Sukotherapy

Maria Pomianowska is the leader of the revival of the suka, or knee-fiddle, in Poland. It’s played like the Cretan lyra or Indian sarangi by putting the fingers between the strings and stopping them with the fingernails. The instrument was played quite widely until the end of the 19th century when it fell into disuse. She and luthier Andrzej Kuczkowski created a playing version of the so-called Bilgoraj suka in 1994 and she’s since taught several players, so the instrument now features in several groups of the Polish folk revival.

Basically a solo instrumental album for the Bilgoraj suka, it features tunes that Pomianowska has picked up from around the world, with accompaniment on harp, double bass and percussion. The opening Kurdish songs exploit the lyricism that is the essence of the instrument with a lovely major/minor ambiguity in the melodic line. The tunes come from as far as Mongolia, Tuva, China, Taiwan and Okinawa – probably reflecting Pomianowska’s interest in Asian fiddles, but there are also melodies from closer to home. The one track of a Polish folk song features sarangi player Shaheen Parvez as a guest. Despite the disparate sources, the distinctive character of the suka unifies this outstanding album.