Hungary - World Music Network

MUSICROUGHGUIDES
THE ROUGH GUIDE to the music of
Hungary
The twenty-first century has brought exciting
and inspiring times for Hungarian music.
Masters and students alike experiment
freely and confidently with tradition;
classical players often collaborate with folk
musicians, who in turn work keenly with
electronic, rock and jazz groups. Thread
through all the new music is a common
inspiration: the sounds of Hungarian, Gypsy
and Jewish tunes from the Carpathian Basin.
The identity of Hungarians has been
shaped, largely, by the shifting boundaries
of Central Europe. Although the country is
linguistically distinct both from the Slavic
nations of Eastern Europe and the German
lands to the west, Hungary experienced little
independence throughout the second half of
its thousand-year history. Today the country
is still a young and fragile democracy, but is
finally finding its place among the nations of
Europe.
Musicians have been the quickest to
embrace Hungary’s new independent
identity and to understand how influences
from other peoples and genres can enrich
their own heritage. This attitude owes a lot
to the nineteenth-century composer Franz
Liszt, who incorporated mesmerizing Gypsy
melodies into his works. In 1875, Liszt also
founded a music academy in Budapest,
which has produced some of the world’s
finest classical musicians – among them
Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. At the dawn
of the twentieth century, armed with their
phonographs, Bartók and Kodály set out to
research the music of the Carpathian Basin,
and recorded the songs of shepherds, maids,
farmers and nannies across rural Hungary,
Slovakia and Romania. They returned to the
city with an invaluable collection of rural
music, and a moral philosophy that later
guided their disciples: they sought to serve
‘the ideal of the brotherhood of peoples,
brotherhood created despite war and all
conflict’ (Bartók).
Bartók famously went on to incorporate
the folk songs into his compositions, and
they became part of the classical canon in
Hungary and across the globe. While Kodály,
too, wrote folk-based compositions, he is
also renowned for another contribution.
He developed a music education method
that relied heavily on the folk repertoire,
and convinced the government to adopt his
system in all public schools in 1945. Once its
success became obvious, his concept was
later adopted in the UK, Australia and the
United States.
In the coming years, as Hungary’s cities
expanded, many were concerned that
authentic folk music was beginning to
disappear from view. Thankfully, in the 1950s
a new wave of ethnographers, now equipped
to record video alongside music, followed in
the footsteps of Bartók and Kodály around
the country. They studied the verbunkos,
the slow and fresh csárdás and numerous
jumping and twirling folk dances.
The 1970s gave rise to yet another generation
of urban musicians – among them the
prominent group Muzsikás – who wanted
protect and promote folk traditions from all
corners of Hungary and Transylvania. They
took the idea of preservation even further by
starting a new communal vehicle, the Dance
House (táncház) movement, which offered
authentic music and dances. Children of the
cities could now grow up singing, playing and
dancing to the very village tunes that had
been in danger of disappearing.
While the folk scene that was based on
the dance houses produced such great
performers as internationally renowned
singer Márta Sebestyén, traditional Roma
music was still played by the Gypsy dynasties.
With outstanding adaptability, these fantastic
players also took on an intermediary role.
Liszt had heard Hungarian tunes from
them, and they had a vast repertoire of
Jewish, Romanian, Serbian and Slovakian
melodies, besides their own songs. Later on
they didn’t only play folk, of course, and the
Gypsy community nurtured some of the best
classical and jazz musicians in Hungary.
The last decade has brought a spectacular
crop of talent to the fore. Having grown up
with the music of Bartók, the spirit of the
dance houses, and having been educated in
the Kodály method, Hungary’s contemporary
musicians are confident in their identity and
are supremely skilled players. They are openminded and eager to learn and experiment.
One such musician is the exquisite vocalist
Beáta Palya, who expanded her knowledge of
Eastern European folklore by studying Indian
and Persian traditions in France. Another
young singer, Ági Szalóki, teamed up with
an amazing group of young jazz musicians
and explores the live aspect of folk tradition
by putting together wonderfully creative
arrangements.
