Construction of the basy of Radom

This procedure for making the basy of Radom [basy radomskie] was produced by Michał Maziarz, as a result of his participation in the 1st Master School of Folk Instruments Makers, a programme of the Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw.

Michał Maziarz studied instrument making with Piotr Sikora, as part of a one-on-one course conducted by the master between 1 July and 30 November 2012 in the village Kuźnica, near Przysucha.

Piotr Sikora (b. 1934) is a fiddler, drummer, and instrument maker. He has been playing with the Wiórkiewicz brothers (Polish accordion, baraban drum), Jacek Bursa (Polish accordion), and Jan Kmita (violin). He started learning to play instruments as a child, his first instrument being the frame drum. Later, he has learnt to play the violin listening to older fiddlers (Lucjan Kwiecień, Józef Lewandowski), but has never had a violin teacher.

Apart from tending to his own farm, Piotr Sikora has tried his hand at different jobs, working as a baker, forest worker, foundry worker in Przysucha, and carpenter, which has helped him to develop advanced manual abilities. He is a self-taught instrument maker and creates models and moulds for instrument components on his own. He has made a few mandolins, violins, and basy, along with about 30 drums (many of which are now used by Polish representatives of traditional music in crudo), baraban drums, and vintage instrument cases. His basy are famed for high-quality of sound and genuine, old-time look. Piotr Sikora took part in the Musical Instruments Bazaar held as part of the Mazurkas of the World Festival (Festiwal Wszystkie Mazurki Świata) in Warsaw in 2011. A frame drum and baraban drum of his making are part of the collection of the Museum of Folk Instruments in Szydłwiec.

Michał Maziarz has been active in the field of Polish traditional music for 5 years. He has been taught violin playing by Jan Graca of Przystałowice Małe (Radom region). He has performed at and co-organised events held by the Eastern Borderlands Music Foundation (Fundacja “Muzyka Kresów”), Raft Association (Stowarzyszenie “Tratwa”), the Mazurkas of the World Foundation (Fundacja “Wszystkie Mazurki Świata”). He is the chairman of the To.pole Association of Kraków, which organises workshops and dancing parties with the participation of folk bands. He holds a degree in journalism and social communication from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.

The biographical notes have been developed based on workshop documentation. They have been edited and translated by the Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw.

Photo by Piotr Baczewski – workshops on the construction of the basy of Radom held as part of the 1st Master School of Folk Instruments Makers in Kuźnica with the participation of Piotr Sikora and Michał Maziarz.