Look Who it Was Random video

Old Polish Tango: Chór Juranda - Łyczakowskie tango (Tango of Łyczaków), 1936

2,321 views · Published 27 June 2016 · 2:51 · Indexed 19 October 2026

Channel: 240252 · 2016 · Music

Watch on YouTube

Chór Juranda – Łyczakowskie tango (Tango of Łyczaków) (Haber – Haas), Syrena-Electro 1936 (Polish)

NOTE: The Polish revelers Chór Juranda were founded by Jerzy Koszutski (aka Jurand) in Warsaw in 1932, on the wave of popularity of the male vocal ensembles (The Revelers in USA, The Comedian Harmonists in Germany, Chór Dana in Poland, etc.). In a short time, Chór Juranda became almost as popular as its predecessors Chór Dana, which was founded in Warsaw some years earlier, in 1929.  Chór Juranda performed in the revues in the Warsaw musical theatres, such as Hollywood or Wielka Rewia, another source of their popularity were concerts on air and numerous recordings for Odeon and Syrena-Electro.  Chór Juranda also was contracted by Ministry of War Affairs for recording numerous Polish military and patriotic songs (some of them Chór Juranda featured with the European-famous Polish soprano, Wanda Wermińska).  The outbreak of the WW2 found them in Lwów, while they were on a tour. They could not return to Warsaw, therefore they accepted contract by the new Soviet rulers to make the concert tours around the USSR. In 1941, when the Soviet-German war broke out, Chór Juranda ceased its activity. 

The song “Tango of Łyczaków” (its name originating from the name of Łyczaków, the most indigenous Lvovian suburb) was hugely popular in prewar Poland, as a very adequate imitation of the original Lvovian dialect. The song became so synonymous with Lwów, that it is sometimes considered as original Lwów folk song. 
    Lwów, from time of its founding in the 14th century until the Yalta Pact in 1945, was one of the most important historical Polish cities. Its Polish cultural heritage is enormous: starting from innumerable stunningly beautiful renaissance and baroque buildings, through the number of Polish artists living and creating there (e.g. writers Aleksander Fredro, Seweryn Goszczyński, Maria Konopnicka, Gabriela Zapolska,  Beata Obertyńska, to name only a few) to the huge blood sacrifice offered by the city and its Polish inhabitants during the centuries-old struggle with the numerous invaders, in that unquiet region of  Eastern Galicia and Podolya. Therefore, the symbol of the city are two Lions holding the city’s coat of arms with the  inscription: Leopolis semper fidelis (meaning: Lwów always faithful). Stalin, who was aware of the exceptional role of Lwów in the spiritual history of Poland, insisted in Yalta, during the Peace Conference of 1945,  Lwów be assigned to the Soviet Ukrainian Republic and incorporated into the body of the USSR. This meant the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Poles, who still lived there after years of deportations and assassinations performed by the Soviets.  Roosevelt and Churchill, like two hens hypnotized by the snake’s eyes, immediately agreed to that, although their “yes” to treating the ancient Polish city as a war trophy for Stalin, will remain forever as unbelievable betrayal of their war Ally, who was Poland fighting arm in arm with American and English troops, on all fronts of the 2nd WW. 

See also another lovely rendition of that song by Chór Dana https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acv-euqt1sY

More from this channel