Meanwhile, the traditional music scene
became even more established, and in
2007 the Liszt Music Academy of Budapest
added a Folk Music Department. The
Eastern European version of the hammered
dulcimer, the cimbalom got wide recognition
and is now a staple in many world music
groups thanks to players such as Kálmán
Balogh. Authentic fiddlers such as Szalonna
also gained recognition and began to
collaborate with rock and pop groups. This
was also the case with groups, like the Csík
Band, which took the idea to another level
by inviting rock singers to reinterpret their
songs in a Hungarian folk environment. Two
of the country’s favourite party bands are the
unparalleled Parno Graszt, playing authentic
Gypsy tunes and spreading joy, and Kerekes
Band, a traditional Hungarian group that
invented ‘ethno funk’, inspiring countless
others to fuse, combine and remix. Via the
various experiments, and despite the broken
borders, folk music in Hungary has gradually
found its way into the mainstream.
Le XXIème siècle s’annonce bien pour la
musique hongroise. Ses partisans, experts
et étudiants, tous innovent en confiance
et jouent librement avec la tradition. Les
musiciens classiques collaborent souvent
avec des musiciens de folk, qui eux-mêmes
travaillent sans difficulté avec des groupes
électroniques, rock ou jazz. Toutes ces
musiques ont une inspiration commune: les
airs hongrois, gitans et juifs du bassin des
Carpates.
L’identité des Hongrois s’est largement
forgée au gré des changements frontaliers
survenus en Europe centrale. Bien que
la Hongrie diffère linguistiquement des
nations slaves d’Europe orientale et des
terres allemandes à l’ouest, elle a peu connu
l’indépendance dans la seconde moitié de
son histoire millénaire. Aujourd’hui, le pays
est toujours une jeune démocratie fragile, en
train de trouver sa place parmi les nations
d’Europe.
Les musiciens ont été les premiers à
s’approprier la nouvelle identité de la
Hongrie indépendante et à comprendre
combien les influences d’autres peuples
et d’autres genres pouvaient enrichir
leur propre héritage. Cette attitude doit
beaucoup au compositeur du XIXème siècle,
Franz Liszt, qui a introduit des mélodies
gitanes envoûtantes dans ses œuvres. Liszt
a également créé en 1875 une académie
de musique à Budapest. Certains des
musiciens classiques qui y ont été formés,
tels Béla Bartók et Zoltán Kodály, figurent
parmi les meilleurs au monde. Au début
du XXème siècle, armés de phonographes,
Bartók et Kodály sont partis à la recherche
de la musique du bassin des Carpates
et ont enregistré les chants des bergers,
servantes, fermiers et nourrices dans la
campagne hongroise, slovaque et roumaine.
Ils ont récolté là une collection inestimable
de musique rurale et forgé une philosophie
qui a par la suite guidé leurs disciples.
Bartók et Kodály voulaient servir «l’idéal de
fraternité entre les peuples, une fraternité
créée malgré la guerre et les conflits»
(Bartók).
Par la suite, Bartók est devenu célèbre en
incorporant les chants populaires à ses
compositions, œuvres qui ont depuis rejoint
le canon classique, en Hongrie et dans le
monde entier. Quant à Kodály, qui composait
également à partir de mélodies populaires,
il est resté célèbre pour avoir développé une
méthode d’enseignement musical basée en
grande partie sur le répertoire populaire,
et pour avoir convaincu le gouvernement
d’introduire ce système dans toutes les
écoles publiques en 1945. Une fois son
succès assuré, le concept a été adopté au
Royaume-Uni, en Australie et aux ÉtatsUnis.
Dans les années suivantes, alors que les
villes hongroises se développaient, beaucoup
ont craint la disparition de la musique
populaire
authentique.
