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English Table of Contents 2018/2  



Page 3
Remembering Kallós Zoltán (1926. March 26. – 2018. February 14.) Transylvanian-Hungarian ethnographer and folk music collector: „...[Kallós Zoltán]’s flat was like a museum, he lived amongst the ceramics, handwoven textiles, embroidered leather vests and costume pieces [he collected]. After the changes of 1989 he reclaimed the large home in Válaszút taken from his family in the 1950s and restored it with support from the Hungarian government. [Today it is a museum where] one can see his collection of Transylvanian and Moldavian folk art and costume.... he’d been collecting folk art from the age of 13...Another dream he was able to realize was the founding of a school for Transylvanian Hungarian childen devoted to preservation of ethnic Hungarian identity...The folk music and dance camps held in Válaszút, the school and the museum place him amongst the immortal...” Ethnographer Péterbencze Anikó, and Papp Imre (founding director of the Jászság Folk Dance Ensemble) – founders of the Csángó Festival in Jászberény, Hungary.

Page 4
Remembering Kallós Zoltán (1926. March 26. – 2018. February 14.) “I was in awe of his memory - the way he precisely remembered the melodies, songs, objects he collected in the 1970s and 1980s. Because the [authorities would come and search people’s homes], he couldn’t keep everything he collected at home. He’d have ethnographic material taken across the border [to Hungary]. Many years later he remembered exactly what he’d collected and where each bit of material was. He even edited Hungarian publications of his material by heart…” Tánczos Vilmos - Transylvanian Hungarian ethnographic researcher, scientific organizer.

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Part II - Excerpts from Bajcsy Zsilinszky Endre’s (1886-1944) work entitled "Mátyás király” [King Mátyás]. Matthias Corvinus, Matthias I, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. He was born in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) on February 23, 1443. To be continued.

Page 8
Conversation with Szögi Csaba on the traditional women’s slippers from Szeged, Hungary. Csaba is not only an award winning dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, ensemble and theatre director, but he is also an activist for and expert on the Szeged slippers. The fact that some of his relatives were shoe and slipper makers in Szeged led him to search out active slipper craftsmen. He went on to form the Szeged Slipper Foundation, and is active in the process of getting these traditonal slippers onto the UNESCO list of Hungarian traditional heritage. Interview by Grozdits Károly.

Page 12
Borbély Jolán (Hajdúszoboszló, 1928. May 21.– Budapest, 2018. March 21.) Prima, Bessenyei György and Martin award winning ethnographic researcher, teacher. From its start, she participated in forming the mentality and technical background for the dance house movement. In addition to her work at the Institute of Culture, she was an active advisor and supporter of the ‘local tradition preserving groups’ movement. Up to the last year of her life she participated in public activities and maintained daily contact with dancers, musicians, folk artists, leaders of both movements. May she rest in peace. A lengthy interview with Borbély Jolán was published in folkMAGazin 2009/issues 3,4,5,6.

Page 13
List of those from our circles who receieved Hungarian state honours on March 15th, 2018.

Page 14
Sebő Ferenc’s speech given at Csillagszemű Ensemble’s 25th anniversary performance at Budapest’s MOM Cultural Center on January 29, 2018. He speaks on the dance house movement. The dance house method of teaching authentic village dance and music in an urban recreational environment is recommended by UNESCO for preserving intellectual cultural heritage. "Over the 45 years since it started, a lot of work has been necessary to bring the táncház movement to this point...” Sebő quotes the late poet Csoóri Sándor: "...there were two important moments in the history of folk dance: one is when it went up onto the stage, and the other is when it came back down from the stage to return to the earth...” Co-founder of the Csillagszemű Ensemble, Timár Sándor led the way in developing the ’dance house method’ of teaching improvisational traditional Hungarian folk dances.

Page 16
The “Dying” Folk Music – a largely theoretical discussion presented at a 1993 conference entitled “The Future of our Past” in Szolnok, Hungary. Presentations given at the conference were published by T-TWINS Kiadó – the volume is out of print. Amongst the issues discussed in this presentation were: A state of equilibrium that could be called ‘classical folk music’ exists; some features or components of folk music (in general: folk culture) can live beyond the death of classical folk music… and so on. By Dobszay László.

Page 21
Conversation with choreographer Novák Ferenc about "Continuing Memories" [Folyamatos emlékezet] photographer Korniss Péter’s recent exhibition celebrating the photographer’s 80th birthday and life work. Novák places Korniss’s work in parallel with the work of Bartók, Kodály, Illyés Gyula, Martin György, Kallós Zoltán and more – Hungarian artists that became researchers through their interest and work with folk arts. "...Korniss’s work is fine art. He doesn’t simply document...." The exhibition was shown at the Hungarian National Gallery from September 2017 through February 2018 and will travel this year to Bucharest, Prague, Bratislava and Rome. By P. Vas János.

Page 32
New Recording: Kiss Ferenc: Elment az én rózsam [My rose has gone] Kiss’s best music from the last 45 years with Kolinda, Vízöntő and Etnofon Music Consort. The compilation of 11 tracks embraces all of Kiss’s phases: fresh revoluntionary city folk music – a marriage of acoustic and electric sound of the 1970s-80s, Gypsy influences, Hungarian poetry put to music, music he wrote for contemporary folk dance productions, and his more recent thematic works based on folk music. Kiss Feri: the godfather of Hungarian world music. Moiras Records KAR LP 012, 300 copies. Vinyl. Review by Marton László Távolodó.

