f42 Budapest Bound
A celebration of cimbaloms with a dash of dance house. Judith Burrows took camera and notebook to Hungary.
F
rom The Rill To The Ocean was a festival of Hungarian folk music held in and around Budapest in May this year to show both the local audience and international
guests the extraordinary and eclectic musical talent in the country today.
On arrival, with the evening light cast- ing a spell on the Danube and reflecting the bridges and ancient buildings, we boarded the A38 Ship to the superb voice of Evelyn Toth accompanied by David Yen- gibarjan on accordeon. She was followed by the mix of psychedelic rock and global folk of Fokatelep, and the energetic Napra, a folk-rock band lead by Miklós Both. While a little chaotic, Napra are intriguing, mixing traditional instruments with thrust- ing electric guitars, and arrangements which are fresh and contemporary.
The second day’s venue, at Fonó Music Hall set in the run down warehouse/ indus- trial district of Buda, was in a more tradi- tional context, beginning with a meal of goulash prepared in the traditional pot over an open fire by an elderly lady in folk
attire, and culminating in a Hungarian dance house session led by Berka Ensem- ble and the veteran Téka Band.
Kicking it off was a concert of superb music. I was particularly drawn to the Dresch Mihaly Quartet, led by Mihaly, a saxophone player who merges free jazz with elements of traditional Hungarian folk in unexpected and inspired arrange- ments. Mihaly was followed by a superb duet of cimbalom players, Kalmán Balogh and Miklós Lukács, musicians of such mesmerising skill and lightness of touch – a fine introduction to an instru- ment which was to figure highly in the days to come. They in turn were followed by the young musicians of Fanfara Com- plexa whose extraordinary musicianship included the traditional tárogató, furul- ja, kaval, accordeon, saxophones, lute, trumpets and jews harp. Their energy propelled us into the spirit of Hungarian dance house: we joined the fray, learning the steps as we were carried round the room by young and old, an end to a won- derful evening.
Day three brought a trip to Szenten- dre for traditional lunch in the Aranysárkány restaurant accompanied by locally-formed tamburitza band Söndörgö. Then for the evening performances we were transported to the magnificent Palace Of Arts for all-star group FolkSide, ethno-jazz band Makám, Tárkány Muvek whose theatrical take on a Hungarian folk ‘chanson’ mix surprised us all, and finally the Csík Band, popular for their covers of well-known songs in the folk tradition.
The final day took us to a festival at the Skanzen Folk Village in the country- side where Hungarian folk customs are re- enacted and bands entertain, and then to the last concert – a more formal affair in the Hungarian Heritage House with the Fonó orchestra, Csurös Band, Tükrös Band and the Szeret orchestra concluding with a fanfare of dance with the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble
All in all a wonderful showcase: talent- ed musicianship and a diversity of genres all deriving from their folk tradition.
www.worldmusichungary.hu F
Dresch Mihaly Quartet
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