'The Polish carol! So beautiful, moving, and so full of majesty, it has a unique place in the history of Polish culture. It is dear to every Pole. The enormous popularity among all parts of society, over many centuries, made it an important manifestation of artistic life' (Jan Węcowski – Christmas Songbook, 2005). This is what Jan Węcowski wrote about the Christmas carol – an expert on the subject, musicologist, composer, and the author of 8 carol songbooks.

The tradition of Polish carol singing is preceded by the Advent season – the period of the year when the faithful wait for the joyful feast of Lord's Birth. In Poland, carols are sung from the Christmas Eve on the 24^th December to the Candlemass on the 2^nd February. The Advent (lat. Adventus) originally meant the first day of a month in the Roman calendar. For the first time in history, the name of carol was given to Christmas-themed songs performed in churches in the 16^th century. However, carols sung at home were called pastorals.

We can ask ourselves the question: what was the influence of the Cracow University on the origins of the Polish Christmas carol?

The oldest preserved, historical carols are the Latin texts by Bartłomiej of Jasło (ca. 1360 – 1407) who was an alumnus and professor of two universities: Praque and Cracow. Together with Rector Stanisław of Skarbimierz, he contributed to the renovation of the Cracow University as a member of the commission which prepared statutes for the university. The Jagiellonian Library is in possession of four manuscripts with the carols written by Bartłomiej of Jasło: Buccinemus in hac die, Ab aeterno praeconceptam, Mirans stupet en natura and Gaude mundi incola. The oldest carol written by a Polish author which melody and text have been preserved is the first of the aforementioned songs: Buccinemus in hac die – Let us play on that day. The carol consists of 14 stanzas and 8 repetitions. The author included his name and place of origin in the opening 20 verses: Bartholomeus de Jassel.

            However, the oldest Polish carol known to us is Zdrow bądź krolu anjelski. The author was Jan Szczekna, a Cistercian monk of Czech origina, the personal confessor of Queen Jadwiga, a professor of the Cracow University since 1404/1405. The text was derived from the Szczekna's Christmas sermon. Most likely, it was a translation from the Latin song Ave rex angelorum, which frequently appears in Polish written sources up to the 18^th century. The melody is recorded in a hymnal from 1586, currently kept in the monastery of Benedictine sisters in Staniątki.

            From the first half of the 15^th century comes the still popular carol Chrystus się nam narodził which text was preserved in the hymnal manuscript by Jan of Przeworsk (1435).

            During the Renaissance, carols were becoming more and more popular. Usually they were compositions written for one voice or a choir of four voices. It is still supposed that, in order to reduce costs, only texts were printed, and the rest was left to musical prowess and knowledge of memory of the common people. Carol texts can be found in the Hymnal of the Czartoryski Library (1551) and in the Hymnal of the Kórnik Library (1551 – 1555), the latter including the well-known carol Anioł Pasterzom mówił. Compilations of texts and melodies have been preserved in further Hymnals authored by Walenty of Brzozów (1554, 1569), Piotr Artomiusz (1587, 1596), Jan Seklucjan (1547, 1559), and many others. Several carols come from the Tablature by Jan of Lublin (first half of the 16^th century). This compilation contains the famous Christmas song Dies est laetitiae which was authored by the extraordinary Renaissance composers: Wacław of Szamotuły, immatriculated at the Cracow University in 1538, who wrote Pieśń o narodzeniu Pańskim, and Tomasz Szadek, a singer from the Wawel Rorate ensemble, who included it in 1578 a Mass of the same title.

            Among the authors of carol poetry were the distinguished humanists of the Renaissance age: Jan Kochanowski – a poet and one of the most renowned students of the Cracow University – wrote the carol Tobie bądź chwała Panie wszego świata (1587), and Marcin Laterna, also a Cracow's student, a Jesuit priest, a royal preacher at the court of King Sigismundus III Vasa. The carol O Jezu nasz Zbawicielu (1585) by Laterna is a translation of the Latin breviary hymn Christe Redemptor omnium.