Page 33
New recording: Herczku Ágnes – Hozomány – Erdélyi népzene régen és most [Transylvanian folk music then and now] – Visa. A double album released by Fonó. The first record has field recordings collected in the village of Visa in Transylvania’s Mezőség region in 2005. The second record contains compilations of music from the same village – fresh recordings of good musicians from Budapest’s revival movement. On the revival record: Koncz Gergely, Hegedűs Máté – violin; Fekete Antal „Puma” , Fekete Márton „Kispuma” – viola; Molnár Péter – double bass; Németh Ferenc, Herczku Ágnes – voice

Page 34
List of Hungarian folk dance, music and crafts camps for summer 2018

Page 38
New recording: Szlama László: Ahogy régen...Traditional coboz music. Released by Dialekton Folk Music publisher. Budapest 2017. 12 tracks of traditonal Moldavian music. The band: Szlama László - coboz, voice; András Orsolya – voice, hit cello; Bergics András – Hungarian bagpipe; Kerényi Róbert – wooden flute; Mihó Attila – violin

Page 39
Celebrating her 60th birthday, award winning folk singer Szvorák Katalin will release 4 CDs this year. A double album, to be released this spring, entitled "Hazagondolás" [Thoughts of home] presents songs, tales, myths and beliefs from the Palóc Region. Szvorák Katalin was raised in Pinc/Pinciná and Fülek/ Fiľakovo in the Banská Bystrica Region of Southern Central Slovakia. Today she lives in Hungary.

Page 42
Bukovina, Bukovina – Part VIII. Excerpts from Kóka Rozália’s book The story of how Kóka Rozália founded Érd’s Bukovina Székely Folk Singing Circle, her choice of repertoire and the process of gathering Bukovina Székely women in the town of Érd to form the group. Their first performance was in March 1972 at the Érd Secondary School. In August of the same year they performed at the Erkel Theatre in Budapest, then later on Hungarian television, and so on. From “Bukovina, Bukovina”, Fekete Sas Kiadó, Budapest, 2017.

Page 46
The traditional Hungarian kitchen – Palacsinta – Hungarian crepes part 1.
Many forms of Hungarian crepes, pancakes and griddle cakes, both sweet and savory, are covered here – that is: “pancake-like foods made from a poured batter”. Though this is a mainly an unleavened food, variations are described that use leavening. The method of making and uses of wafers are also discussed here. Recipes provided are: the oldest Hungarian crepe, simple old-style wafer, newer style wafers, griddle cakes “cooked on a rock”, “cooked on a leaf”, Hungarian crepe with leavening, standard Hungarian crepe and cottage cheese filling. By Juhász Katalin.

Sue Foy

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English Table of Contents 2018/3  



Page 3
Obituary: Vass Lóránt “Lóri” August 1973 – March 2018, kontra player, English teacher – a familiar face in the Budapest dance houses for the last 30 years. He played in many bands, formations and was teaching English at the Zöld Sziget Elementary School in Szigetmonostor, Hungary at the time of his death. He began learning to play music as a child and remembered his grandfather singing songs from the Hungarian plain. He was buried in his hometown of Kiskunhalas. Memorials were held at the school where he taught and at Rácskert – a pub in Budapest. By Széki Soós János, the Vass family and Végső István.

Page 5
New publication: Balogh Sándor: Citeraiskola [Learn to Play Zither]. In Hungarian, includes notation, explanations, accompanying CD. The original publication (Hungarian Institute of Culture, 1991) by the same name has been refurbished, expanded and republished – this time by the Óbuda Folk Music School. Students are encouraged to learn by reading music, as well as the traditional way – by ear (without using musical notation). The zither, as a relatively simple instrument to make and learn to play, was popular in rural Hungary from the late 1800s through the 1980s for traditional small family gatherings, to accompany singing and so on. Today in Hungary some 100 institutions offer zither instruction. From Balogh Sándor’s foreword in the book.

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Part III – Excerpts from Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Endre’s (1886-1944) work entitled "Mátyás király” [King Mátyás]. Matthias Corvinus, Matthias I, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. He was born in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) on February 23, 1443. Some of King Mátyás’s important military, political and religious feats are summarized here. Also addressed is the question of just how Hungarian he was, or wasn’t. The reason for the raven in his coat of arms is explained. By Kóka Rozália.

Page 8
Interview with Cservenák Ármin – one of three young Hungarian composers that won awards at a competition sponsored by the Hungarian Association of Composers in celebration of the 135th anniversary of Kodály Zoltán’s birth. Competitors had to compose works based on folk music. Ármin found a folk song in the Kallós Archive that he could work with: “I was looking for a folk song that would take hold of me so much that an entire piece could unfold from it.” Ármin is 22 years old. He is studying contemporary classical music and composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Austria). He was born in Gyula, Hungary. By Grozdits Károly.

Page 11
Halmos Béla (1946–2013) was one of the founders of the dance house movement. He played lead fiddle for the Sebő Ensemble and later for the Kalamajka Ensemble. He was also an ethnomusicologist, did field collection work, founded the Dance House Archive and much, much more. The present administrator of the Dance House Archive summarizes Halmos’s life and activities. This year the dance house movement celebrates 46 years, Halmos would have celebrated 72. By Szecsődi Barbara.