Heureusement,
dans les années 1950, une nouvelle vague
d’ethnographes, équipés cette fois de
caméras, ont marché dans les pas de Bartók
et Kodály pour étudier les verbunkos, les
csárdás lentes et fraîches et de nombreuses
autres danses folkloriques, sautillantes et
virevoltantes.
Les années 1970 ont vu émerger une
nouvelle génération de musiciens urbains
– dont le célèbre groupe Muzsikás – qui
souhaitait protéger et promouvoir les
traditions populaires de toutes les régions de
Hongrie et de Transylvanie. Ces musiciens
ont même poussé l’idée de la préservation
encore plus loin en lançant un nouveau
véhicule communal, le «mouvement du
dancing (táncház)», qui faisait entendre des
musiques et des danses authentiques. Les
enfants des villes ont dès lors pu grandir
en chantant, jouant et dansant sur ces
musiques mêmes qui avaient été menacées
de disparition.
Si la scène folk produisait grâce aux dancings
des artistes comme la célèbre chanteuse
Márta Sebestyén, la musique traditionnelle
rom était encore jouée par les dynasties
tsiganes. Extraordinairement adaptables,
ces musiciens exceptionnels ont également
joué un rôle d’intermédiaire. Liszt les avait
écoutés interpréter des chants hongrois
et ils possédaient, outre leurs propres
chansons, un large répertoire de mélodies
juives, roumaines, serbes et slovaques.
Par la suite, la communauté gitan ne s’est
bien sûr pas contentée de jouer la musique
populaire mais a donné à la musique
classique et au jazz hongrois quelques uns
de ses meilleurs musiciens.
Dans la dernière décennie, un nombre
spectaculaire de nouveaux talents a
émergé. Élevés avec la musique de Bartók,
dans l’esprit des dancings, et éduqués
avec la méthode de Kodály, les musiciens
contemporains hongrois assument leur
identité avec confiance. Suprêmement
doués, ces artistes sont ouverts d’esprit et
avides d’apprendre et d’expérimenter. Un
de ces musiciens est l’exquise chanteuse
Beatá Palya, qui a étudié, outre le folklore
d’Europe de l’est, les traditions indiennes
et perses, en France. Un autre chanteur,
Ági Szalóki, a fait équipe avec un groupe
étonnant de jeunes musiciens de jazz. Ses
arrangements merveilleusement créatifs et
vivants explorent la tradition populaire.
Parallèlement,
la
scène
musicale
traditionnelle a établi ses fondements.
En 2007, l’Académie Liszt de Budapest
s’est dotée d’un département de musique
populaire. La version européenne du
hammered dulcimer, le cimbalom, devenue
célèbre, est aujourd’hui incontournable dans
de nombreux groupes de musique du monde
grâce à des artistes comme Kálmán Balogh.
D’authentiques sonneurs de violons, tels
Szalonna, ont aussi été reconnus et ont
commencé à collaborer avec des groupes
Kerekes Band
de rock et de pop. Inversement, certains
ensembles, dont le Csik Band, ont décidé
d’inviter des chanteurs de rock pour
réinterpréter leurs chansons dans une
ambiance de folk hongrois. Dans ce domaine,
deux groupes se partagent les faveurs du
public hongrois: l’inclassable Parno Graszt,
qui interprète joyeusement des chants gitans
authentiques, et Kerekes Band, un groupe
traditionnel hongrois qui a inventé l’ethnofunk, et inspiré d’innombrables musiciens
pour des fusions, combinations et remix. Par
ces différentes expériences, et malgré les
frontières malmenées du pays, la musique
populaire hongroise a progressivement
cheminé vers la reconnaissance.
LAKATOS RÓBERT ÉS A RÉV – Dazzling
fiddler and violist Róbert Lakatos is a rare
phenomenon; he is both a masterful folk
musician and a classical player. With his
band Rév (meaning ‘ferry’), he navigates
effortlessly between the two worlds. Here he
plays folk songs from Transylvania, originally
collected and used in other pieces by Bartók
a hundred years ago.
