Bartkowski, Bolesław (EN)

Bartkowski Bolesław, *3 March 1936 Sarbice (Kielce County), †25 March 1998 Lublin, Polish musicologist, Salesian priest (SDB). From 1955 to 1957, he studied philosophy at the Salesian Higher Seminary in Krakow, and from 1957 to 1961 at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lublin; in 1961, he was ordained a priest. He studied musicology from 1961 to 1966 at the Institute of Ecclesiastical Musicology at the Catholic University of Lublin, where he became an assistant in 1967. In 1971, he obtained his doctorate on the basis of his dissertation Śpiewy procesji palmowej w polskich rękopisach liturgicznych (XIII–XVIII w.) [Songs of the Palm Procession in Polish Liturgical Manuscripts (13th–18th Centuries)]. In 1982, he obtained his habilitation, and in 1984, he took over the Chair of Ethnomusicology and Hymnology. In 1992, he was appointed professor. From 1983 to 1987, he was vice-dean of the Faculty of Theology at KUL, from 1987 to 1989 he was head of the Institute of Church Musicology, and from 1989 he was vice-rector of KUL. From 1971, Bartkowski, together with his colleagues and students, conducted annual field research combined with the recording of religious musical folklore, which resulted in an extensive phonographic collection (approx. 25,000 melodies). This collection, which preserves disappearing phenomena of native culture, is of great importance for Polish ethnomusicology. Bartkowski lectured on music history, musical styles, ethnomusicology, musicology methodology, and research methods for religious songs. He participated in many musicological and interdisciplinary conferences in Poland and abroad (including Dubrovnik 1973, Groningen 1975, Regensburg 1979, Budapest 1983, Eichstätt 1989). He was a member of the Learned Society of the Catholic University of Lublin, the subcommittee for sacred music of the Liturgical Commission of the Polish Episcopate, and the Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Hymnologie. From 1981 to 1983, he was vice-president of the board of the musicologists’ section of the Polish Composers’ Union.

Bartkowski’s academic achievements mainly consist of works devoted to Gregorian chant and Polish religious folk songs. His publications on repertoire from unknown sources (e.g. Visitatio Sepulchri chants, Gloria laus hymn) are particularly important for chant research. Bartkowski’s approach to religious song in the context of choral experience focuses on songs that are part of a living tradition. In his articles and ethnomusicological studies – based on an extensive sound archive, complete with transcriptions and specialist descriptions – the author has revealed the characteristics of religious musical folklore, including in terms of rhythm, variability, tonality, and genre diversity, taking into account the conditions of religious and social life. The book on styles and forms, based on the integration of choral singing, hymnology and ethnomusicology methods, contains a systematisation of Polish folk religious songs and is also an important contribution to the definition of native musical culture. Volume 1 of the series Polskie śpiewy religijne społeczności katolickich [Polish Religious Songs of Catholic Communities], initiated and edited by Bartkowski, presents musical material with extensive scholarly commentary and serves as a testament to his documentary work. Bartkowski’s writings are characterised by methodological reflections on the mutual relations between various branches of musicology, as well as considerations on the shape and trends of contemporary religious musical culture in Poland.

Literatura: T. Jasiński, I. Pawlak Instytut Muzykologii, in: Księga pamiątkowa w 75-lecie Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego. Wkład w kulturę polską w latach 1968–1993, ed. M. Rusecki, Lublin 1994.