Page 11
List of awards given to folk dancers on World Dance Day in Hungary. Awards were given for best folk dancers of the year and the most promising young dancer. Dancers, elderly choreographers, ensemble leaders, teachers and researchers from Hungary, Upper Hungary (Slovakia) and Transylvania were also given awards recognizing their dancing and work.

Page 12
Kunsthalle Budapest – exhibition: Hand/Craft/Art. National Salon 2018 Folk Art. A comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Hungarian handcrafts 2018. April 21 – August 20. Curators: Beszprémy Katalin, Fülemile Ágnes. Assistant curators: G. Szabó Zoltán, Pál Miklósné, Szerényi Béla. Announcement by Juhász Katalin.

Page 14
Borbély Jolán (1928–2018): The Dances of Lakócsa. This is a study written by the late Borbély Jolán reporting on her own collection work in the village of Lakócsa. This community is located in the Southeastern corner of Hungary’s Somogy County. Lakócsa is the center of a group of 8 Croatian villages. The traditional dances of Lakócsa include: closed circle kolos, open circle kolos, combined dance forms (kolos combined with couple or solo dances), solo and couple dances. An Easter circle dance, wedding circle dance, the shaking or drmeš kolo, križanje, stamping kolo, and the men’s boot slapping kolo are described. Reprinted from: Sokszínű hagyományunkból I. [Our Colorful Traditions I.]. Népművelési Propaganda Iroda [Cultural Propaganda Office]. Budapest. 1973. pp. 13-25.

Page 19
Conversation with Varga János “Bokszos”: “Folklore is my religion”. Varga János is a folk dance choreographer, dancer, dance ensemble leader (Sopron, Zalai Folk Dance Ensembles, etc), dance researcher, folk dance festival and event organizer, based in Southwestern Hungary. In March of 2018 he received the Martin György Award recognizing his work over the years. He comments here on the lack of quality folk dance choreography and the need for more training in choreography. He also comments on the power of folk dance in creating a community: “masses of people meet through folk dance…”. Though he supports folk dance theater choreographic endeavors, he prefers choreography that presents traditional folk dance. Interview by Kutszegi Csaba. published first on April 16, 2018 at tanckritika.hu.

Page 20
Review of the 28th Zala Chamber Dance Festival held on April 27-29 in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. Held every two years, this festival for small dance groups is known as the forum for new folk dance choreographers to show their work. Two categories of choreography for folk dance are recognized: traditional and dance theatre pieces. First prize in the traditional category was shared by: Farkas Ágnes/Farkas Tamás: “Suvadás” (Tabán Folk Dance Ensemble) and Módos Máté: “Ardeleanas from the Fekete-Körös Region” (State Ensemble’s Chamber Group). First prize in the dance theatre category was shared by Darabos Péter “Monász” (Notitia Dance Workshop) and Fundák Kristóf “Lélekvesztő” (Foundry Theatre). Complete list of awards is in the article in Hungarian. By Kutszegi Csaba. First published at tanckritika.hu.

Page 26
Dreisziger Kálmán (of Montreal, Canada) received the Hungarian Cross of Honour (a Hungarian state award) for his five decades of work preserving and popularizing Hungarian tradition and folk dance in Canada. The Hungarian Ambassador to Canada recently presented the award at a performance of the Bokréta Folk Dance Ensemble in Montreal. Congratulations Kálmán!

Page 27
New recording: Herczku Ágnes: Hozomány. Transylvanian music then and now. Visa. A Fonó recording. Singer Herczku Ágnes with Németh Ferenc and musicians Koncz Gergely, Hegedűs Máté, Fekete Antal, Fekete Márton, Molnár Péter. A double CD. On the first CD we hear how Budapest dance house musicians have handled original material collected in the village of Visa in the Mezőség region of Transylvania. On the second CD are the original recordings that inspired this CD. Recommendation by Fehér Anikó.

Page 28
Interview with Sebő Ferenc – one of the founders of the dance house movement – on the event of the annual “dance house day” held at Liszt Square in Budapest – the site of the first dance house in 1972. Some of Sebő’s observations on the status of the dance house movement: younger táncház musicians today are more interested in formulating a musical program from which they can collect royalties – than in playing a dance house of folk music (from which royalties cannot be collected). Táncház people don’t like to pay to hear music – they think they shouldn’t have to pay. There still isn’t enough folk music/dance in the Hungarian media despite the success of the Páva televised folk music and dance talent competitions of the past five years... By Ménes Márta (nullahategy.hu)

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New Publication: Kóka Rozália: Egy asszony két vétkecskéje [A woman’s two errors]. Fekete Sas Kiadó, 2018. Budapest. In Hungarian. ISBN 9786155568565. The theme of love in folkore – tales based on original collection work amongst Bukovina Székely Hungarians and Gyimes and Moldavian Csángó Hungarians. Printed here is the foreword by Petrőczi Éva.