BEÁTA PALYA – Before launching her solo
career, Beáta performed with a number
of groups and toured the world. She has
performed across Europe and Asia, but
always returns to her Hungarian roots as her
primary source of inspiration. ‘Ágról-Ágra’ is
taken from Beáta’s 2003 debut solo album
of the same name. The role of improvisation
and sung poetry is an important element in
her work.
KEREKES BAND – One of the most
influential groups of the contemporary folk
scene, Kerekes Band formed in 1995 in Eger,
playing traditional music from Transylvania
and the northern Palóc regions. Then, in
2006, they added high doses of energy and
humour to their traditional repertoire to
create ‘ethno funk’: flute player Zsombor
Fehér let out his inner Hendrix, while his
brother Viktor rocked the drums, and the
band soon became a Fonogram Awardwinning festival favourite.
KÁLMÁN BALOGH & THE GIPSY CIMBALOM
BAND – Cimbalom virtuoso Kálmán Balogh
comes from a legendary dynasty of Gypsy
musicians, and is today among the most
popular performers in Hungary. His deep
interest in songs from the Carpathian
Basin to Iberia and beyond makes him a
true musician of the world. On ‘Keserédes
Kávé’ (‘Bittersweet Coffee’) he plays a tune
inspired by Romanian dance music.
SÖNDÖRGŐ & FERUS MUSTAFOV – The
town of Szentendre is home to the Serbian
minority in Hungary. The Vujicsics band,
formed by the Eredics brothers, brought
a lively, lute-based sound instead of the
usual Balkan brass music to audiences. In
1995, a new generation of Eredics brothers
began carrying the tradition forward and
formed the group Söndörgő with spectacular
success. They are now joined by Ferus, the
Macedonian king of saxophone.
BÉLA LAKATOS & THE GYPSY YOUTH
PROJECT – The distinguished Roma folk
group Kalyi Jag inspired and nurtured an
entire generation of musicians. Among
them is singer Béla Lakatos, who founded
his Gypsy Youth Project in 1989. Known in
Hungary as Ternipe (meaning ‘youth’), they
have gained an outstanding reputation for
their musicianship and traditional rural
sound.
DI NAYE KAPELYE & THE TÉCSŐI BANDA –
Brooklyn-born fiddle player Bob Cohen
moved to Budapest over two decades ago
to reconnect with his Hungarian-Jewish
heritage. Collecting a repertoire from elderly
musicians in Hungary, Romania, Moldova
and the Ukraine, he became a leading voice
of Yiddish roots music in the region. On ‘Baj
Van Medley’ his band Di Naye Kapelye are
joined by the Técsői Banda, a distinguished
dynasty of Gypsy musicians from an ethnic
Hutsul village. Together they bring klezmer
from before World War II back to life.
CSÜRRENTŐ – Among the most beloved
bands of the táncház (dance house) regulars,
the Budapest-based Csürrentő plays the
music of the Csangos, a somewhat isolated
Hungarian ethnic group living in Moldova. In
fifteen years they have developed a superb
sound that combines the traditional flute,
lute, fiddle, bass and drums line-up.
ÁGI SZALÓKI – Singer Ági Szalóki is one
of the special talents of the young folk
generation. Inspired by Márta Sebestyén,
she quickly became well versed in Hungarian
and Gypsy music, and toured the world with
bands such as Ökrös, Besh o droM and Oi Va
Voi. In her own work she collaborates with
some of the top jazz musicians to create
fresh interpretations of children’s songs.
HUNGARIAN HURDY-GURDY ORCHESTRA –
In 1989, hurdy-gurdy virtuoso Béla Szerényi
put together a thirteen-strong band complete
with pipers, drummers and singers. The
orchestra focuses on the repertoire of the
southeastern Dél-Alföld region, and also
present wonderful takes on pre-1800 songs.
