44th National Táncház Festival & Fair • 4–6 April 2025
Issue:
Starting page: 8
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Dilemma – the problem of authenticity in the dance houses (Part Two): The author continues his theoretical discussion of folk music in Hungary and authenticity, focusing on folk music within the dance house movement. He writes, "In general two folk musics exist: 1) the authentic (the original) which is played in the village and handed down from father to son and mostly comes from the archives; and 2) ’the arranged’ which means arrangements of folk melodies performed on folk instruments – but what is played is composed, the instrumentation is mixed, and melodies from different regions and periods are mixed according to taste.” This is a rambling theoretical discussion of original folk music and modern interpretations thereof. He writes: "A search for the ’original’, the source, the origin as connected to a a sort of national question, and the search for a romantic past. Folk music research is focused on that….”. In 1984 "…the dance house musicians were constantly seeking the original, they strived to play music that would be just like the original.” „In my opinion original/authentic folk music is an idea that exists only in narratives…” By Szilágyi Dániel – first published in "Hagyomány és erdetiség" Ed. Wilhelm Gábor 2007. p 268.