Page 35
Bukovina, Bukovina – Part IX – Excerpts from Kóka Rozália’s book. An account of Kóka Rozália’s trip to Bukovina in 1973 with photographer Sági István. They visited the villages of Hadikfalva, Szucsáva, Andrásfalva, Istensegits, Józseffalva and Fogadjisten – all in Romania’s Suceava County – to document the remaining Bukovina Székely Hungarian residents, houses, churches, gravesites. When they returned to Hungary an exhibition of the photographs and lecture about the trip were held in the town of Érd – home to a large community of Bukovina Székely families. The Hungarian Museum of Ethnography purchased over 200 photos from the trip.

Page 38
Palacsinta II – Hungarian pancakes: potato pancakes. Hungarians make many varieties of potato pancakes and call them by many different names: lepcsánka, görhöny, tócsni, matutka, rösti, rösztike, lapótya, recsege, beré, bodag, cicege, cicedli, nyist, ragujla, harula, enge-menge, krumpliprósza, lapotyka, lapsi, lepkepotyi, latke, latkesz, kremzli, etc. Some Hungarian villages hold yearly potato pancake festivals and cooking competitions. Recipes provided here are mainly based on grated potatoes, with egg, a small amount of flour, salt and pepper. They are often fried in oil then served with sour cream. Some are baked like a casserole and so on. By Juhász Katalin.

Page 41
New recording: Kubinyi Júlia, Szokolay Dongó Balázs, Zimber Ferenc: RUSTICO. FA 415-2 Fonó. 2018. Chamber music based on Hungarian folk music for voice, traditional Hungarian wind instruments and cymbalom. Music from Transylvania, Moldavia, Slovakia and Hungary played by a trio of talented, award-winning folk musicians.

Sue Foy

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English Table of Contents 2018/4  



Page 3
The story of the Téka Camp – excerpts from Lányi György’s book: “Meséld el, Gyurkedli…!“ [My stories from 40 years with the Téka Ensemble]. Distributed by Hungarian Heritage House. The first Téka Camp was held in 1983 in Hungary’s Őrség region. Everyone was surprised when over 300 young people flocked to the camp to learn and play Hungarian village music, dance, do folk crafts and be together for a week in the summer. Within a couple years they moved to another location outside the village of Nagykálló in Northeastern Hungary where Téka Camp was held until 1999, with as many as 1,200 people attending, at its peak. The Ensemble then moved the camp to Boldogkőváralja in the Zemplén region. “The idea of a camp first occurred to Téka when we wanted to play music at night [in the city], we’d get kicked out every time - sometimes politely, sometimes more aggressively….” The band needed a place where they could play and people could dance to their hearts content – which could mean until morning.

Page 6
Part IV – Excerpts from Bajcsy Zsilinszky Endre’s (1886–1944) work entitled "Mátyás király” [King Mátyás]. Matthias Corvinus, Matthias I, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. He was born in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) in 1443. His persona is often connected with the ideal of a true Hungarian mentality and spirit. “Mátyás was a great letter writer. His clear, natural, down-to-earth Hungarian thinking comes out in his letters. Though written in Latin, the sweet taste of Hungarian humor, warmth and merriment, the Hungarian expressions…; all shine through. A special Hungarian kindness, modest humanity, noble wisdom and manly charm pour out of his letters, speeches, ideas, …..” Kóka Rozália’s series.

Page 8
Eulogy for Barbócz Sándor – respected lead fiddler, founder of Békés Banda, folk music instructor at Bartók Béla Secondary School for the Arts in Békéscsaba, Hungary, known for playing the traditional music of the local ethnic Romanian population in his region. He was 67 years old. His music and his work shall not be forgotten. By Árendás Péter – given at the funeral on July 27th 2018, in Gyula, Hungary.

Page 9
Report on the 30th meeting of ICTM’s Study Group for Ethnochoreology – held in Szeged, Hungary between July 28th and August 4th, 2018. Attended by dance researchers from more than 21 countries, two themes had been chosen for the conference: dance and politics/ dance and age – though sessions discussing many other relevant subjects in ethnic dance research were held. The conference was sponsored by: University of Szeged’s Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Hungarian Association for Ethnochoreology, the Hungarian Institute of Musicology (RCA HAS). By Pál-Kovács Dóra.

Page 10
Conversation with singer Paár Julianna of Dalinda Ensemble. She was educated at the Academy of Music in Budapest, then at ELTE University in Special Education. She is an accomplished performer (sang with the Hungarian group “Tárkány Művek” for 7 years, now with Dalinda) and a practicing music therapist. She talks about the ways music therapy can help both adults and children. By Ménes Márta (061.hu).

Page 12
Children’s dance houses are an important part of the táncház movement. This is a detailed summary of all aspects of the family folk program held on Sundays at the Marczibányi tér Cultural Center in Budapest. This particular children’s táncház focuses on Moldavian and Gyimes traditions. It has been ongoing since 1988 and always has live music to accompany folk games, song and dance and crafts especially for kids. By Sándor Ildikó.

