given that it’s all about the journey to the stable where the baby Jesus is lying. While its lyrics date from the 18th century, its melody was added a hundred years later and was probably written around the Kr\u00e1kow area, though the composer remains anonymous.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-christmas-musicals\/\">Best Christmas musicals: 11 of the best festive singalongs<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Pojd\u017amy wszyscy do stajenki\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YCKrlijs4cQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/christmas-songs\/\">The best-loved Christmas songs of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/christmas-violin-music\/\">Easy Christmas music for the violin<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div> <\/div> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">W\u015br\u00f3d Nocnej Ciszy (In the Stillness of Night)<\/h3> <p>Traditionally sung at Midnight Mass in Poland, this dignified 19th century carol first appeared in a church songbook by Fr. Micha\u0142 Marcin Mioduszewski. It has since been reworked many times, with various patriotic songs sung to its melody.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"W\u015br\u00f3d nocnej ciszy - Kol\u0119da polska z tekstem - Babadu TV\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k45AJhW-Fu0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lulaj\u017ce Jezuniu (Sleep, little Jesus)<\/h3> <p>The composer <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/frederic-chopin\">Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Chopin<\/a><\/strong> used a motif from this carol in the middle section of his <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-scherzo\">Scherzo<\/a><\/strong> in B minor, Op.20. And no wonder that he found inspiration in it. Written in the 1600s as a lullaby for the baby Jesus, ‘Lulaj\u017ce Jezuniu’ (Sleep, little Jesus) is one of Poland’s most beautiful carols.<\/p> <p>Considered by many as an emblem of ‘Polishness’, ‘Lulaj\u017ce Jezuniu’ continues to be regularly sung by Polish families on Christmas Eve. It also known outside Poland, for example, in France, where it was translated into ‘Nuit de lumi\u00e8re.’<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/french-christmas-songs\">The very best French Christmas songs<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Lulaj\u017ce Jezuniu\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tPc20BS3hC8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-christmas-piano-music\/\"><b>The best Christmas piano music<\/b><\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div> <\/div> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">W Dzie\u0144 Bo\u017cego Narodzenia (On Christmas Day)<\/h3> <p>Though rarely heard nowadays, this happy and festive 17th century carol has historical significance. During the First World War, Boles\u0142aw Pochmarski, an academic serving in the trenches, adapted ‘W Dzie\u0144 Bo\u017cego Narodzenia’ into a new carol, the ‘Christmas carol of the legions’, whose nationalist lyrics (That in the cannon roar, the smoke, the Polish name, the Polish name, is resurrected) served to boost morale when it was sung by Polish soldiers on Christmas Eve 1915.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"W Dzie\u0144 Bo\u017cego Narodzenia - Tradycyjne Polskie Kol\u0119dy\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zSSY54KNRWY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p><strong>Find <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/tag\/christmas-carol-lyrics\/\">lyrics to your favourite Christmas carols here<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <p><em>Photo: Getty<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Saturday, 14 December 2024 at 12:40 PM Poland has amongst the most varied Christmas carols of any country, but which are the most popular, the most tuneful, and the most famous of them all? Here is our round-up of favourite Polish Christmas carols. 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Best Polish christmas carols<\/h2>