SZALONNA AND HIS BAND WITH ÁGNES
HERCZKU - Szalonna and his band play
folk music from the Carpathian Basin. They
endeavour to preserve the folk music of
the region, and actively participate in folk
music education projects. Here then band
are joined by female vocalist Ágnes Herczku,
who sings evocatively and in her own unique
style.
SZILVIA BOGNÁR – Hailing from the
western city of Szombathely, singer Szilvia
Bognár represents the modern folk sound
superbly. At the age of 18, she was already
a Young Master of Folklore and a member of
celebrated traditional bands such as Sebő
and the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble. She
soon began experimenting with progressive
groups, including the electronic act Anima
Sound System, and started a solo career in
2006.
PARNO GRASZT – This traditional Gypsy
family band formed in 1987 and has
maintained an original, infectious sound that
drives audiences wild. Part of their secret
may be that they still live happily in the small
village of Paszab in the easternmost region
of the country – that is, when not touring
Hungary, Europe or the United States.
In 2004, a BBC music documentary also
featured the band and their crazy rhythms
played on spoons, milk cans and with ‘oral
percussion’.
BUDA FOLK BAND – One of the youngest
groups on the local music scene, the Buda
Folk Band was formed in 2007 by the
children and students of the generation who
rediscovered and brought folk music to the
cities in the 1970s. They grew up dancing and
playing with traditional village bands, and
now they create a delicate fusion of authentic
folk music and urban genres.
CSÍK BAND & ANDRÁS LOVASI – Fiddler
János Csík started his band in Kecskemét
in 1988, and soon found himself at the helm
of a preeminent traditional group. In 2005,
they reached unparalleled popularity after
incorporating rock and blues songs into
their repertoire. Their experimentalism also
attracted András Lovasi, the lead singer of
the seminal rock group Kispál és a Borz.
PRÍMÁS PARADE – While the esteemed
role of the traditional Hungarian bandleader
(prímás) is usually given to a fiddler, this
project brings alternatives to the fore.
Fiddler turned electric guitar hero Miklós
Both has his own new-folk sound and, for a
Transylvanian song, he is joined by authentic
singer Éva Korpás and the incomparable
saxophonist Mihály Dresch, a leading figure
in both the local folk and jazz scenes.
MITSOURA – Singer Mónika Miczura joined
the internationally acclaimed Roma folk
ensemble Ando Drom at the age of 17. Since
then, her incredible voice has been featured
in countless world music formations,
including the Gipsy Kings and Besh o droM.
Her interest in Indian music and sampled
beats led her to start a new band in 2003,
when she invited a mix of prominent players
such as cimbalom master Miklós Lukács and
electronic wizard Márk Moldvai, and created
a novel soundworld that explored new
avenues in Eastern European Gypsy music.
01 LAKATOS RÓBERT ÉS A RÉV Erdélyes
(Transylvanian)
from the album BRÁCSATÁNC (FESZCD12)
(trad, arr Róbert Lakatos) pub Róbert Lakatos. Licensed
from FolkEuropa.
02 BEÁTA PALYA Ágról-Ágra (From Branch To Branch)
from the album ÁGRÓL-ÁGRA (ORP003BEA1)
(trad, arr Beáta Palya) pub Orpheia. Licensed from
Orpheia.
03 KEREKES BAND Csángó Boogie
from the album PIMASZ (KB01)
(Kerekes Band) pub Hangveto Ltd. Licensed from Kerekes
Band.
04 KÁLMÁN BALOGH & GIPSY CIMBALOM BAND
Keserédes Kávé (Bittersweet Coffee)
from the album AROMA (FECD007)
(trad, arr Gipsy Cimbalom Band) pub Gipsy Cimbalom
Band. Licensed from FolkEuropa.
05 SÖNDÖRGŐ & FERUS MUSTAFOV Kisacko Kolo
from the album IN CONCERT (SONDISC-001)
06 BÉLA LAKATOS & THE GYPSY YOUTH
PROJECT Puter Mama (Mother Open)
from the album INTRODUCING BELA LAKATOS &
THE GYPSY YOUTH PROJECT (INTRO106CD)
(trad, arr Béla Lakatos & The Gypsy Youth Project) pub
Riverboat UK Music (MCPS). Courtesy of Introducing/
World Music Network.
