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Didier François and Marco Ambrosini

'Bela Bartok, 44 Duets for Violin on the Nyckelharpa'

Musicians:
Didier François - nyckelharpa
Marco Ambrosini - nyckelharpa

Label - Wild Boar Music, Netherlands

From notes:
Marco Ambrosini and Didier Francois are both active in the classical as well as the traditional field. By performing these classical compositions based on traditional melodies- on a traditional instrument (the nyckelharpa), they wish to mix these two musical aspects even more.

The nyckelharpa is a violin-related stringed instrument with a keyboard, especially known for Swedish music. Even though they follow Bartok and the Hungarian tradition as far as interpretation and style are concerned, Marco and Didier wish to approach this music in a non-conventional way.

Bela Bartok, composer, pianist and educator, one of the strongest personalities of modern music, was born on March 5th, 1881 in the small Hungarian town of Nagyszentmiklos, (now Romanian). Listening to Hungarian folk songs as a child, his artistic calling manifests itself. He studies music, becomes a teacher at the Royal Academy of Budapest, performs as a concert pianist and composes.

Bartok is guided by Zoltan Kodaly, his friend and fellow musician. Both will embark on the same artistic mission: to record, inventory and analyse traditional Hungarian music - not so called gypsy music- but the authentic local music. In 1903 they travel across Hungary, mostly together Armed with recording equipment they attempt to record and note down the folk songs and rhythms in their original form. They did not confine themselves to Hungarian traditional music. Especially Bartok broadens the field of research to include music from the Balkan and even Turkey and Africa.

In the course of many years a treasure of nearly 10,000 songs are collected.
In 1931 Bartok receives a letter from Erich Dolfein, professor at the University of Freiburg. The latter, along with his wife, was working to develop a new method to teach young pupils violins using beautiful and simple melodies of modern composers. He requests Bartok to write a number of compositions. The composer, interested in new pedagogic challenges, sees in this opportunity to bring traditional Hungarian music closer to aspirant musicians and accepts the assignment. The first example he sends is what is later to become the Transylvanian dance nr.33 Because of its high degree of difficulty, professor Dolfein asks for simpler melodies. That same year Bartok completes a series of 44 melodies, subsided into 3 parts. with increasing degree of difficulty. Even though this composition was initially not intended as a concert piece, Bartok noted on the score that this pedagogic order need not to be respected when performed. The piece is soon appreciated by professional violinists and is performed for the first time on the zoth of January 1932 by Lure Walbauer and Gyorgy Hannover.

GBP 9.97

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Didier François and Marco Ambrosini

'Bela Bartok, 44 Duets for Violin on the Nyckelharpa '

This symbol  indicates an mp3 sound clip for that track. Click on the symbol and wait for the clip to start. For more information click here. Tracks

1. Transylvanian dance 2. New year's song 3. Serbian dance 4. Menuetto 5. Slovakian-song(1) 6. Midsummer nicht song 7. Teasing song 8. Maypole dance 9. A fairy tale 10. Hay song 11. Wedding song 12. Play song 13. Ruthenian song 14. Cradle song 15. Pillow dance 16. Soldier song 17. Comic song 18. Ruthenian kolomeika 19. Bagpipes 20. New year's greeting 21. Prelude and canon 22. Rumanian whirling dance 23. Hungarian song 24. Bride's farewell 25. Walachian song 26. Slovakian song (2) 27. Burlesque 28. Hungarian march (t) 29. Harvest song 30. A rhythm song 31. Walachian dance 32. Hungarian song (t) 33. Arabian song 34. Sorrow 35. Teasing song 36. Limping dance 37. New year's greeting (3) 38. Dance from Maramaros 39. Hungarian march (z) 40. Enumerating song 41. Scherzo 42. New year's greeting (3) 43. Mosquito dance 44. Pizzicato

Duration (46'10")

mp3 samples are approximately 30 seconds long - click on play symbol to start + pause clip

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