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English Table of Contents 2016/1 
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A special exhibition at the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography in Budapest presents collection work of Szinte Gábor (1855–1914). The exhibit is to run from April 17, 2015 to February 28, 2016. Szinte was a drawing teacher and was one of those active doing fieldwork and collection in the developing field of ethnography at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The exhibit features his research on carved wooden Székely gates and wooden churches and his photographs and drawings. By curators Bata Tímea and Tasnádi Zsuzsanna.
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A special exhibition at the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography in Budapest presents collection work of Szinte Gábor (1855–1914). The exhibit is to run from April 17, 2015 to February 28, 2016. Szinte was a drawing teacher and was one of those active doing fieldwork and collection in the developing field of ethnography at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The exhibit features his research on carved wooden Székely gates and wooden churches and his photographs and drawings. By curators Bata Tímea and Tasnádi Zsuzsanna.
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Report on Bodza Klára’s record release concerts held Budapest in February and December of 2015 at the Hungarian Heritage House and Jesuit Cultural Center respectively. The recording, entitled “Ó, áldott Szűzanya!” [Oh, Blessed Virgin Mary!], is a collection of religious folk music. Folk singer Bodza Klára has been active as a performer and singing teacher since the 1960s. Her new recording is a collaboration with many friends, musicians and artists from both folk and old music circles. By Szarvas István – first published January 5th, 2016 at www.hetedhet.hu.
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A prayer unheard – the Catholic Church’s role in causing the Moldavian Csángó Hungarians to loose their mother tongue. This examines the history of the Roman Catholic Church’s presence in the Csángó communities in Moldavia from the 16th century to the present. Religion is and has always been very important in the life of the Csángó people. A main issue is whether or not (mostly not) this ethnic group has been able to hear mass in their mother tongue. By Sándor Klára.
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Interview with Sebő Ferenc – on Hungarian Folk music. This interview well demonstrates Sebő’s deep understanding, perspective and vast knowledge of Hungarian traditional music; he was one of the initiators of the dance house movement. Here he identifies and describes Hungarian folk music within the context of the world, Europe, Central/Eastern Europe and in its local (Hungarian) environment. Includes summary of Hungarian folk music research and its status today; and description and status of the dance house movement. By Rácz Judit first published in Magyar Narancs 2015/51.
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Csallóköz Hungarian Folk Dance Ensemble – 60th Anniversary Performance. Csallóköz / Veľký Žitný ostrov is the name of the island and region in the southwestern corner of Slovakia. The dance group, named for this region, was formed in 1954 in the town of Pozsonypüspüki (now part of Bratislava) and is now based in Dunaszerdahely / Dunajská Streda, where the anniversary performance was held. The group performed 5 choreographies from the ensemble’s repertoire. Directors of the group are Oláh Attila and Kovács Anita. Report by Takács András.
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Interview with Brauer-Benke József on Hungarian folk instruments, other folk instruments, their research and what qualifies as an ‘ancient’ instrument. Includes information on the tárogató, cymbalom, tilinkó, zither and more. By Zubreczki Dávid from Stenk – index.hu 2015. 11. 17.
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New Publication on the history and types of folk instruments found amongst peoples of the Carpathian Basin. The book grew out of ethnographer and folk instrument researcher Brauer-Benke József’s PhD dissertation of similar title. It was published in 2014 by MTA BTK Institute of Musicology. Book release was on November 19th, 2015. Recommendation by Pávai István.
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The Páva Children’s Folk Talent Contest, held in 2015, was sponsored by Hungarian Television, Hungarian Heritage House and Heritage Children’s Folk Arts Association. Contestants arrived from all over Hungary and Hungarian communities outside of Hungary’s borders. The first round of selection chose 319 productions (of young Hungarian folk dancers and musicians between the ages of 6 and 14) from the 560 submitted entries. After a series of regional pre-selections, finalists were selected by the jury of folk experts. The finalists competed on 6 shows broadcast on Hungarian television in the fall of 2015, culminating with selection of final winners in mid December. Report by Sándor Ildikó – program professional advising officer.
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The estate of the late Béla Halmos (1946–2013) musician, key personality of the dance house movement and ethnomusicologist is now accessible via the Hungarian Heritage House website. Béla’s estate consisting of materials for his dance house archive project, ethnographic research, manuscripts, photographs, a portion of his library and his violin were purchased from his heirs by the Hungarian Heritage House in 2014. It has taken a year and half to do the initial work of inventory, organizing, cataloging and digitalizing the materials; analysis of the materials is yet to be done. Ethnomusicologist Árendás Péter led the project at the Folklore Document Library and Archive at the Hungarian Heritage House. Printed here is an interview with Árendás about the project and nature of the materials. By Adonyi Adrienn.
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New Publication: “Maácz”. Editors: Fügedi, János – Szélpál-Bajtai, Éva. L’Harmattan Kiadó/ MTA BTK Institute of Musicology. Budapest. 2015. ISBN 978 963 968 917 4. Maácz László (1929–1998) was an ethnographer, museologist, dance critic and dance writer, enduring editor of the Táncművészet (Dance Culture) magazine. This book is a collection of selected writings by and about Maácz. A tribute to him and his work. Announcement by Szőnyi Vivien.
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Wet towel, wet sheet. In the old days in the Transylvanian village of Szék / Sic the way to bring down a fever was to wrap a child in a wet sheet or a wet towel. Then pray, repeat the process if necessary and pray some more – and hope the child doesn’t get pneumonia. A child that lives through 4 rounds of pneumonia, will live to a ripe old age and won’t be sickly – or, as the saying goes – ‛will live as long as the rocks’. Selected from Kocsis Rózsi’s memoires (born in Szék 1932 / died 1999), published by Juhos Kiss Sándor, Juhos-Kiss János.