Page 18
New Star of [Hungarian] Jazz: Bartók Béla. Review of two Hungarian ethno jazz CDs: Párniczky Quartet: “Bartók Electrified” (BMC), and Borbély-Dresch Quartet : “Körbe-körbe” (Fonó). Both recordings have been influenced by the music and work of Bartók Béla. On the Párniczky album the track entitled “Nagy szekundok” is highlighted. On the Borbély-Dresch album, the tracks “Jókívánság”, “Úton hozzád”, “Fogócska” and “Körbe-körbe” are mentioned. Review by Végső Zoltan first published on 2018 June 22 at: ritmuseshang.blog.hu

Page 20
“September Memory” by Móra Ferenc. A story of how a bad hail storm in late August nearly changed a poor boy’s life. The storm ruined Móra’s family’s grape crop that would have paid his tuition to his 3rd year at secondary school. He was an excellent student, but his parents were poor and had counted on the income from the grape harvest. In desperation, he snuck into the school and listened in on classes outside the classroom door. Móra Ferenc (1879–1934) became a Hungarian novelist, journalist, and museologist. Selected by P. Vas János.

Page 27
List of those in folk dance, music, folk arts, ethnography circles who received national awards and recognition on St. Stephen’s Day, 2018 August 20th.

Page 28
52nd National Folk Arts Festival, Zselíz/Želiezovce (in southwestern Slovakia) 2018 June 8-10. The festival was held on the grounds of the Esterházy estate. A meeting of folk dance groups, choruses, folk arts, music, customs and traditions from the region, Hungary and Transylvania. The event was sponsored by the Slovak Cultural Ministry and an organization known as CSEMADOK. It is an “important event for Slovakian culture”. Report by Takács András.

Page 30
Táncház season 2018-2019 – list of dance houses

Page 34
Bukovina, Bukovina – Part X – Excerpts from Kóka Rozália’s book of memoires. Amongst recollections here, Rozália tells about a nationwide competition she entered in 1973 to write a script (for a theatre piece) with a folk arts theme. Her monodrama was like a ballad telling a Bukovina Székely woman’s tragic life story. It won first prize in the competition. Her performance of the piece was recorded for radio and TV. However it brought up matters concerning Hungarians from outside of Hungary’s borders that were sensitive issues given the cultural politics of the time. When it was broadcast on Hungarian radio, all the place names and names of ethnic groups had been removed.

Page 42
Traditional foods – Palacsinta – part III – crepes and pancakes from around the world, and the history of Hungarian “crumbled pancakes”. Pancake traditions from Hungary, France, England, USA, Japan, Holland, and Russia are described. Recipes for Dutch buckwheat pancakes, Russian pancakes, little blini with sour cream and salmon or caviar, crepes with cottage cheese and two recipes for Hungarian crumbled pancakes served with powdered sugar, apricot jam, sour cream. By Juhász Katalin.

Sue Foy

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English Table of Contents 2018/5  



Page 3
This summer (2018) they shot a documentary film in the Transylvanian village of Szék/Sic in Romania’s Cluj County. The idea of this project was to find people – traditional dancer informants – that choreographer Novák Ferenc “Tata” had begun filming in 1958, and that later (1968) Korniss Péter began photographing. Novák and Korniss’ early trips to Szék provided the inspiration for  the dance house movement that began in Budapest in 1972. The documentary film is directed by Novák’s son, Novák Péter, and sponsored by the Fölszállott a Páva Foundation. Report by P. Vas János.

Page 4
The story of events leading to formation of the Téka Ensemble as told by founding member of the band – viola/bagpipe player, Lányi György. There was a workshop held in June 1976 in Abaújszántó, Hungary for musicians interested in playing music for dance houses. It was led by members of the Muzsikás and Sebő ensembles. Violinist Porteleki László gathered together Lányi György and Havasréti Pál (neither of whom were particularly musicians yet...) and went to the workshop. Excerpt from the book by Lányi György.

Page 5
The Cédrus Folk Dance Ensemble of Solymár, Hungary (near Budapest) received the Hungarian Heritage Award on June 23rd, 2018. The ongoing work of directors of the group Lőrincz Beáta and choreographer Varga Zoltán is applauded. They founded and then directed the Secondary School for Folk Arts in the town of Fót between 1993 and 1998, then founded Cédrus Ensemble in 1999. Laudation by Timár Sándor . First appeared in Parlando 2018/5.

Page 6
Part V – Excerpts from Bajcsy Zsilinszky Endre’s (1886-1944) work entitled "Mátyás király” [King Mátyás]. Matthias Corvinus, Matthias I, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. He was born in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca, Romania) in 1443. Relations between Hungary and King Mátyás, the Germans and the Czechs is the main theme of these excerpts, mentioning a certain disagreement on who was actually king of Hungary at the time: Fredrick III (Holy Roman Emperor) or Mátyás. Kóka Rozália’s series.

Page 8
Szávai József recalls early trips to Gyimes (on the easten edge of Transylvania), visiting traditional musicians Halmágyi Mihály and Zerkula János, and run-ins with the Securitate – the Romanian secret police – presumably before the political changes of 1989.

Page 9
Kalotaszentkirály – A short summary of the folk music and dance camps that have been held in this village in Transylvania’s Kalotaszeg region since 1991. The organizers of this summer camp along with the mayor and director of the school in the village, have established a line of trees there in memory of traditional musicians and dancers that have passed away over the years. As Day of the Dead and All Saints Day approach, it’s a good time to remember these traditional artists. By Henics Tamás.

