The January Uprising (1863) in Song

Boże coś Polskę, Dąbrowski’s Mazurka and New Patriotic Songs of the January Insurrection

Abstract

The religious and patriotic Polish song Boże coś Polskę [O God who surrounded Poland for so many centuries with splendour of power and glory] was created in 1816 honour Tsar Alexander I (since 1815 the King of the Congress Kingdom of Poland) whose policy towards his Polish subjects was perceived as benign at the time. The author of the lyrics was the well-known poet Alojzy Felinski, whereas the melody was composed by Jan Nepomucen Kaszewski by the commission of the Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, the Tsar’s brother and the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army. Kaszewski’s melody did achieve popularity and was soon replaced by the melody of an earlier religious song (the one performed till now). However, in the years 1860-1862 immediately preceding the January Uprising, Boże coś Polskę became the unofficial Polish national anthem, sung during numerous patriotic manifestations against the partitioners. During the insurrection it was joined by new, more vivid songs based on marching melodies or dance tunes as well as Mazurek Dąbrowskiego with different versions of the lyrics.