By Sue Foy
English Table of Contents 2016/2
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Interview with Novák Ferenc Tata – born: 1931 in the Transylvanian town of Nagyenyed/Aiud (today in Romania) – upon celebrating his 85th birthday. Tata talks about his family, the significance of his childhood growing up in Transylvania speaking and learning multiple languages, the path of his life and career and what he’s doing now. For 36 years Novák was artistic director of the Honvéd Ensemble (now called the Magyar Nemzeti Táncegyüttes – Hungarian National Dance Ensemble). He is also well-known for his work with the Bihari Ensemble and Schoolfor the Arts, as director and choreographer of large-scale theatrical and dance events – and as an active, outspoken, wide-thinking creative force. Just one of the thoughts expressed in this interview, in answer to whether or not those overseeing public funding today want a say in the creator’s work: “ ...present Hungarian politics have set an ideology which is a bit too wound up with national identity...” By Grozdits Károly.
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New Publication: Novák Ferenc Tata – Tánc, élet, varázslat – gondolatok, küzdelmek [Dance, Life, Magic – thoughts and struggles]. “Novák is someone who seems to be living 100 lives at the same time, writing down his entire life’s work is nearly impossible: dancer, choreographer, director, ethnographer, a key figure and initiator of the dance house movement and ‘the Hungarian school’ of folk dance.” A collection of Novák’s publications, essays, interviews, reviews. Includes biographical/autobiographical information. Published 2016, Hagyományok Háza, Budapest. Edited by: Hegedűs Sándor. In Hungarian. Announcement by Kultúrpart.
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Remembering the folk music research work of Járdányi Pál (1920–1966) on the 50th anniversary of his death. Born Paulovics Pál, he Hungarianized his name to Járdányi at the age of 18. Járdányi was an Erkel and Kossuth award winning composer, also a music teacher and folk music researcher. There is a music school in Budapest named after him. He is known for his folk music collection work in the Transylvanian village of Kide. His book from 1961, ’Magyar népdaltípusok’ (Hungarian Folk Song Types) is still in use. By Fehér Anikó.
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Folk singer Enyedi Ágnes with musician and dancer friends presented a program of traditional songs, music and dance from Transylvania’s Gyergyó Region. The program was inspired by an ethnographical monograph on Ágnes’ great grandmother. Kelemen László (himself from the region) was artistic director and advisor for the concertprogram. Also performed: musicians – Enyedi Tamás, Salamon Soma, András Orsolya, Mihó Attila; dancers – Zsuráfszki Zoltán Jr, Szabó Judit. Report on the March 16th concert at the Bethlen Tér Theatre in Budapest’s 7th district by Hont Angéla and Káplár Gréta.
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Folk singer Enyedi Ágnes with musician and dancer friends presented a program of traditional songs, music and dance from Transylvania’s Gyergyó Region. The program was inspired by an ethnographical monograph on Ágnes’ great grandmother. Kelemen László (himself from the region) was artistic director and advisor for the concertprogram. Also performed: musicians – Enyedi Tamás, Salamon Soma, András Orsolya, Mihó Attila; dancers – Zsuráfszki Zoltán Jr, Szabó Judit. Report on the March 16th concert at the Bethlen Tér Theatre in Budapest’s 7th district by Hont Angéla and Káplár Gréta.
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A brief description of Rajasthani dances and musician and dancers castes. After a short introduction to northwestern India’s Rajasthani culture and music, eight kinds of dances are summarized. Information provided is based on numerous journeys to the region and personal experiences amongst musicians and dancers from Rajasthan. By Ábrahám Judit.
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“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture...” Review of Buda Folk Band’s newest recording Saját gyűjtés (From Our Own Collection Work) a 2015 Fonó release. „...So completely natural...they’re a new generation, full of energy and talent. They know exactly where their place is now, and where it will be in the future...” By Fehér Anikó.
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Introduction - translated:
One of Kodály Zoltán’s last students, Sebestyénné Farkas Ilona, or "Mona néni" as she is called by her colleagues and friends, is an iconic figure in Hungarian music education. As a student at the Békés-Tarhos Singing and Music school at the end of the 1940s she became an ardent follower of the then new method of music education [the Kodály Method]. The first child of elementary school teacher parents in the village of Köröstarcsa in Eastern Hungary, she was chosen for the singing school made legendary by Gulyás György. On a visit to the singing school Kodály Zoltan noticed her talent and later supported her both on a professional and a personal level. In 1958 she got her diploma from the Hungarian Academy of Music. Then, following Kodály’s recommendation and advice she spent 16 years forming the musical tastes of elementary school children at the Hunyadi János Singing and Music School in Budapest’s 14th District. When legendary music teacher Szabó Helga left the school in 1975, Sebestyénné Farkas Ilona led the choirs there for five years. In the 1980s she accepted an invitation from her native region in Eastern Hungary and went to liven-up musical life in Békés County. When she moved back to Budapest in 1991, she left behind five prospering choirs. Since her retirement she has been active as a regular jury member at choir/chorus competitions and as professional director of the Békés-Tarhos School Chorus Festival. Since 2006 she has been director of a choir made up of her former students called Hunyadi 'Véndiák' Chorus. Last but definitely not least, she is also mother of Kossúth Award winning folk singer Sebestyén Márta and grandmother of eight grandsons.
"Only happy children can make happy adults, and a happy country can only be made up of happy adults”. This much-quoted thought expressed by Kodály Zoltán in 1956, could be also be the motto for Mona néni who [at the time of this publication] was entering her 84th year, and celebrating 60 years of work in her profession. As she often emphasizes, the first chorus experiences of some of her first elementary school students are what brought them back to her fifty years later to sing in the Hunyádi Véndiák Chorus she directs. What gives this much loved and well-respected music educator and choir director the greatest joy - even more so than the numerous awards and honorary citizenships she has accumulated over the past ten years – is that her former students still want to work with her and be in her chorus. Though many of her former students didn’t go on to become musicians, they have said that her singing classes left a lasting impression on their lives.
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The girl from Köröstarcsa (the period 1934-1947) (Békés County, Eastern Hungary)
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Listing of the 2016 summer camps and workshops for traditional music, dance and crafts.
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The American novelist, Thomas Clayton Wolfe (1900 –1938) visited Hungary for two days in 1928 during which he spent half a day in the village of Mezőkövesd and wrote down impressions of his visit which was translated into Hungarian and published first in the Hungarian publication Irodalmi Újság. London in the December 15, 1958 edition.