Page 10
WOMEX (world music expo) 2018 was held October 24–28 in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Singer Szirtes Edina Mókus represented Hungary at the expo. The Kronos Quartet received WOMEX’s Artist Award this year. Kronos Quartet is a San Francisco based classical group that was formed in 1973, they have been cooperating with musicians from other cultures that play their own traditional music since 1989. The fact that a classical group has received this world music award has sparked controversy. By Weyer Balázs.

Page 12
A write-up of a 2017 event called “Parasztok Atmoszférában” (In the Peasants' Atmosphere) performed during the 2017 OFF-Biennále in Budapest. This was an international contemporary arts festival and an independent civil initiative functioning as a network of cooperation between artists, creative groups, curators, galleries and art collectors. This is an interview with the creator of the “In the Peasants’ Atmosphere” project which explored ideas of authenticity and Hungarian peasant music culture [as practiced today in Budapest by 2nd generation urban dance house musicians] from a critical contemporary point of view. “I think the work of these performers that strive for authenticity is extremely important, they are like mediums channeling a social class that has all but disappeared ...” Participants of the event were: Bertók Márton (synthesizer), Éri Katalin (double bass, hit cello), Maruzsenszki Andor (violin), Keresztesi Botond (stage design), Kiss- Balbinat Ádám (violin, voice),  Neményi Lilla (voice), Porteleki Áron (viola, electric guitar, percussion), Szurcsik Erika (voice), Kele Ildikó (costume), Trapp Dominika (concept, director). Appeared on: ritmuseshang.blog 2017 Dec. 4.

Page 16
Interview with folk singer Szvorák Katalin. Born in 1958 in Losonc/Lučenec in south-central Slovakia, she grew up in the nearby village of Pinc/Pinciná. As a talented Hungarian singer she moved to Hungary to take a position as singer with the Honvéd Ensemble in the early 1980s. Today she lives with her family in the Pilis region outside of Budapest, loves being a grandmother and maintains a busy performing schedule. She has made 38 recordings to date. Amongst many awards, she received Hungary’s Kossuth Award in 2013. She discusses the irony and difficulties of being a Hungarian – as a minority – in Czechoslovakia, then after moving to the ’mother country’ – being labelled by the Hungarians as the "Czech chick”."They were obliged to accept me in the mother country [Hungary], but I was only tolerated in quarantine". She firmly believes in the healing power of singing. By Grozdits Károly.

Page 24
Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán Viktor’s speech at the reopening of the newly renovated building that is home to the Hungarian Heritage House at Corvin tér 8. 1011 Budapest. "...It has been renovated inside and out. The foyer, grand staricase, and the grand salon have been restored and the Budai Vigadó can once again be a headquarters of Hungarian culture...we are proud... of our culture, our songs and our dances too. Hungarian folk culture is not just a collection in a museum – rather, it is a sustaining force...”. Source: Prime Minister’s cabinet office 2018 October 4. Budapest.

Page 29
Hungarian Diaspora History: Tündérkert Hungarian Folk Dance Group – Montevideo, Uruguay. A report complied from review of records of Hungarian associations in Uruguay (from 1924 on) the Uruguayan Hungarian Home between 1936 and 1984. Youth groups within the Hungarian Home became more active in the 1960s and 1970s – there was dancing and performances of a dance group. The first teacher invited from Hungary to teach Hungarian dance in Uruguay was Falvay Károly in 1980. Report by Lévainé Kovács Marian – in cooperation with the Uruguay Hungarian Home.

Page 33
Bukovina, Bukovina – Part 11. Excerpts from Kóka Rozália’s book of memoires. This selection is about her work in the 1970s in the town of Érd as cultural organizer and employee of the Érd Cultural Center. Though she organized all kinds of events (dance houses, poetry readings, literary evenings, film screenings, balls, dances, summer camps, meetings of folk singing groups, etc), her main interest was in bringing the Érd Bukovina Székely communitiy together. At the time, there were about 200 Bukovina Székely families amongst Érd’s 30,000 inhabitants.

Page 36
New publication: Ladányi András: “Jaffás” – [in memory of Bíró József]. Nyíregyháza, Hungary. 2018. Bíró József 1957–2017 “Dance is my life”. This portrait of the dancer known as Jaffás comes together through interviews with his fellow dancers, teachers, students, friends. He started dancing at the age of 14 in Nyíregyháza, Hungary in the Szabolcs-Volán Dance Ensemble. By 1973 he was a leading dancer in the group. From 1975 in Budapest he was soloist in the Vasas Dance Ensemble, then the Népszínház Dance Ensemble. In 1981 he earned the "A category” license as a performing artist. From 1988 he danced with the Honvéd Ensemble. In 2004 he got his diploma for teaching drama and dance and became artistic director of the Szabolcs Folk Dance Ensemble, the post he still held when he died in 2017. “Jaffás was an integrating, cooperating personality. He brought people together. He was surrounded by respect and affection.” “For him dance came before everything else”. Book review by Zsirai László.

