Mazowsze II is a musical sequel to Mazowsze I, the CD which inaugurated the "Source of Polish Folk Music" series in 1996.  That first CD was primarily devoted to instrumental music played by soloists and bands from various areas of the Mazovian region. In the present collection, pride of place has been given to vocal music.  Songs are the essence of Mazovian style. They are performed rubato, with mazurka rhythms, in varying dialects. We have collected a representative sample of various song genres. Most of the performers belong to the old and middle generations, and their recordings are nearly 30 years old. We can say, therefore, that the recorded repertoire still reflects the life and customs of 19th century Mazovian countryside as preserved in the memories of villagers from several settlements on both sides of the Vistula.
Our arrangement of songs represents the village life cycle from birth till death, with alternation of work and feast days.  There are lullabies (ex. 1-2) songs of courtship and love (ex. 4-9)
containing subtle erotic undertones, numerous wedding songs(ex. 11-18, 20-21, 23-25, 27-28),  a funeral dirge (ex. 35), pastoral Christmas songs (ex. 36-37), Easter songs (ex. 39-41), harvest songs (ex. 43-44), as well as ballads (ex. 46-47).  The instrumental pieces interspersed among the songs complement our musical portrait of Mazowsze.  These recordings are quite recent, unlike the songs.
These songs are from the Mazowsze region.  They are not performed by the musical ensemble Mazowsze.