It is a testament to the strength of Polish folk music that it has not only survived but has in recent years undergone a renaissance with the international success of groups such as the Warsaw Village Band and Kroke.

The annihilation and forced movement of ethnic minorities in World War Two severely disrupted folk traditions and what was left had its credibility destroyed by the ideological co-option of folk culture by the Communist regime as a cheerful expression of enthusiastic peasant labour.

Yet in the remoter pockets of the country such as the Tatra Mountains, traditional music clung on and dances such as the mazurka and polonaise never lost their appeal.