Page 38
Kóka Rozália’s new series: On History’s Road – diaries, letters, memories. Dárdai (Dolha) János wrote down his own life story. Born in Bukovina in the village of Hadikfalva/Dornești in 1898, he finished 4 years of elementary school. His father needed his help on the farm, so he didn’t continue his schooling. He enlisted in the army in 1914 when WWI broke out. He was injured twice during the war and promoted several times for heroic deeds. In 1917 he was given a year of leave to recover from injuries. He got married, returned to Hadikfalva, then went to work for the railroad. In 1941 he and his family were exiled to the Bácska region of Serbia, where he also worked for the railroad until fall of 1944 when they had to flee from the Russians. They went to the Zala region of western Hungary and waited until the Russians passed by. He went back to work with the railroad in Baja until he retired in 1948, after 38 years working and was able to settle in Felsőnána, Hungary. He had six children, 12 grandchildren and reported at the age of 72 that his whole family was in good health, had work and homes.

Page 42
New publication: “Dúdolj verset!” [Remembering Kobzos Kiss Tamás]. Edited by Csörsz Rumen István, Szerényi Béla. Hangszermíves Céh, Budapest, 2018. ISBN 978-615-00-2098-3. This is a tribute to the life work of Kobzos Kiss Tamás (1950–2015) a Hungarian singer, musician and music teacher in the folk and old music genres. Includes interviews, conversations, his writings, his music and a DVD. Review by Fittler Katalin – first appeared in Parlando 2018/5.

Page 44
New publication: Pataki János: Erdély kincsei…[Transylvania’s treasures]. Fekete Sas Kiadó, Budapest, 2018. Nearly 800 photos of Transylvanian villages, cities, landscape, landmarks. A photo album/travel guide. Includes sampling of information on local legend, customs, history and practical information for travelers. In Hungarian.

Page 45
Uzbekistan 2018 – Silk and Spice Festival. Three ethnographers represented Hungary at the international conference held in conjunction with the Silk and Spice Festival in Bukhara, Uzbekistan in 2018. We are introduced to this central Asian country and some of its traditional handcrafts. Summaries are provided of the Silk and Spice Festival, traditional ikat textiles, rug weaving and uses of traditional textiles and costume in contemporary Uzbek fashion. By Juhász Katalin.

Page 49
Traditional cuisines – Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan meat is generally cooked using far more onion than they use in Hungary (and Europe). The most popular meat is lamb – though beef and horsemeat are also commonly used. The main oil used for cooking is cottonseed oil. Favorite seasonings are cumin, caraway, coriander, barberry (Berberis vulgaris), black sesame seeds, dill, basil. The method for making traditional lamb soup is described. When finished cooking, the meat and potatoes are removed from the broth and served from seperate bowls. By Juhász Katalin.

Sue Foy

6

English Table of Contents 2018/6  



Page 3
Two new publications: The Voivodina Hungarian Folklore Center has released two publications, both edited by Nagy István and Raj Rozália (2018. Szabadka/Subotica, Voivodina, Serbia). One is a 3 DVD set on festivals that have been going on in Voivodina since 1997 – with the aim of rating (and encouraging) performance and quality of Voivodina Hungarian folk dance ensembles. The other publication includes CDs and an extensive booklet on Young Masters of Hungarian Folk Art titles awarded to young folk artists from Voivodina. Regions in Voivodina with significant Hungarian population are known as: Bácska, Bánát, Szerémség. Included in the 3 DVD set is a piece written by Diószegi László president of Budapest’s Martin György Folk Dance Association on his memories from 20 years of participation in the Voivodina Hungarian folk dance festivals. He gives special mention of Cirkalom Folk Dance Ensemble from the town of Topolya/Bačka Topola which has participated in every festival earning top ratings each time.

Page 6
Part VI – Excerpts from Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Endre’s (1886–1944) work entitled "Mátyás király” [King Mátyás]. Matthias Corvinus, Matthias I, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. Excerpts in this issue tell the story of Mátyás’s attack on and occupation of Vienna which began in 1484. The story ends in 1490 with Mátyás’s death in Vienna from either poisoning or stroke. Kóka Rozália’s series.

Page 8
Interview with choreographer Horváth Csaba looking back on his career in dance and choreography. He began in a folk dance group in elementary school in Veszprém, Hungary. In 1983 at the age of 15 he was admitted to the program that trains professional folk dancers at the National Academy of Ballet. During that time he went to the Budapest dance houses in the evenings and travelled to Transylvania to experience living traditional dance and culture there. He danced with Honvéd Dance Theatre for 5 years. Amongst influences he mentions the work of: Novák Ferenc ‘Tata’, Dresch Mihály, Kovács Gerzson Péter, Györgyfalvay Katalin, Zoltán Zsuráfszky. Since 2005 he has been choreographer and director of the company he founded: Forte [Contemporary Theatre]. He also works with movement in theatre. By Grozdits Károly.

Page 10
On November 20th singer Herczku Ágnes performed in Budapest as the final event of the Seven Towers Festival with her “Bartók Evening”. On December 19th she’ll appear at the Hungarian Heritage House with a program of traditional music from the Transylvanian village of Visa, including traditional performers from the village – celebrating her recently released double CD set of music of Visa. One of the CDs contains original recordings of traditional performers in Visa; the other – the revival CD – is the same material performed by Herczku and her hand-picked group of revival musicians. The basic message here is that revival performers should work directly from the pure source. Interview by Ménes Márta (first appeared at: 061.hu).

