Devil's Fiddle - L'Opera Del Villaggio

Devil's Fiddle is a staged concert devoted to the figure of a local village musician. Those who claim that the greatest fiddlers of the past have simply played to dancing, are very much mistaken.

This continually vivid transgressive power of traditional fiddle and traditional music making is consistently advocated by Radical Polish Ansambl - who made their debut at the Codes Festival in 2018. This time, these passionate promoters of Radical Polish Culture have invited an outstanding Polish composer of electro-acoustic music, Cezary Duchnowski, an illustrious avant-garde cellist Mikolaj Palosz, and a versatile singer Maniucha Bikont. They chose some authentic mazurka melodies and a unique instrument, the devil's fiddle of Lejaren Hiller. This American pioneer of computer music, while staying in Poland in the 1970s, came across a traditional instrument widely used rural ceremonies in the Kaszuby and Kurpie regions, and developed it to the level of an exquisite virtuoso instrument. The reconstruction of Lejaren Hiller's devil's fiddle in combination with inscrutable musical capabilities of Cezary Duchnowski will take the Codes' audience back to the mythical times of fiddlers-witch doctors.