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The Bukovina Székely Hungarians were relocated from Bukovina (which then belonged to Romania) to the Bácska/Bačka region (today mostly in northern Serbia’s Voivodina region) in 1941. Printed here are excerpts and data from a volume chronicling the reasons for, process of relocation and their arrival. Hungarians from four villages in Bukovina ‘arrived home’ to the Bácska region after living in Bukovina from the late 1700s. Edited by Kóka Rózália.
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The outlaws of Transcarpathia – excerpts from a book written in 1934 by Czech writer, journalist Ivan Olbracht. The book was translated by Zádor András and
published in Hungarian in Bratislava in 1987. The author travelled regularly to Transcarpathia between 1931 and 1938; at the time the region belonged to Czechoslovakia. This selection gives historical information about outlaws in the region, their lore, legend, with facts and particulars on the story of an outlaw named Oleksza Dovbus [here with Hungarian phonetics] who was active between 1738 and 1745.
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Szabadi Mihály (born 1937 Siógárd, Hungary) – dances and leads an ensemble, choreographs, is a local organizer and is dedicated to collection and preservation of local traditions – but he’s also a writer. He has written 6 volumes which include ethnographic material, stories about local personalities and chronicle and document local custom and life. His seventh volume, Lakodalom [Wedding], is forthcoming. Review by Antal László.
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Mona néni was with first group of students at the Békés-Tarhos Singing School. In 1946-47 local school teacher Gulyas György gathered children with the best singing voices from the surrounding villages and founded the Békés Tarhos State Singing School. The school used Kodály Zoltán’s methods for music education. It functioned until 1954.
Page 8 - inset: The Békés Tarhos Singing School experiment
Page 9 inset - on why they call her "Mona néni"
Page 11 inset: Kodály’s speech opening the "Music Pavilion" 1953 May 1
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Gulyás György’s address opening the Békés-Tarhos State Singing School on February 15th, 1947.
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Traditional foods of Yakutia – Part 2 – The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic is a federal subject of Russia. In 2010 it had a population of 958,528 consisting mainly of ethnic Yakuts and Russians. In this part of the world they like their meats: horse, beef, reindeer, squirrel and blood sausage. But they also have a traditional basic porridge dish called ‘szalamat’ which is said to have been a favorite of Genghis Khan. Today it is cooked from a grain similar to farina wheat with sour cream and three traditional recipes are provided. Juhász Katalin interviews ethnographer Mészáros Csaba on his research in Yakutia.
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Kodály’s student – Liszt Academy of Music 1953-1958 (Budapest)
By Sue Foy
English Table of Contents 2016/3
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English Folk Music in Hungary. This is Andy Rouse’s story and the story of his band Simply English. Andy is an Englishman who first came to Hungary in 1975 – to the English department at the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs – as an exchange student from Exeter’s St Luke College of Education. In 1979 he was invited back to the same institutution in Pécs to teach English. In the meantime Andy has always been a musician. His trio „Simply English” has been playing English folk music in Hungary for 2 decades. Simply English has a new CD out called “SONGS FROM THE CARAVAN”. Check the band’s website: simplyenglish.andyrouse.com
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New recording: Fanfara Complexa – Tánc alá [for dance]. Released April 2016, Fonó FA 378-2. Fanfara Complexa was formed in 2002; they play mainly in Hungarian dance houses for dancing traditional dances of the Moldavian Csángó people. Fanfara Complexa’s sound and repertoire were determined on journeys to the village of Somoska/Somușca in Romanian Moldavia at the beginning of the 2000s. The band: Bede Péter – alto sax, Sófalvi Kiss Csaba – tenor sax, Salamon Soma – accordion, Róka Szabolcs – coboz/ voice, Benke Félix – drum /Jew’s harp. Guests: Balogh Kálmán – cimbalom, Johannes “Szickán” Olsson – accordion.
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Dr. Joób Árpád (1946–2016) Born in Nyíregyháza, he was a folk music researcher, musician, musicologist, performer, teacher, cultural organizer, retired department head and teacher of Nyíregyháza College, leader of the Délibáb Band, leader of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County chapter of the Hungarian Kodály Society, a professional director of the Vass Lajos Folk Music Association. Obituary by Juhász Erika.
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Salute to Tata – Novák Ferenc – National award winning choreographer and director, ethnographer, personality – upon his 85th birthday. Tata, amongst his many activities, has for decades been an active supporter and friend to his Hungarian colleagues, students and dance companies in Slovakia. By Takács András.
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Dance House Day (Táncház Napja) this year was held on 2016 May 7th celebrating and remembering the first dance house that was held in Budapest in 1972. Several events were held in connection with the celebration. As part of this year’s Dance House Day, students of the Academy of Music’s folk music department gave a concert at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest celebrating the folk music collection work of Jagamas János and his students. Pávai István, who was a student of Jagamas, organized the concert of traditional music from 12 locations in Transylvania. Horsa István received the Halmos Award which includes the related privilege of using Halmos Béla’s violin for the next year. A jury of experts chose Horsa István as someone who is an excellent lead fiddler and active musician, does folk music collection and research, teaches and encourages the folk music community and maintains active contact with Hungarians living outside of Hungary’s borders. He lives in Komárom.
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Bolya Matyás’ summary of dance house movement provides quotes from Martin György and Sebő Ferenc. He finishes up with words of folk music researcher Sárosi Bálint from 1983...”the best singers, musicians, dancers of a new movement quickly socialize, become professional...meeting all kinds of audiences...the passive...wider, less specialized audience doesn’t react to the finer details, one is inclined to resort to use of easy to notice trappings, exotic sounding pieces, virtuosity, interesting instruments... these concessions for the lesser informed public weaken the strength of the movement and lead to decline. After all, no movement is everlasting.”
