“To dance is human, to polka is divine” K.D. Lang, Canadian Singer-Songwriter
If you think that the polka is originally a Polish dance, then you are way off! This popular dance is one of the cultural treasures of another small middle European country. If you would like to know more about the origins of this Czech dance, then browse our sheet music & scores, and explore all the marvellous Polkas Stretta has to offer!
It is no longer known exactly where and when the polka came to be, but from the early 19th century the predecessor of the polka, the “Nimra”, was becoming very popular. The next development was the “Maděra”, which was then renamed to the “Půlka”, which was later renamed the Polka.
The polka was already well known around Europe, and by the 1840s, and it had become one of the favourite dances in the courts of Vienna. Johann Strauss I was also fascinated by the polka in Prague, and subsequently composed several polkas himself. The polka was also very popular with the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, who composed polkas for piano, and also used them in his symphonic and operatic works including Vltava and The Bartered Bride.
Like many other folk dances, the polka found its way into the ballets of the 19th century, in the form of the “Polka Hongroise” or “French Polka”, particularly in works by Léo Delibes. In Vienna the “Polka Schnell” or “Quick Polka” was also popular for a long time, often penned by Johann Strauss II.
One of the most famous polka melodies, which has travelled the world in many different versions, is Jaromír Vejvoda’s “Škoda lásky” known also as “Rosamunde” or “The Beer Barrel Polka”.
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 169537
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 145496
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 214672
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 299033
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 191407
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 143530
for: Accordion
Item no.: 273459
for: Accordion
Item no.: 273394
for: Accordion
Item no.: 265867
Single part Zither 2
Item no.: 363490
Frankfurter Blockfloetentaenze 6
for: 2 descant recorders
Item no.: 394252
for: STEIR HH OKARINA (BFL)
Item no.: 245828
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 399445
for: Zither
Item no.: 474811
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 408309
for: Zither
Item no.: 303403
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 158901
for: Mixed choir, piano
Item no.: 190002
for: Accordion
Item no.: 273468
for: Schwyzerörgeli
Item no.: 265836
for: Male choir, piano
Piano score
Item no.: 277816
for: Schwyzerörgeli
Item no.: 265841
for: Accordion
Item no.: 265862
for: Accordion
Item no.: 273328
for: Accordion
Item no.: 273369
for: String orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 218200
Original Bayerische Blasmusik vom Münchner Oktoberfest
for: Small wind band
Lyric book
Item no.: 549266
for: String orchestra
Double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 218202
Original Bayerische Blasmusik vom Münchner Oktoberfest
for: Small wind band
Lyric book
Item no.: 1681527
for: Accordion
Item no.: 247598
for: String orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 218199
Mehner Akkordeon-Reihe 28
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 775072
for: String orchestra
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 179370
for: String orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 218201
Polka schnell nach Motiven der Operette Die Fledermaus JSGA I/23/10op. 365
for: Symphonic orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 655364
for: Zither
Item no.: 361148
JSGA I/7/5
for: Symphonic orchestra
Double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 639037
Single part Zither 1
Item no.: 185381
(quasi Galopp) JSGA I/16/4
for: Symphonic orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 638356
(quasi Galopp) JSGA I/16/4
for: Symphonic orchestra
Double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 638211
(quasi Galopp) JSGA I/16/4
Picc,1,2,2,2-4,2,3,0-Pk.,Schl-Str.
for: Symphonic orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 638351
for: Zither
Single part(n)
Item no.: 101822
JSGA I/7/5
for: Symphonic orchestra
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 639134
(quasi Galopp) JSGA I/16/4
for: Symphonic orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 638366
JSGA I/7/5
for: Symphonic orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 639129
JSGA I/7/5
for: Symphonic orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 639203
(quasi Galopp) JSGA I/16/4
for: Symphonic orchestra
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 638193
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