07 DI NAYE KAPELYE & THE TÉCSŐI BANDA Baj
Van Medley
from the album TRAKTORIST (RIENCD69)
(trad, arr Cohen/Técsői Banda) pub Oriente Musik.
Licensed from Oriente Musik.
08 CSÜRRENTŐ Süss Fel Nap (Come Out, Sun!)
from the album CSÁNGÓ UTCA (CSR-001)
(trad, arr Csürrentő Együttes) pub Csűrkutya Kft. Licensed
from Csűrkutya Kft.
09 ÁGI SZALÓKI Elmentem A Piacra
from the album CIPITY LÕRINC (FECD027)
(trad, arr Lamm/Kovács/Szalóki) pub FolkEurópa Kiadó.
Licensed from FolkEuropa.
(trad, arr Aron Eredics/David Eredics/Salamon Eredics/
Benjanmin Eredics/Attila Buzas) pub Söndörgő
Association. Licensed from Ensemble Söndörgő.
Csík Band & András Lovasi
Csürrentő
10 HUNGARIAN HURDY-GURDY ORCHESTRA
Mikor Kend Es Pista Batyam
from the album KERTÜNK ALATT (ED01)
(trad, arr Hungarian Hurdy-Gurdy Orchestra) pub AdytonFono Records. Licensed from Adyton-Fono Records.
11 SZALONNA AND HIS BAND WITH ÁGNES
HERCZKU Hegedűt A Kezibe (The Fiddle In His
Hand)
from the album ÖRÖMZENE (SZAL01)
(Ágnes Herczku/István Pál/Zsolt Barcza/Gyula Karacs/
Róbert Doór) pub Magyar Folkcentrum Egyesület.
Licensed from Magyar Folkcentrum Egyesület.
12 SZILVIA BOGNÁR A Szeretet Próbája (A Test Of
True Love)
from the album SEMMICSKE ÉNEKEK (GCD081)
(trad, arr Zoltán Kovács) pub Gryllus Records. Licensed
from Gryllus Records.
13 PARNO GRASZT Rávágok A Zongorára (Hit The
Piano)
from the album RÁVÁGOK A ZONGORÁRA (HIT THE
PIANO) (PP001)
(Oláh József) pub Pannon Productions. Licensed from
Pannon Productions.
Di Naye Kapelye & The Técsői Banda
Lakatos Róbert És A Rév
14 BUDA FOLK BAND Kurucz Mahala
from the album SŰRŰ VÁNDOR (FECD048)
(trad, arr Éri/Csoóri/Salamon) pub FolkEurópa Kiadó.
Licensed from FolkEuropa.
15 CSÍK BAND & ANDRÁS LOVASI Csillag Vagy
Fecske (Star Or Swallow)
from the album CSÍK ZENEKAR - EZ A VONAT, HA
ELINDULT HADD MENJEN (FA2432)
(András Lovasi, arr Attila Szabó) pub Fonó Budai Zeneház.
Licensed from Fonó Budai Zeneház.
16 PRÍMÁS PARADE Megy A Nap Lefelé (Now The
Sun Starts To Sink)
from the album RENDHAGYÓ PRÍMÁSTALÁLKOZÓ
(FECD044)
(trad, arr Miklós Both/Dresch Mihály) pub FolkEurópa
Kiadó. Licensed from FolkEuropa.
17 MITSOURA Kelushka
from the album DURA DURA DURA
(DDKRCRDS0005)
(music Andras Monori/Mark Moldvai, words trad, arr
Monika Miczura) pub DDK Records. Licensed from Ab
Ovo Music.
Szalonna And His Band With Ágnes Herczku
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for music information, video clips and free tracks.
Söndörgő & Ferus Mustafov
MUSICROUGHGUIDES
RGNET1283CD
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