“To dance is human, to polka is divine” K.D. Lang, Canadian Singer-Songwriter
If you think that the polka is originally a Polish dance, then you are way off! This popular dance is one of the cultural treasures of another small middle European country. If you would like to know more about the origins of this Czech dance, then browse our sheet music & scores, and explore all the marvellous Polkas Stretta has to offer!
It is no longer known exactly where and when the polka came to be, but from the early 19th century the predecessor of the polka, the “Nimra”, was becoming very popular. The next development was the “Maděra”, which was then renamed to the “Půlka”, which was later renamed the Polka.
The polka was already well known around Europe, and by the 1840s, and it had become one of the favourite dances in the courts of Vienna. Johann Strauss I was also fascinated by the polka in Prague, and subsequently composed several polkas himself. The polka was also very popular with the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, who composed polkas for piano, and also used them in his symphonic and operatic works including Vltava and The Bartered Bride.
Like many other folk dances, the polka found its way into the ballets of the 19th century, in the form of the “Polka Hongroise” or “French Polka”, particularly in works by Léo Delibes. In Vienna the “Polka Schnell” or “Quick Polka” was also popular for a long time, often penned by Johann Strauss II.
One of the most famous polka melodies, which has travelled the world in many different versions, is Jaromír Vejvoda’s “Škoda lásky” known also as “Rosamunde” or “The Beer Barrel Polka”.
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 958280
for: 2 harps
2 Performance scores
Item no.: 655559
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1712055
for: 1-2 Violinen, Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 173472
for: Piano 6 hands
Item no.: 181737
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1684420
for: Concert band
Set of parts
Item no.: 262318
for: Concert band; voice ad lib.
Score, Piano score, Solo parts
Item no.: 1711916
for: Accordion
Item no.: 167974
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Music score (piano accompaniment)
Item no.: 188538
for: Concert band; voice ad lib.
Score, Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1711915
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 305356
for: Concert Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1187449
for: Concert Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1187047
for: Fanfare
Score
Item no.: 1181499
for: Concert Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1011976
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 168757
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 411677
for: Accordion
Music score
Item no.: 177738
for: Small wind band
Item no.: 202909
for: Concert band; voice ad lib.
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1702546
for: Small wind band
Item no.: 168430
for: für Violine und Klavier
Item no.: 357988
for: Accordion
Music score, online audio
Item no.: 972426
for: Accordion orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1566646
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1286582
for: Diatonic accordion
Music book (tablature)
Item no.: 658050
for: Melody instrument (C) [guitar/piano/keyboard]
Music score, CD
Item no.: 605174
for: Concert band; voice ad lib.
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1712120
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1711717
for: 7 brass winds
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1696691
for: Brass ensemble (7 voices)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1696689
for: Ensemble (Holz)
Item no.: 1683584
for: Ensemble (Holz)
Item no.: 1683581
for: Ensemble (Blech), Ensemble gemischt (Holz/Blech)
Item no.: 1683564
for: Ensemble (Blech), Ensemble gemischt (Holz/Blech)
Item no.: 1683552
for: Ensemble (Blech), Ensemble gemischt (Holz/Blech)
Item no.: 1683551
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683292
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683288
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683273
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683244
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683186
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683184
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683152
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683149
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1683013
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1682990
for: Blasorchester
Item no.: 1682658