Szańce [literally "historical fortification"; ws] is one of the eastern districts tof Koniaków; The name of the instrument is the term used by the local gajdosze for the Gajdy of Stanisław Suszka (*1977) of Koniaków-Szańce; This old instrument, made by a certain "stary" Wojtas of Kamesznica [whose official name is apparently unknown; ws], has been passed down from generation to generation for 114 years; The first one to play it, was gajdosz Paweł Haratyk [1], who passed it on to his son, Paweł [2], who was Stanisław’s great-grandfather; The next gajdosz in the family was Tadeusz, son of Paweł jr., and currently [i.e. 2014; ws] Stanisław Suszka himself plays on it; The instrument has been documented by Katarzyna & Maciej Szymonowiczowie, together with gajdosz Zbigniew Wałach of Istebna; Originally tuned in E♭ major, young Stanisław had it rebuilt by Zbigniew Wałach, who changed the key to D major, and replaced the Dymlok with a new one (made of cherry (Prunus avium)), and the Gajdzica, originally made of yew (Taxus baccata) with one made of Hungarian plum (Prunus domestica); Exact drawings of the instrument are presented in Mieczysław Gładysz, »Zdobnictwo metalowe na Śląsku« [Metal decorating in Silesia] (Kraków, 1938), p.113; NB: ➺ Szymonowiczowie for a full description and photos of the instrument….

Sziańcziarski gajdy