Page 13
Interview with young fiddler from Hungary’s Zala County, Laposa Julianna. She grew up in the tiny village of Tekenye surrounded by her extended family and as much of a traditional lifestyle as exists today in Western Hungary. Julianna switched from classical violin to folk music – as prímás - when she was 16. She studied foreign languages in secondary school and university, and spent two years studying abroad on scholarships in France, Belgium and Slovenia. She is active in reviving traditions in her native village and the surrounding area and is intensely interested in “music mediation” to bring people closer to folk music. In 2017 she received Hungary’s Junior Prima Award, has been named amongst the 50 most talented Hungarian young people by La Femme magazine and has been mentored by celebrities such as Sebestyén Márta and Rúzsa Magdi. By Kertész Dalma.

Page 15
‘Hovel’ to palace – since 2001 the Hungarian Heritage House’s headquarters had been the run-down, outdated, awkward and rambling historical building at Corvin tér 8 in Budapest’s 1st district. After spending two years functioning in temporary locations, this state institution was able to return to a beautifully renovated palace and reopen in October 2018. HHH director Kelemen László summarizes the process.

Page 16
"PÁVA" – Hungarian TV’s showcase of talent in folk dance, folk singing and music. This year the show is technically not a talent contest where participants are rated by a jury of Hungarian folk music and folk dance professionals. Instead, it is a showcase of folk performers that have been winners in previous years of Páva talent contests. This time finalists (favorites) are chosen solely on the basis of votes from the public sent in as text messages. However, a panel of professionals does comment on the performances. A member of the viewing audience, ethnographer Mihálovics Ferenc, was annoyed by member of the professional panel Sebő Ferenc’s critical remarks (on Nov. 9, 2018) on Danubia Tambura Band’s performance and choice of material. Printed here are both Mihálovics’s letter to Sebő Ferenc and Sebő’s response.

Page 20
Excerpts from a volume published in Budapest in 1986 (Magvető Press) which contains personal diary entries, letters and narrative by Bukovina Székely wood carver Lőrincz Imre (1904–1995) telling his life story on the path from his native village of Istensegíts/Țibeni in Bukovina (Romania) to his final destination of the town of Majos, in Hungary’s Tolna County (today part of Bonyhád). Included here are portions of letters from another Lőrincz family member: Lőrincz Borbála. Kóka Rozália’s series: On History’s Road – diaries, letters, memories.

Page 26
Excerpt from Téka Ensemble founding member, musician Lányi György’s recently released book “Meséld el, Gyurkedli!” Published by the author, Budapest, 2018. ISBN 978-615-00-0360-3. The book is autobiographical but the main story is his 40 years with the Téka Ensemble. The short excerpt here is about the time Téka was invited to play in the town of Lenti in southwestern Hungary. When the band arrived for the concert, the organizer admitted he had forgotten to advertise the concert. The band prepared to leave, but at the last moment one little boy arrived with his mother. The band sat the boy on stage and played their concert for him. 2 years later the mother wrote saying she had become cultural attaché in Canada and invited them to do a Canadian concert tour. From then on, one of the band’s mottos became: …since you never know who’s going to be in the audience – always play for those that have come to the show – instead of mourning the ones who didn’t.

Page 27
Bukovina, Bukovina – Part 12. Excerpts from Kóka Rozália’s book of memoires. At the beginning of the 1980s Kóka Rozália became acquainted with the Bukovina Székely Lőrincz family. Here she tells about the process and events leading to publication of personal memories and life story of traditional wood carver Lőrincz Imre. Rozália encouraged, guided and orchestrated preparation of the manuscript, applications for funding the project and the editing process.

Page 30
Review: Béri Balogh Ádám Folk Dance Ensemble 50th anniversary performance. The ensemble’s home is the town of Körmend in Western Hungary, a few kilometers from the Austrian border. The performance included a "well produced program" of the ensemble’s old “classic” choreographies as well as more contemporary favorites. Director of the ensemble is Korbacsics Tibor – whose entire family is involved. Bendő Band has been accompanying the group for the last 25 years. “…Watching the performance I wondered, why is it that the Budapest dance groups can’t produce more dancers that move so naturally – like traditional dancers [informants]…the performance didn’t strive to be more than folk dance ever has been: an esthetic, dance dialogue between man and woman, a source of pleasure both to those watching and those doing it. The audience is drawn in, rather than being repelled… I saw a community there on the western perimeter…” By ethnographer, film maker, professional folk dancer Sztanó Hédi.

Page 32
“Young Masters of Folk Art” is a title that young folk artists between the ages of 15 and 35 may apply for in Hungary in categories of folk arts performance or handcrafts. The Hungarian Heritage House administers the application process and selection of awards. Application includes submitting a 10-30 page paper written on a subject related to the applicant’s specialty in folk art. Tóth Lilla applied for this title in 2018 and wrote her paper on the folk song repertoire of Kalló Katalin Hungarian traditional singer from the village of Inaktelke/Inucu in Transylvania’s Kalotaszeg region. The academic style paper includes general information on the village of Inaktelke, brief description of previous research done on the subject and village, Kalló Katalin’s family and life, description of the informant’s extensive repertoire which includes the following types: songs for children’s games, soldier’s songs, songs related to the wedding, rhythmic yells, songs for seasonal celebrations (i.e. carnival), ballads, laments/dawn songs, and songs sung during the traditional dance cycle. Includes bibliography and examples. By Tóth Lilla.

Sue Foy