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Fono Orchestra

'Bela Bartok: Tulparton, Otherside:
Art Music and its Folk Roots'

Musicians:
Fonó Zenekar:
Tamas Gombai - voice, violin
Istvan Pal Szalonna - violin
Sandor D Toth - viola
Zolt Kurtosi - double bass
Kalman Balogh - cimbalom
Balazs Unger - small cimbalom
Gergely Agocs - voice, flute, bagpipes, long shepherd's pipe
Ágnes Herczku - voice

With:
Vilmos Szabadi - violin
Márta Gulyás - piano

Label - Hungaroton, Hungary
Released 2004

Bridging the gap between authentic folk music and the classical work of Bela Bartok.

Extract from sleeve notes:
'... When selecting the folk music for this record, we did not adhere strictly to the composer's own recordings or song varieties, and often the idea was simply to conjure up an atmosphere. We made every effort, however, to authentically render the folk melodies, as Bartok himself would have heard them. In his lifetime a concert-hall performance of authentic folk music would have been unthinkable. However, that has changed, and in the 1970s an avant-garde musical trend emerged in Hungary that made the authentic performance of peasant music its chief means of expression. We believe that the values of traditional musical culture can and should be mediated in "unpolished form," for they possess a musical language that is universally understood in that original, genuine form. Which is why the crystallised peasant performance and the art music inspired by it work well side by side. Bartok himself never sought to make folk music more palatable to his audiences by means of folk inspired works. "[ ...] in ancient Magyar peasant music we discovered the foundation that could finally serve as a basis upon which high Hungarian art music could be established," he wrote.

This recording presents the melodic parallels between authentic folk music and Bartok's works, as well as the instrumental virtuosity characteristic of in both musical worlds. Typical examples include not only the violin but also the piano parts in Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2. These works are counted among the most difficult-to-play pieces in the composer's oeuvre. The performance of the many diverse forms of instrumental and vocal folk music of the Carpathian Basin also require a great amount of study and technical skills. The Transylvanian dance music (2, 3, 4) on this record, together with their Slovak parallels (4), the new-style Magyar tunes (14), the works for bagpipe and their imitations for violin are representative of different instrumental practices and musical styles. The ahead of its time concept by which Bartok considered it important to reveal and preserve the musical traditions of Hungary's neighbouring countries and the complex approach of attributing equal importance to the values of Magyar, Romanian, Slovakian, Ruthenian or Southern Slav traditions is central to our own musical profile, too. The multi-language folk songs on this record were not selected specifically for this occasion, but rather, reflect our long-term efforts to perform the folk music of the neighbouring countries. In the performance of Bartok's works the idea was to reveal the musical-cultural parallels and interactions the composer himself frequently stressed, and the concept, according to which "[ ...] the important thing is to introduce to our music the indescribable inner character of peasant music...'

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Fono Orchestra

'Bela Bartok: Tulparton, Otherside:
Art Music and its Folk Roots'

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. Nem arrol hajnallik. amerrol hajnallott (Ehed, Marosszek Erdely-Mod, Romania) The sun rises not where it used to rise (1'11") 2. Arva vagvok apa nelkul (Szekelyhodos. Marosszek, Erdely - Hodosa, Romania) I am but a fatherless orphan (1'48") 3. Zoldkeserves (Magyarpeterlaka. Marosszek Erdely - Pebzlaca de Murea, Romania) Green lament (4'07") 4. Korcsos. Forgatos (Magyarpeterlaka, Marosszek Erdely - Petrilaca de Mureg, Romania) es Krucena (Totraszlavica. Sdros, Felfold - Raslavice, Slovakia) Mongrel, Turner and Krucena (13'07") 5. Hej, dobry vecer, pani krcmarka (Feketebalog. Felso-Garam mente, Felfold - Cierny Balog, Slovakia) / Hey. good night (1'21") 6. B. Bartok: 1. Hegedu duo - Parosito / Duo for Two Violins No. 1- Teasing song (1'58") 7. Meggujtom a csumam (Torokkoppana, Somogy, Dunantul-Transdamrbia, Hungary) I light my fire Ket szal punkosdrozsa (Szentgyorgvolgy, Zala, Dunantul - Transdanubia, Hungary) Two peonies (3'43") 8. B. Bartok: 37. Hegedu duo - Preludium es kanon Duo for Two Violins No. 37 - Prelude and canon (2'36") 9. B. Bartok: 36. Hegedu duo - Szol a duda / Duo for Two Violins No. 36 - Bagpipes (1'01") 10. Kicsi a hordocska (Zsere, Zoborvidek, Felfold - Zirany Slovakia) Cie sa to kone (Szalakusz, Zoborvidek, Felfold - Salakusy, Slovakia) / The barrel is little (2'27") 11. B. Bartok: 8. Hegedu duo - Tot nota / Duo for Two Violins No. 8 - Slovak song (1'04") 12. B. Bartok: 9. Hegedu duo - Jatek / Duo for Two Violins No. 9 - Play (0'38") 13. Peterfali halastoban (Gomorpeterfala, Gomor, Felfold - Petrovce, Slovakia) In the fishpond at Peterfala (1'30") 14. Felultem a kemencere - Bozse Mari libaja (Tan, Galga mente, Felfold - Highland, Hungary) I sat on the hearth - Mari Bozse's goose (1'53") 15. B. Bartok: 15. Hegedu duo - Katonanota / Duo for Two Violins No. 15 - Soldier's song (0'50") 16. B. Bartok: 17. Hegedd duo - Menetelo nota (1) Duo for Two Violins No. 17 - Marching song (1) (0'44") 17. B. Bartok: 18. Hegedu duo - Menetelo nota (2) Duo for Two Violins No. 18 - Marching song (2) (0'42") 18. Uccu darom, danarom - Megfogtam egy szunyogot (Somogy, Dunantzil - Transdanubia, Hungary) Uccu ddrom, dandrom - I caught a mosquito (2'33") 19. B. Bartok: 20. Hegedu duo - Dal / Duo for Two Violins No. 20 - Song (1'18") 20. B. Bartok: 22. Hegedu duo - Szunyogtanc / Duo for Two Violins No. 22 - Mosquito dance (0'38") 21. Ruszin vandornota es kolomejka (Tecso, Maramaros, Karpatalja - Tjachiv, Ukraine) Ruthenian wanderer's song and kolomeika (1'56") 22. B. Bartok: 23. Hegedu duo - Menyasszonybucsuztato Duo for Two Violins No. 23 - Wedding song (1'18") 23. B. Bartok: 35. Hegedu duo - Ruten kolomejka Duo for Two Violins No. 35 - Ruthenian kolomejka (1'03") 24. Ketegyhazi es eleki lunga / Ketegyhaza and Elek lunga (2'06") 25. B. Bartok: 38. Hegedu duo - Forgatos Duo for Two Violins No. 38 - Rumanian whirling dance (0'46") 26. B. Bartok: 44. Hegedu duo - Erdelyi Tanc Duo for Two Violins No. 44 - Transylvanian dance (1'55") B. Bartok: I. rapszodia / Rhapsody No. 1 (9'07") 27. I. Lassu / Slow (3'50") 28. II. Friss / Fast (5'16") B. Bartok: II. rapszodia / Rhapsody No. 2 (11'45") 29. I. Lassu / Slow (4'15") 30. II. Friss / Fast (7'29") 31. En is menyasszony vagyok (Rimoc, No grad m., Felfold - Highland, Hungary) / I am a bride, too (1'56")

Duration (76'13")

Our mp3 samples are approximately 30 seconds long and of low(ish) quality for a fast download (file size app 300KB)