Skupień, Tomasz

Born and lived in Zakopane (at the foot of the Tatra mountains); There was no musical tradition in the family home (his father Tadeusz was a skier and a pre-war team coach), and in 1975 he became a professional builder; Being raised, however, in the spirit of mountaineers’ culture, he became, in 1969, a member of the band of Bartuś Obrochta (1850-1926) and came into contact with the folk instruments of Podhale ["Under the alp", which is the Polish name for the Tatra mountain region]; In 1970 he began to learn to play the violin, and, listening to older Podhale violinists and their recordings, he developed his musical style; At that time, Podhale bagpipes were already practically extinct; The last piper, Józef Galica "Baca" from Olcza, a student of the legendary Stanisław Budz-Lepsiok "Mroz", played only occasionally, but Tomasz, then 16 years old, just went to him for advice regarding the construction of this instrument and playing; His greatest achievement and merit is the revival of the Podhale bagpipe tradition, its construction and playing practice. He introduced many modifications in their construction, which - without changing the nature of the instrument - gave more technical possibilities to performers, enriched the sound color, and intensified the power of their sound; The Cienka of the 70 instruments he built during his lifetime, have the uncommon range of g¹-a¹-b¹-c²-d²; The All-Polish Contest of Musicians of the Tatra Mountains (Ogólnopolski Konkurs Muzyk Podhalańskich), held every autumn in Nowy Targ, is named after him; NB: ➺ Cienka (piszczałka).
NB: Example(s) to be replaced with staff-notation.