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Publication: Annus néni daloskönyve [Anna’s song book]. Annus néni – Mrs. Hideg István, Lakatos Anna – is a traditional singer from the village of Ördöngösfüzes/Fizeșu Gherlii, Kolozs County, Transylvania (Romania). This book is the result of extensive ethnomusicological research – a comprehensive monography on Annus néni, her repertoire and environment, including 500 songs and CD. By Horsa, István. Ördöngös Népzenetanoda, Komárom, Hungary. 2015. ISBN 9 789631 230048. Recommendation by Árendás Péter.
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Her work at the Hunyadi Singing and Music School in Budapest’s 14th district (1958-1980)
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Wife and mother (husband: Sebestyén József/ children: Márta, Zoltán, Csilla)
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The Halmos Béla Program has been established with support from the National Cultural Fund for the purpose of encouraging and asssisting quality folk and world music and musicians from the Carpathian Basin and Moldavia. A temporary curatorium of Hungarian folk music professionals initiates the work of this program named after the dance house movement’s iconic figure Halmos Béla (1946–2013). Curatorium members are: Liber Endre, Árendás Péter, Berán István, Eredics Gábor, Sipos Mihály, Virágvölgyi Márta.
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Reviving chorus life in Békés, Eastern Hungary 1980-1991
Page 25 inset: the Békés-Tarhos music festival
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Násztánc – Wedding Dance is a new choreography premiered in April 2016 by the Hungarian State Folk Dance Ensemble who, “…put very good quality material onstage…in every way a departure from traditional folklore programs…decidedly a contemporary modern theatre piece based on [the] literary work…”, ‘Menyegző’ by Nagy László. Choreography: Farkas Zoltán Batyu; Artistic Director: Mihályi Gábor. Two reviews: Kutszegi Csaba (www.tanckritika.hu); Juhász Kristóf (Magyar Idők).
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On the occasion of the Dance House Day celebrations, musician (violinist), musicologist, music teacher Virágvölgyi Márta was presented with an award in recognition of her long standing dedication and work. She has been an active and influential musician and violin teacher in the dance house movement from the moment it began. Printed here is part one of Márta’s essay on keeping bowed string folk music alive. She starts the article with a short summary of her work over the years, then outlines specifics of violin technique by ethnographic region and/or village (i.e. Gyimes, Bonchida, Szatmár, and so on).
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This year’s Zala Chamber Dance Festival was held in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, April 22–24, 2016. This juried festival is held every two years and is an excellent way to get an overview of what is happening in Hungarian folk dance. The festival allows both amateur and professional dancers and choreographers to enter and compete. List of winning ensembles, choreographers, dancers, musicians accompanies the article in Hungarian. Review by Kutszegi Csaba: www.tanckritika.hu
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Dance culture of Mátyusföld and the region between the Vág (Váh) Garam (Hron) rivers: the traditional dances done in this area of present day Southwestern Slovakia reflect the larger ethnic groups that inhabit the area: Hungarian, Slovak, German. The typical dance types found here include: girl’s circle dances, shepherd’s dances (with or without implements), verbunk , csárdás, social dances of the bourgeoisie (waltz, polka, fox, etc). This writing gives a brief introduction to the region, with call for further scientific research before the generations die out that danced between the two world wars. By Takács Gergely and Varga Sándor – includes footnotes and bibliography.
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Dance culture of Mátyusföld and the region between the Vág (Váh) Garam (Hron) rivers: the traditional dances done in this area of present day Southwestern Slovakia reflect the larger ethnic groups that inhabit the area: Hungarian, Slovak, German. The typical dance types found here include: girl’s circle dances, shepherd’s dances (with or without implements), verbunk , csárdás, social dances of the bourgeoisie (waltz, polka, fox, etc). This writing gives a brief introduction to the region, with call for further scientific research before the generations die out that danced between the two world wars. By Takács Gergely and Varga Sándor – includes footnotes and bibliography.
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Part II – Documents from the life of the Bukovina Székely Hungarians relocated from Bukovina to the Bácska/Bačka region (today mostly in northern Serbia’s Voivodina region) in 1941. Printed here are the governmental commissioner’s proclamation welcoming the Bukovina Hungarians and outlining the conditions of their first months; and newspaper reports on their first harvest and a pilgrimmage to the grave of Gróf Hadik András. Series by Kóka Rózália.
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Part II: The outlaws of Transcarpathia – excerpts from a book written in 1934 by Czech writer, journalist Ivan Olbracht – translated into Hungarian by Zádor András and published in Bratislava in 1987. The author travelled regularly to Transcarpathia; at the time the region belonged to Czechoslovakia. Excerpts here provide historical information about outlaws in the region, their lore, legend, with facts and particulars on the story of an outlaw named Nikola Suhaj who was active between 1917 and 1921.
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The Hungarian Museum of Ethnography mourns the passing of two respected and esteemed colleagues: Folk music researcher Halmos István (1929–2016), maintained professional contacts with the Hungarian Ethnographic Museum throughout his career. From 1962 until he retired he did his research within the framework of the Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Musicology. He did field work in Venezuela amongst the Piaroa Indians (see: L’harmattan 2012 – in English) and also in Pakistan and India. Some of the material he collected is at the Hopp Ferenc Asian Museum, some at the Ethnographic Museum. Hofer Tamás’ (1929–2016) entire career was connected to the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography. He earned his doctorate in 1958. He began working at the Ethnographic Museum in 1952, went on to become a department director, and later director of the museum. Between 1980 and 1992 he also worked as a department director at the Academy of Sciences’ Ethnographic Research Institute. He was a researcher, teacher, editor of the journal Ethnographia and other publications. His main areas of research included symbolic phenomena and categorization systems. He studied the mentality and social history that gave rise to the phenomena of „folk culture” in the 19th century in Hungary.
