Kujawiak
A Polish folk dance in triple metre.
What it means
The kujawiak is a Polish folk dance in triple metre from the Kujawy region of central Poland. Together with the mazurka and oberek it belongs to the group of Polish triple-metre dances, but is slower and more sustained than the other two.
Musical use
It is marked by a calm, often gently melancholy character, with drawn-out, singing melodic lines and an accent that often falls on the second beat rather than the first. In art music the kujawiak character appears in Chopin, some of whose mazurkas absorb kujawiak traits, as well as in stand-alone compositions such as Wieniawski's Kujawiak. The kujawiak differs from the faster, more exuberant oberek and from the mazurka proper, with which it shares the triple metre and shifted accent but from which it differs markedly in tempo.
Performance practice
Play the kujawiak with a rubato-like, breathing tempo rather than strict metre — the singing freedom of the melody is an essential part of its character.