“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: Small wind band
Item no.: 141334
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 162629
Single part Clarinet 3
Item no.: 549246
Michael Klostermann und seine Musikanten
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 958701
Michael Klostermann und seine Musikanten
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 957845
Polka
for: Small wind band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1593351
Polka
for: Small wind band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1589056
Muzika Ensemble Music
for: Flexible Instrumentation
Score, Parts
Item no.: 377657
Diletto Musicale
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 304966
Original Pieces of Old Bairian Wind Music
for: Small wind band
Single part Baritone horn (B-flat)
Item no.: 209127
Original Pieces of Old Bairian Wind Music
for: Small wind band
Single part Clarinet 2 (B-flat)
Item no.: 209122
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 125991
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 125688
Polka für Akkordeon
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 102005
Polka
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1020443
for: Accordion
Single part Accordion
Item no.: 393553
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 958805
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 957957
Concert Polka
BOVACO Classic CB
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1018874
for: Mixed choir; piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 224306
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 301442
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 219128
for: Accordion orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 218891
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 210533
for: Accordion
Single edition
Item no.: 222575
for: Zither
Item no.: 106819
Original Burgenlandkapelle, mit Text
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1671472
Concert Polka
for: Concert band
Score, conductor's part, orchestral parts
Item no.: 1560106
Marsch
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1169746
Walzer, für gem. Chor, Orchester (Klavier)
for: Choir
Choir part Soprano
Item no.: 308388
for: Baritone horn (B-flat)
Item no.: 293673
for: Diatonic accordion
Item no.: 294365
for: 2 Melodic instruments (E-flat treble clef)
Ensemble score
Item no.: 173289
for: Accordion
Item no.: 265909
for: Accordion
Item no.: 265862
for: Schwyzerörgeli
Item no.: 265820
Choir part Tenor 1
Item no.: 328174
for: Zither
Item no.: 474811
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 296898
for: Small wind band
Item no.: 275548
Böhmische Polka
for: Small wind band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 445461
for: Electric organ
Item no.: 108419
for: Small wind band
Item no.: 430535
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 484982
Polka frannçaise
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 331293
Tenor/Bass
for: TENOR BASS / GCH
ChorSolo part(s)
Item no.: 273503
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