Five patriotic and Christian songs by Mała Armia Janosika, a great Polish children's choir

I have varied musical tastes that are not currently popular, and I'm glad that a group I follow becomes famous.

The fabulous concert of the National Capella of Bandurists of Ukraine in Vigo
'Hej Sokoły', the beautiful and nostalgic love song that unites Ukrainians and Poles

These days, a video of a Polish children's choir has gone viral on social media, receiving a lot of views. The video shows a performance by this choir during a Christmas concert at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Rabka-Zdrój, in the Podhale mountain area of ​​Lesser Poland Voivodeship, an area known for its rich folklore. Here you can watch the full video, in which the choir sings a Polish Christmas carol, "Jezusa Narodzonego" (Jesus was born):

For once I didn't have to look up the name of the group when I heard something I liked, since I've been following this choir for years on YouTube and I often listen to their music while driving: It is called Mała Armia Janosika (Janosik’s Small Army). Its name refers to Juraj Jánošík, a legendary Carpathian bandit from the late 17th century who is, so to speak, the Robin Hood of the Slavic countries. The group consists of 265 children of various ages, making it the largest children’s choir in Poland.

El Mała Armia Janosika cultiva la música tradicional de Podhale ydedica gran parte de su repertorio a canciones patrióticas y católicas. Podéis ver a continuación otros cuatro buenos temas de ese coro.

I'll start with the song that made me discover this choir a few years ago when I was searching on Youtube for a Polish patriotic song: "Białe Róże" (White Roses). In it, a woman yearns for her husband who went to war and died at the front. The song became popular in the Polish Legions of World War I. In World War II, this song was sung by Polish soldiers on all fronts. I confess that I find it hard to listen to it without getting emotional, because it has very sad lyrics and the choir sings it very well (you can activate the automatic subtitles in English in the bottom bar of the player):

It should be noted that in this video the children appear wearing armbands with the Polish flag because the song was recorded in 2018, on the occasion of the centenary of the restoration of Poland's independence.

The second song is a very popular Catholic song in many countries. In Poland it is called "Barka" and was a song much appreciated by Saint John Paul II. The choir recorded this song during the pandemic in 2020, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of the Polish Pope:

Now we come to a medley of Polish patriotic songs, which Mała Armia Janosika published on Youtube in November. This medley contains songs from the era of the First World War. The songs heard in the video are as follows, in this order: "Wojenko, wojenko" (Little war, little war), Szara piechota" (The grey infantry, which refers to the colour of the uniforms of the Polish Legions of the Austro-Hungarian Army), Przybyli ułani pod okienko" (The Uhlans came to the window, a spirited song of the Polish cavalry) and My, pierwsza Brygada" (We, the first brigade, a song from 1917 that has been the anthem of the Polish Army since 2007):

Finally, "Walczymy do końca" (We fight to the end) a patriotic song released by Mała Armia Janosika in support of the Polish national football team in October 2022:

I wish all possible success to this children's choir, which not only keeps alive the traditions of its region, but also does so while preserving the identity of its nation.

---

Photos: Mała Armia Janosika.