Cracking the Code
Janek Schaefer’s installation Extended Play takes its inspiration from Schaefer’s Polish heritage and the World War II musical system of gramophone codes called Jodoform, which were broadcast by the BBC between London and Warsaw to convey vital messages to the Polish Underground during occupation. Rather than using sequences of individual musical notes to represent letters of the alphabet, Jodoform used a series of pre-arranged recordings; many of them Polish folk melodies, to communicate fixed messages.
Following a long tradition of hidden messages in music stretching from Bach to Shostakovich, participants from Huddersfield's Polish School have been working alongside composer Barry Russell to devise a new piece of music, drawing inspiration from the ideas and melodies of Jodoform as well as archive gramophone recordings. The project will culminate with an outcome performance at Radio Jodoform on Sat 17 Nov.
With thanks to the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust and Kirklees Community History Service