“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: Baritone horn (B-flat)
Item no.: 549253
for: 4 Blockflöten (SSAA) und Klavier
Score, Parts
Item no.: 355206
for: 5 clarinets (B-flat), bass clarinet
Score, Parts
Item no.: 169806
for: Flexible wind ensemble (4 voices)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 494075
for: 4 cellos
Set of parts
Item no.: 108686
for: Salon orchestra
Piano part for conductor, Parts
Item no.: 494766
for: Small wind band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 478552
Polka
DER Klassiker unter den Festzelt-Schmankerln!
6er Blech PLUS
for: Brass ensemble (6 voices), percussion
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1653751
for: Clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello
Score, Parts
Item no.: 268853
for: Accordion
Buch + CD
Item no.: 582651
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 874271
C
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
Item no.: 1032690
for: Blockflötenquartett
Score, Parts
Item no.: 471571
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1169755
Marsch
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1169833
Klassik
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 1667074
for: Classical guitar
Music score
Item no.: 276915
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 579604
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 878277
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 889621
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1186275
Am
for: Bass guitar
Bass Tab
Item no.: 1024806
Bb
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
Item no.: 1029007
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 881914
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 494192
Polka
for: Concert band
Score, Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1677512
Polka
for: Concert band
Score, Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1683217
Originalnoten von Alpenblech für kleine Besetzung
for: Brass ensemble (6 voices), percussion
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1681888
Originalnoten von Alpenblech für kleine Besetzung
for: Brass ensemble (6 voices), percussion
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1681862
Böhmische Polka
for: Concert band
Score, Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1681701
for: Concert band
Score, Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1681724
Böhmische Polka
Böhmerwälder Musikanten
for: Concert band
Score, Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1686591
Polka
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1690001
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1642808
Polka française op. 309
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1632470
für Blasorchester Partitur und Stimmen
for: Small wind band
Item no.: 644139
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1632422
Marsch
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1169928
Schnell–Polka
for: Concert band
Conductors part (B-flat), set of parts
Item no.: 1641198
Polka
Anton Gälle und seine Scherzachtaler Blasmusik
for: Concert band [Small wind band]
Conductors part, set of parts
Item no.: 1565591
Elmar Wolf und die Neuen Egerländer
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1560213
Solistische Polka
Neue Böhmische Blasmusik
for: Tuba, concert band
Conductors part, set of parts
Item no.: 1560444
Polka für 7er Besetzung
Edition Blasmusik vom "Kleinsten"
for: 2 flugelhorns, trumpet, tenor horn, baritone, tuba, percussion
Conductors part, set of parts
Item no.: 1673055
Polka
for: Concert band; voice ad lib.
Score, Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1701408
Volksweise
arrangiert von Roman Weninger
für Große Böhmische Besetzung
for: Wind ensemble (11 parts), percussion
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1696734
Polka von Albert Wieder
for: Brass ensemble (6 voices), accordion, percussion
Conductors part, set of parts
Item no.: 1696727
Konzertpolka
for: 2 clarinets, concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1632435
Polka
for: Concert band
Conductors part (C), Parts
Item no.: 1638969