            The Baroque was the period of a significant development of carol songs. During this period, the first Polish carol compilation Symfonie anielskie abo Kolęda mieszkańcom ziemskim od muzyki niebieskiej, wdzięcznym okrzykiem na Dzień Narodzenia Pańskiego zaśpiewane, które usłyszane Roku Pańskiego 1630. W Krakowie, drukował Marcin Filipowski was released by Jan Żabczyc – a poet, but also a student of the Cracow University, like the other authors mentioned above. The compilation contains the still popular songs, like: A wczora z wieczora, Przybieżeli do Betlejem and Tryumfy Króla Niebieskiego. The best-known 17th century carols are Lulajże Jezuniu i Jezus malusieńki, which were repurposed by Fryderyk Chopin for his own compositions. The first of them is Scherzo h – moll op. 20 and the second Etiuda cis – moll op. 25 no. 7. In his historical essay titled Najpiękniejsza ze wszystkich jest muzyka polska (1946), Józef Reiss wrote the following words about the Polish carol: Carols are also music, at closest to the Polish heart. When Chopin repeated a few bars of 'Lulajże Jezuniu' in his ‘Scherzo h – moll', did he not enchant the atmosphere of the Christmas Eve's night, and did he not enclose all that is the essential beauty of Polish music?

            The 18^th century gave us Pójdźmy wszyscy do stajenki, a carol in form of a marching song, Wśród nocnej ciszy, a lesser known song Zjawiło się nam, and Bóg się rodzi, written to the rhythm of Polonaise dance by Franciszek Karpiński (Pieśni nabożne, Supraśl 1792), which was to become the national anthem due to its patriotic overtones.

            Despite the partitions of Poland, numerous poeats and composers wrote carols in the 19^th century. Among the most popular Christmas songs are: Mędrcy świata (words by Stefan Bartkiewicz, melody by Zygmunt Odelgiewicz), Mizerna cicha stajenka (words by Teofil Lenartowicz, melody probably by Jan Gall) and the anonymous composition Gdy się Chrystus rodzi, released by Father Michał Marcin Mioduszewski in Pastorałki i kolędy z melodyjami (Cracow 1843).

            The 20^th century was the period of the development of choral carols and instrumental versions. A significant amount of carol songs was created in that time. Among their authors were the distinguished Polish composers: Stanisław Niewiadomski (1859 - 1936), Feliks Nowowiejski (1877 – 1946), Witold Lutosławski (1913 – 1994), and the still living Andrzej Nikodemowicz, who composed ca. 350 carols. One of the most popular 20^th century carol songs was Nie było miejsca dla Ciebie (1938), written in Nowy Sącz before the Second World War. The text was written by Father Mateusz Jeż, the personal chaplain to Princess Marcelina Radziwiłł née Czartoryska (a pianist, pupil of Fryderyk Chopin, distinguished benefactor of Polish culture, active in Cracow in 1870 – 1894), and the melody composed by Father Józef Łaś. This carol was sung during the tragic and cruel period of Polish history, in Soviet gulags and German concentration camps.

            The 20^th century saw the release of three carol songbooks: Kantyczki z nutami by Jan Kaszycki (1911, 225 songs), Największa Kantyczka (1938, 294 songs) by Józef Albin Gwoździowski, and Kolędować Małemu (1992, 200 songs) by Jan Węcowski.

            In present days, exceptional carols are still written, bringing people to reflections on the Infant Jesus. One of the examples is Kolęda dla wędrowca (2003), which text was written by Professor Katarzyna Popiołek – a graduate and a doctor of psychology at the Jagiellonian University. The melody was composed by a member of the young generation of talented Polish composers, Klaudia Pasternak.

            Cracow has a significant place in the history of Polish Christmas carol, especially the academic community of its University. The alumni of the Jagiellonian University – the creators of the Polish carol, were the pioneers and over the centuries they played a distinguished role in its development.

Design of the Bamber Altar, Wit Stwosz, Nuremberg, 1520, owned by the JU Museum