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The Hungarian Museum of Ethnography mourns the passing of two respected and esteemed colleagues: Folk music researcher Halmos István (1929–2016), maintained professional contacts with the Hungarian Ethnographic Museum throughout his career. From 1962 until he retired he did his research within the framework of the Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Musicology. He did field work in Venezuela amongst the Piaroa Indians (see: L’harmattan 2012 – in English) and also in Pakistan and India. Some of the material he collected is at the Hopp Ferenc Asian Museum, some at the Ethnographic Museum. Hofer Tamás’ (1929–2016) entire career was connected to the Hungarian Museum of Ethnography. He earned his doctorate in 1958. He began working at the Ethnographic Museum in 1952, went on to become a department director, and later director of the museum. Between 1980 and 1992 he also worked as a department director at the Academy of Sciences’ Ethnographic Research Institute. He was a researcher, teacher, editor of the journal Ethnographia and other publications. His main areas of research included symbolic phenomena and categorization systems. He studied the mentality and social history that gave rise to the phenomena of „folk culture” in the 19th century in Hungary.
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New publication: A lélekmentő…[ Kallós Zoltán’s first 90 years]. By Csinta Samu, Hagyományok Háza. Budapest, 2016. A biography of the dance house movement’s iconic Transylvanian mentor, traditional singer, life-long collector, publisher, inspiration. The book (in Hungarian) is available on the Hungarian Heritage House’s “webáruház”. Review by Fehér Anikó.
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Grandmother 1991-
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Ecser, Csömör, Rákoskeresztúr: three communities east of Budapest that were resettled by Slovak (Tót) people from the beginning of the 1700s – following the Turkish occupation. Though over time they gradually became assimilated into Hungarian culture, traces of their Slovak roots can still be found. There have been recent initiatives to preserve Slovak identity and customs in these communities. By Juhász Katalin.
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Traditional Hungarian Cuisine – wedding foods of Ecser. The town of Ecser is a few kilometers east of Budapest. It is famous in our circles for the choreography „Ecser Wedding” created by Rábai Miklós in 1951 for the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble. The town of Ecser had specific and colourful wedding customs that can be traced back to the Slovaks that settled there following the Turkish occupation. Recipes here are: chicken paprika stew with special wedding noodles, stuffed chicken, and the kalács or celebrational wedding raisin bread. By Juhász Katalin.
By Sue Foy
English Table of Contents 2016/4
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New publication: Szávai, József – Croatian Folk Costume from Hungary’s Baranya County – the Bosnyáks/Bosniaks – Volume I. Published by Tanac Folk Dance Ensemble, 176 pages, 300 photographs. 5000 HUF – order at
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Dance house list for the 2016/2017 season.
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List of 2016 recipients of the title Traditional Young Master of Folk Arts.
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List of 2016 recipients of the title Traditional Master of Folk Arts.
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The story of the former Folk Dancers Resource Center (Néptáncosok Szakmai Háza). It was established in Budapest 1982 with Stoller Antal Huba as director – with support of „ANOT” (Amateur Folk Dancers National Committee), the Institute of Culture, Ministry of Culture and various key people – as an archive to house the growing amount of documentation and resources for Hungarian amateur folk dance groups and the dance houses. It had direct cooperation with the Institute of Musicology (director at the time: Martin György). Later on, with reorganization and establishment of the Hungarian Heritage House – the resource center closed. Interview with Stoller Antal Huba by Grozdits Károly.
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Part II – Virágvölgyi Márta: on keeping our string music traditions alive. Short accounts of her own experiences collecting and working with this music and observations on specific traditional musicians in Transylvania’s Kalotaszeg region and in the villages of Magyarpalatka/Pălatca, Szék/Sic and Ördöngösfüzes/Fizeșu Gherlii and the town of Bogyiszló in Hungary’s southern Danube region.
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Director of the Hunyadi Véndiák Kórus [chorus of former students] 2006-
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The tale of Vándor Vokál – a group of Hungarian women that sing polyphonic folk songs of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. The group has been going since 1990. They have five of their own recordings and have cooperated with other musicians on several other recordings. They perform at the Fonó in Budapest on October 16th, 2016. By “F.T.I.K.”
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The role of traditional dance in Hungarian theatre. This is the Hungarian summary of a doctoral thesis available in German (see link in Hungarian article). The summary reviews the history of cultural policy in Hungary as it affected theatre and folk dance on professional and amateur levels from the 1950s through the early 1970s – under the communist regime. Tíz magyar néptánc (10 Hungarian folk dances), a choreography (Györgyfalvay/Novák/Szigeti) premiered by the Hungarian Army Ensemble in May of 1971 is discussed. The piece is acclaimed as a groundbreaking presentation elevating folk dance to a higher artistic level as a serious theatrical experience. The dance house movement began about a year later. By Lelkes Zsófia.
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Part III – Documents from the life of the Bukovina Székely Hungarians relocated from Bukovina to Bácska/Bačka (today mainly in northern Serbia’s Voivodina region) in 1941. Then in 1944 and ’45 however, the Bukovina Hungarians were told to leave their new homes immediately and go north to Hungary. Five personal accounts of their escape northwards are printed here. Some of these people eventually ended up, for example, in Hungary’s Tolna County where they were allowed to move into homes of Swabian Hungarians that had been deported to Germany... By Kóka Rozália.
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Part III: The outlaws of Transcarpathia – excerpts from a book written in 1934 by Czech writer, journalist Ivan Olbracht – translated into Hungarian by Zádor András and published in Bratislava in 1987. Olbracht travelled regularly to Transcarpathia; at the time, the region belonged to Czechoslovakia. Excerpts here comment mainly on the nature of the legend, lover, death and grave site of an outlaw (who allegedly specialized in crime aimed at robbing the rich and giving to the poor) named Nikola Suhaj who was active between 1917 and 1921.
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Photographer Gyetvai Zoltán is a Hungarian from Slovakia, born in Fülek/Fiľakovo in 1966, today he lives in Losonc/Lučenec. His interest in photography started at the age of 10. He is an expert on history of photography and old methods such as the gelatin silver photographic process, which he uses for making old style photographs of today’s local folk heros and folk artists. See website: www.hkt.sk/gye
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Kétegyháza: A plaque honoring the memory of two local traditional dancers, Masters of Folk Art: Buha György and Mrs. Buha György; and two great musicians Bandula János and Bandula János Jr was unveiled on June 4th, 2016 at the School of the Arts in Kétegyháza in Southeastern Hungary (a center of Hungary’s Romanian minority). Present at the ceremony were local officials, clergy of the Kétegyháza Romanian Orthodox Church, officials from the Romanian Hungarian National Committee, directors of the Romanian National Association, representatives from the Department of Ethnography at Szeged University, and the press. By Halmi Zoltán director of the Kaláris School of the Arts.
