Colours of keys, not always staves. Polish school of illustration and music prints for children and young adults

Abstract

Intensive publishing in the period of the Polish People Republic (mainly 1950s, 1960s and 1970s) was significantly marked also in the area of music prints. The offer addressed at young instrumentalists and vocalists only to begin their musical education, was prepared by a specialised publishing house from Krakow, namely Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne [Polish Music Edition= PWM Edition] with its over 70-year history. The biggest publishers for young readers, the Warsaw-based Nasza Księgarnia and Biuro Wydawnicze ‘Ruch’ also appeared on the market with interesting titles related with music issues. Those were mainly song books and musical notations accompanied by texts on folklore and cultural history of various Polish regions.

Excellent Polish graphic artists, the representatives of Polish School of Illustration, took care of the discussed publications’ quality. Among them there were: Jerzy Skarżyński, Zofia and Andrzej Darowski from Krakow, and the widely recognised masters of illustration: Bohdan Butenko, Józef Wilkoń and Zbigniew Rychlicki who collaborated with Nasza Księgarnia and ‘Ruch’ editors. Their designs feature technical mastery as well as a wide variety of artistic concepts ranging from graphical synthesis, through painterly impressions, to creative inspirations with Polish folklore. The article, among others, discusses ‘Biblioteka Violinka’ series and the cycle of books introducing musical culture written and elaborated by Jadwiga Gorzechowska and Maria Kaczurbina, and illustrated by Zbigniew Rychlicki.