Haratyk, Józef

Born in Istebna; Lived with his wife in Istebna-Kosiarzyska [?], in a mountaineer’s cottage, 909 m. above sea level, without electricity, at the foot of the Gańczorka mountain [ENE of Istebna], away from other homes; They were occupied in animal husbandry; Relatively late, Józef got interested in instruments and their construction; When he retired, he bought a Gajdy; When it did not play well enough, he tried to improve it, making a new gajdzica, reeds and other parts; In the end, he decided to build a new one, after the design he had of a Gajdy of Jan Krężelok "Skotniorek"; Having built the instrument, he was unable to tune it, and was helped by Zbigniew Wałach; More than tuning, Haratyk liked to turn drones, and to invent new "oblewka" [inlay] patterns; He also built several Gajdy dziecięce [Children’s bagpipe], commissioned by Monika Wałach, née Bocek (*1966) for her activities with very young gajdosze; According to Katarzyna & Maciej Szymonowiczowie, "several gajdosze […] acknowledged that Haratyk’s instruments were not made with proper precision" and "singled out as being poorer in terms of aesthetics"; Having made more than twenty Gajdy, he belonged, however, to a small group of contemporary builders who were able to fix the leather on the bellows well; He also built other instruments, and in his spare time he would sit in front of the house and play instruments he made; He died unexpectedly; NB: ➺ [Błażej?] Stańco, and Rafał Wałach.