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Introduction by Vargyas Gábor, editor
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New publication: Balatoni, Kata – Így tedd rá! A methodology for incorporating Hungarian folk games, music, song and dance in education towards comprehensive child development. Recommendation by Nagy Ágnes – preschool educator and educational researcher.
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Traditional Hungarian Cuisine of the Kerepesi Basin (on Budapest’s eastern edge). Slovak, Swabian and Jewish recipes for dumplings that can be savory or sweet, served in soups, with sauces, as a main dish or desert. Sometimes a raised dough is used; mostly they are steamed or boiled – and often have a basis of potato. Recipes provided are for: big dumplings, big dumplings from potato, big dumpling and soup, matzo dumplings, goose soup, hunter’s style goose, kraut dumpling, plum dumplings, sweet steamed dumplings. By Juhász Katalin.
By Sue Foy
English Table of Contents 2016/5
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Kallós Zoltán turns 90 – This writing expresses deep esteem for Kallós’ lifework and strives to sum up the many, many ways he has enriched and contributed to the dance house movement; one might even wonder – without him would there have been a dance house movement at all? He was born and still resides in Transylvania. Kallós’ years as a school teacher in Transylvania and Moldavia, his influence, collection work, intelligence, knowledge, far-reaching contacts in the Transylvanian village communities amongst the traditional musicians, singers and dancers, his willingness to share, and the forethought and dedication shown in establishing the infrastructure (a foundation, museum) necessary for carrying on, passing on and preserving traditions. By Kiss Ferenc.
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New publication: Kallós Zoltán világa, Helikon, Budapest, 2016 – by journalist, historian Ablonczy Bálint and photographer Korniss Péter. This book – Kallós Zoltan’s World – is a celebration of the rich life and work of this well-known Transylvanian folk music, song, folk art collector; key figure in Hungary and Transylvania’s dance house movement. Kallós celebrated his 90th birthday this year.
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In Memoriam – Dr. Nagymarosy András – died in September, 2016, following an extended illness. He was 67. „Ánti” was founding member and double bass player for Kalamajka Ensemble. He played with the group throughout the 31 years of their existence. He was also a geologist, an expert on wines and wine writer. Hetényi Milán’s remembers his father, growing up with Kalamajka and the Molnár utca dance house.
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Járdányi Pál (Budapest: 1920–1966) – a whole year is not enough to honour the life work of this Erkel and Kossuth award winning composer, music educator, ethnographer and folk music researcher. He studied under the best: Rajeczky, Zathureczky, Kodály, Kósa, Bárdos, Lajtha. He is known for his folk music collection and monographic work on Transylvanian village of Kide. He once wrote: „...Bartók and Kodály didn’t learn folk song from books, written music, the radio or gramophone; they found folk song in its own environment sung by people in the village, on farms and in the fields...". By Fehér Anikó.
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Two articles about doing ethnographical collection work in Hungarian communities outside Hungary’s borders in the 1950s. Controversy arose amongst researchers of the Academy of Sciences over a book from the 1950s on children’s games of Mátyusföld (a region now located in Slovakia) by Bakos Jozsef. Bakos was a Hungarian school teacher from ‘Upper Hungary’ (today in Slovakia), who collected children’s games and songs. His book was edited by ethnographer Ortutay Gyula. When the president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was given a copy of the book for his review, the first page he turned to, had a rhyme making fun of Jews. This sparked an official examination of the book by members of the Academy. The review board recommended that the book not be released for distribution.
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Conversation with Liber Endre (cymbalom, viola) as Tükrös Band celebrates 30 years playing traditional Hungarian folk music. Since „tükrös” in Hungarian means „mirror” – Endre describes the essence of the band: „... every member of our band – would like to reflect (or mirror) the ideal we have formed of the playing of the best village musicians...” Tükrös Band gave an anniversary concert at the Palace of the Arts (MÜPA) in Budapest on October 28th, 2016 – after which everyone partied till dawn at the Fonó. Excerpts from interview by Török Ferenc found on: ritmuseshang.blog.hu.
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Since 1991 it has been possible to earn an accredited college level diploma in folk music in Nyíregyháza. Over the years the name of the institution of higher education there has changed, the course of study and diploma offered have also changed several times; but the possibility for studying folk music has been ongoing. The diploma program has emphasized teaching folk music/singing. This is a summary of 25 years of the Nyíregyháza folk music teaching diploma programs and present status. By Ferencziné Ács Ildikó.
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Five articles from 1968-69 on the so-called ‘Breuer argument’.
Heated discussion between Vargyas Lajos and music critic Breuer János arose just before the first “Röpülj páva” Hungarian folk song contest was televised on Hungarian TV in 1969-70. Their discussions focused on issues surrounding the future of folk music, its support and preservation.
Titles of the articles are: “Where has folk song gone?”, “Do we need Hungarian folk song?”, “Folk song and society”, “Folk song’s future”, “Do we want folk song to live on?” They were originally published in the Hungarian journal “Élet és Irodalom”.
The article by Breuer János that set off the controversy begins like this [translated]: “At the mid-level finals of the [televised song talent contest] “Ki mit tud”, an opera singer competed against a Hungarian folk singer. The folk singer was girl from Vas County with a spicy and luscious voice, who without piano accompaniment belted out folk songs with a completely natural frankness and didn’t aspire to any more than what she could do. But she didn’t get as many points from the jury as the competitor that performed a soprano aria from Puccini’s Manon Lescout. Those waiting for me to praise the honorable jury’s decision will be disappointed – actually, I scold them……even the knowledgeable artistic director of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble Rábai Miklos, voted for the opera….”
