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Muzsikas featuring Marta Sebestyen

'Fly Bird Fly, The Very Best Of Muzsikas'

Musicians:
Márta Sebestyén - voice
Péter Éri - Guitar, Kaval, Viola
Dániel Hamar - Double Bass, Gardon
Mihály Sipos - Violin
László Porteleki - violin
Sandor Csoori - violin, viola, guitar
and guests

Label - Nascente, UK
Released 2011

2 CD compilation, plus some unreleased material, from renowned Hungarian 'world music' ensemble.

From record label:
"Muzsikás and Márta Sebestyén are two of the most important names in European folk music.

Compiled by Joe Boyd this 2CD set features highlights from their forty-year career including tracks from Hannibal Records, recorded live and two previously unreleased.

This collection features the best of their work with Márta Sebestyén with whom they collaborated since their beginnings – Márta rose to worldwide fame after she was featured in the film The English Patient (it is her voice that Ralph Fiennes plays to Kirstin Scott Thomas on the gramophone).

Muzsikás and Márta Sebestyén became a leading force in the traditional music scene during the early ‘70s fast becoming Hungary’s most popular traditional music group. By the 80s with a string of records released on Joe Boyd’s Hannibal label they performed in concert halls all over the world from London’s Royal Albert Hall, Paris’s Théatre de la Ville, the Santa Cecila Academy in Rome and New York’s Carnegie Hall."


"Muzsikas are one of the most adventurous folk bands in Europe.

Formed in Hungary in the Soviet era, they first became successful in the UK in the 80s, thanks to their recordings for Joe Boyd’s Hannibal label. This two-album retrospective, compiled by Boyd and including unreleased material, is a reminder of why they are special. Their starting point may be Hungarian dance tunes, played with energy and elegance on violins, dulcimer or bass, but their range is remarkable. They are multi-instrumentalists who can switch to ballads and laments, adding in bagpipes, bouzouki, flutes, wailing Turkish horns, blues harp or even a twanging virtuoso duet on dueling mouth harps. They also include a Bartok composition – an energetic treatment of Violin Duo No 32, with guitar and percussion joining in – and play alongside the Danubia Symphony Orchestra.

Many of the best tracks feature their equally versatile singer Marta Sebestyen, who can switch from the raucous, flute-driven My Sweet Gregory to the title track, which has the grandeur of a classic Celtic ballad. Recorded in 1986, it still sounds exquisite."
The Guardian, newspaper

'... Hungary's finest active folk troupe... inexhaustible themes handled by superb musicians.'
The Washington Post

'Hungary's leading folk ensemble...'
Gramaphone

'The ebullient music must have been a shock to anyone who thinks that Hungarian music is gypsy violins... ... this raucously beautiful music...'
New York Times

GBP 10.79

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Visit the Muzsikas website at:
www.muzsikas.hu

Muzsikas featuring Marta Sebestyen

'Fly Bird Fly, The Very Best Of Muzsikas'