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Interview with folk dance choreographer, dynamic artistic director of the Honvéd Ensemble Zsuráfszky Zoltán Sr, upon turning 60 and on the eve of the retrospective program of his work performed on September 26th, 2016 at Budapest’s Erkel Theatre. Zsuráfszky talks about his schooling at the Academy of Ballet, his dance masters, Martin György, ensembles he has danced in and directed, basics of choreographing traditional folk dance and more... By Kutszegi Csaba first published 2016 Sept. 24 at: tanckritika.hu.
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The Téka Ensemble celebrated it’s 40th birthday with an all-out concert in the main hall of the Academy of Music in Budapest. Téka was amongst the first bands in the early days of Budapest’s dance house movement; their Friday night dance houses at Almássy tér were monumental. Their summer camps have have provided the community to learn and practice all manner of folk arts for as many years. They have travelled the world performing Hungarian folk music. Their anniversary concert featured their present line-up of musicians and repertoire, as well as previous band members, musician friends and the bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy bands. Report: Szász József Árpád – Üsztürü.
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Interview with award winning photographer, ethnographic researcher Kunkovács László (born 1942, Endrőd, Hungary). Much of his work has focused on documenting ancient traditional occupations such as shepherding, fishing, and so on. He has travelled extensively in Hungary and points eastward in this pursuit. A recent publication: Pásztoremberek. Budapest, Cser Kiadó, 2013. Interview by Grozdits Károly.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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In Memoriam: Bognár József (1951–2016), born in Tab; he lived in Pécs from 1970 on and was an active choreographer, dancer and graphics artist. In 1974 he got his diploma from the Teacher’s Training College in Pécs. He worked with the Pécs Ballet, Baranya Dance Ensemble and more. He is sorely missed in his community.
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Models of Tradition – An examination of traditional Hungarian Transylvanian commmunities: the village of Szék/Sic and Kalotaszeg (the villages of Inaktelke/Inucu and Kispetri/Petrinzel) and why and how tradition has been upheld in these places particularly. By Nagy Olga reprinted from: A törvény szorításában. Paraszti értékrend és magatartásformák [Under Pressure of the Law – Peasant scales of values and forms of behavior]. Gondolat Kiadó, Budapest. 1989. Pp 19–25.
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New Publication: Pávai, István: „A Sóvidék népzenéje – The Folk Music of Sóvidék”, MTA BTK Hungarian Institute of Musicology and Hungarian Heritage House. Budapest. 2016. Includes DVD-ROM with archival examples. In Hungarian and English. Sóvidék is the name of a sub-region of Transylvania’s Székelyföld, in Romania. The author is from Transylvania and has strong family ties to this particular area.
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Part One: I See My Life Isn’t So Beautiful ... Approaching Szék from a different angle – this long literary piece begins as a contemporary road trip travelling by van from Budapest to Szék. Along the way we get lots of insight on making this trip today, the differences between Hungary and Romania, the state of the construction business since Romania entered the EU in 2007 and after the economic crisis of 2008... Written by two Transylvanian writers: Simó Márton and Széki Soós János.
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Part One: I See My Life Isn’t So Beautiful ... Approaching Szék from a different angle – this long literary piece begins as a contemporary road trip travelling by van from Budapest to Szék. Along the way we get lots of insight on making this trip today, the differences between Hungary and Romania, the state of the construction business since Romania entered the EU in 2007 and after the economic crisis of 2008... Written by two Transylvanian writers: Simó Márton and Széki Soós János.
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Part IV – Documents from the life of the Bukovina Székely Hungarians relocated from Bukovina to Bácska/Bačka (in Serbia’s Voivodina region) in 1941. In 1944 and ’45 however, the Bukovina Hungarians had to flee from Bácska and go north to Hungary. Eventually they were allowed to settle mainly in Tolna, Somogy, Zala and Fejér counties in homes vacated by Swabian Hungarians that had been deported to Germany or sent to do forced labour in the Soviet Union in the aftemath of W.W.II.. Excerpts of governmental regulations from early 1945 stating who had to do forced labour, and whose land would be confiscated – are printed here. Series by Kóka Rozália.
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Culinary Traditions – Soups of the Armenians of Transylvania’s Gyergyó Region. Armenians first arrived to Transylvania in the 1600s. Their descendents have been living there ever since. Specialties of the Armenian kitchen are still prepared today in the region. Hurut soups are described here. Hurut (or churut) is a traditionally prepared and dried seasoning for soups. Includes bibliography. By Juhász Katalin.
By Sue Foy
English Table of Contents 2016/6
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Conversation with Eredics Gábor (born 1955, Budapest) – new director of Dankó Rádió. Since 2012 Dankó Radió, an MTVA state-run radio station, has been broadcasting “Hungarian nóta”, Gypsy music, Hungarian operetta and folk music. Its new director Eredics Gábor is accordion, bassprim tambura player and founding member of the Vujicsics Ensemble. He teaches at the Liszt Academy of Music. We hear about his music training, how he got involved in Balkan folk music and his career to date. By Grozdits Károly.
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Szökős Folk Dance Ensemble (of Szombathely, Hungary) performed in August 2016 at the 48th Festival of Highland Folklore in Zakopane, Poland in the Tatra Mountains. Groups from 15 countries of the world participated. Szökős Ensemble’s half hour program included dances from the Vas, Nógrád and Kalotaszeg regions to live music by the Sárarany Band. The group returned appropriately impressed by the dances of the Gorale people of the Zakopane region. By artistic director, Molnár Péter.
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Seven articles from 1973, ‘74 and 1993 continuing the ‘Breuer argument’ mentioned above - most of the writings are by Vargyas Lajos
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Part I: At the dance in Forrószeg. Excerpts from the memoires of Kocsis Rózsi (born Szék 1932/died 1999). Rózsi describes the dances she went to in her neighborhood of Szék as a girl. We hear about the customs around paying and feeding the musicians, how the dances were organized, the social rules for a girl’s behaviour at the dance, asking a girl to dance, how she was obliged to accept and when boys from another neighborhood in Szék came to the dance in their neighborhood. Selected from the 1997 publication, Erdélyi Gondolat Könyvkiadó, Székelyuvarhely/Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania.
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Tükrös Band gave a concert at the Palace of the Arts (MÜPA) in Budapest on October 28th, 2016 – the concert marked the band’s 30th birthday. Tükrös could be described as a ’second generation’ dance house movement band (assuming Muzsikás is first generation). Their anniversary concert presented an extremely tasteful program of traditional village music (with a bit of dance) from: Magyarpalatka/Pălatca, Szék/Sic, Bonchida/Bonțida, Nagysajó/Șieu, Péterlaka/Petrilaca de Mureș, Magyaró/Aluniș and Ádámos/Adămuș – all in Transylvania; and Hungary’s Szatmár region. Review by Szász József Árpád / Üsztürü.
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Hungarian folk dance researcher, Maácz László (1929–1998) writes about his first experiences doing field work collecting traditional dance in rural Hungary in the early 1950s, when poverty ruled the lives of people in a countryside still reeling from WWII and adjusting to life under the regime of the period. First published in 1982, this is an excerpt from “Maácz” (Ed: Fügedi János, Szélpál-Bajtai Éva. L’Harmattan, Institute of Musicology, Budapest. 2015. pp 87–90).
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Traditional fiddler Zerkula János (1927–2008) of Transylvania’s Gyimes region describes playing for weddings in his area. He played regularly for local weddings throughout his life and here he describes mainly weddings of the past. The interview was done in 1986 by Szávai József.
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Twenty-two articles mainly from February to May 1981 on the so-called ‘Páva Argument’ -that is, theoretical questions surrounding how to perform folk song, music, dance and customs. Discussion was sparked by the folk song talent contest known as “Röpulj páva” broadcast on Hungarian radio and television. Most of the articles by a variety of authors were first published in the journal “Élet és Irodalom”. Three of the articles are by Vargyas Lajos.
This section concludes with the article entitled “What direction should the ‘Páva movement’ take?”
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The Hungarian Geographic Museum (Érd, Budai út 4, H-2030 Hungary) is situated some 20 km west of Budapest. Amongst other things, the museum houses collections of Hungarian explorers and adventurers. Also found there is a collection of photographs connected to the name (but not necessarily photographed by) Erdélyi Mór. The photographs, documenting peasant life in Hungary at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century, are featured in this issue of folkMAGazin. Interview with Dr. Kubassek János, geographer and director of the museum. By Grozdits Károly.
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Two articles on “other public culture” both by Vargyas Lajos from 1970 and 1971,
entitled: “The folk song in Hungarian society today”, and “The folk song in Hungary”.
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A Hungarian language lyceum (school) has been founded in Szamosújvár/Gherla, Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. The lyceum is the result of a program begun 17 years ago by TÉKA Foundation for securing education in Hungarian for Hungarian children of the Mezőség Region of Transylvania. Opening ceremonies for the school were held on September 16th, 2016. Report by Balász-Bécsi Attila and Juhos-Kiss János.
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Foreward by Berán István - excerpt translated:
"Olsvai Imre was first of all a folk music researcher who remained connected with a thousand links to the various branches of Hungary’s folk music movement; be that folk song circles, zither bands, or musicians and soloists testing their wings in the dance houses. As a student of Kodály Zoltán he was the living continuance, forming a personal bridge between the Master and those born later on.
He taught generations of folk musicians at workshops organized by ’the Institute’ [of Musicology] and others, and at a great variety of folk music camps, or workshops held at educational institutions. Sometimes his teaching work took precedence over his research work within the framework of the Hungarian Institute of Musicology. He always made time to sit on juries of folk music contests and other events rating folk music proficiency. He was there from the beginning reviewing the applications for the National Dance House Festival folk music recordings and rating applicants for the title of Young Masters of Folk Arts. He was a jury member on Hungarian Television’s folk music competition in 1990. He gave lectures on issues affecting the folk music movement, providing perspective and overview of context based on his considerable experience with ethnographic informants in the field, folk music phenomena and personalities.”
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The Bihari János Folk Dance Ensemble is an award winning amateur folk dance group based in Budapest’s 7th district. In September the group travelled to China to perform in the cities of Xi’an and Beijing. Travel log by Bihari member, Boross Sándor.
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Part Two: I See My Life Isn’t So Beautiful ... Approaching Szék from a different angle – this long literary piece begins as a contemporary road trip travelling by van from Budapest to Szék. Along the way we get lots of insight on making this trip today, the differences between Hungary and Romania, the state of the construction business since Romania entered the EU in 2007 and after the economic crisis of 2008... Written by two Transylvanian writers: Simó Márton and Széki Soós János.
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Part Two: I See My Life Isn’t So Beautiful ... Approaching Szék from a different angle – this long literary piece begins as a contemporary road trip travelling by van from Budapest to Szék. Along the way we get lots of insight on making this trip today, the differences between Hungary and Romania, the state of the construction business since Romania entered the EU in 2007 and after the economic crisis of 2008... Written by two Transylvanian writers: Simó Márton and Széki Soós János.
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Part V – Documents from the life of the Bukovina Székely Hungarians 1945–1948. This group of people was relocated from Bukovina to Bácska/Bačka (in Serbia’s Voivodina region) in 1941. In 1944 and ’45 the Bukovinians had to flee from Bačka to Hungary. Eventually they were allowed to settle in homes vacated by Swabian Hungarians that were deported to Germany or had been sent to do forced labour in the Soviet Union in the aftermath of WWII. Four personal accounts are printed here illustrating the difficult and tragic situations created when Swabian Hungarians had to leave their homes suddenly and Bukovina Hungarian families moved into them. Series by Kóka Rozália.
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Culinary traditions of the Transylvanian Armenians – Christmas and the New Year. Armenians arrived to Transylvania in two waves: one during the 1600s and the second at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the foods described are for the advent fasting period, others are for the holidays themselves. Mentioned are: maslin (a fruit dish), pilaf (a rice dish), tahin (a crepe), dolmat (stuffed cabbage or grape leaves), sulig, mahok, stuffed fish, anusabur (a sweet soup), pachlava, a sweet made with rose petals and halva. By Juhász Katalin.
By Sue Foy