Folk Routes
Hungarian Gypsy Music along the Danube
By Peter Anick
(reprinted from Fiddler Magazine)
Growing up, my favorite pieces of classical music were Brahms’ Hungarian Dances. Full of fiery passages, with slow sections leading abruptly into fast ones, they were the perfect accompaniment for kids scurrying madly around the house. I credit them with my current love of Gypsy music, maybe even my eventual interest in the fiddle. And like most people, I assumed that those romantic melodies played with such aplomb by the “primás” and his orchestra in Hungarian restaurants, were Gypsy music. My preconceptions were shaken, however, when the touring Hungarian group Ökrös Ensemble brought their brand of “Hungarian Gypsy music” to Massachusetts in 1999. The instrumentation was similar to the restaurant orchestras’ but the rhythm had a very different pulse and the wild, highly-ornamented melodies were exotic to my western ears.
Naturally enough, when I found myself in Budapest a few years later, I was determined to learn more about these two musical styles that each called themselves Hungarian Gypsy music. I was fortunate enough to have an ally - a local Gypsy jazz aficionado had agreed to help me out as a translator for interviews with local violinists. He had done some research and suggested several concerts and people to contact. Indeed, I quickly discovered that it is difficult not to run into violin music in Budapest. On any day of the week throughout the summer, either the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, Danube Folk Ensemble, or Rajkó Ensemble is likely to be performing somewhere. The Hungarian Folk Ensemble presents choreographed folk dances from both urban and rural traditions, accompanied by two small bands. The Danube Folk Ensemble offers dance-theatre productions of Hungarian folk dances. The Rajkó Ensemble is a classic Gypsy band featuring strings and cimbalom.
Cimbalom, táragató, and violin make up part of the village band in the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.
Of the three, the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble is perhaps the best introduction to the breadth of Hungarian music and dance, as the choreographed selections cover peasant dances, recruiting dances, and aristocratic balls. The dances are full of athleticism and showmanship, with much jumping, squatting, and slapping of boots, reflecting their military roots. The earliest descriptions of Hungarian dances, dating from the 1500’s, portray them as re-enactments of the heroic actions of soldiers. To the accompaniment of bagpipe, táragató (a double reed, oboe-like instrument), and drum, soldiers returning from battle would dance fully armed and improvise songs to praise the chiefs. It was around that same time that Gypsy musicians, perhaps originally in the employ of the Turkish army, spread around Europe. Many settled in Hungarian villages, learned the local tunes and became indispensable at weddings and festivals.
In the 18th century, the traditional dances were replaced among the nobility by popular new social dances from France, Germany and Italy. Gypsy musicians, noted for their dexterity on the now fashionable string instruments, were invited to the courts of the aristocracy, where a two-way exchange of musical ideas flowed between them and classical court musicians such as Joseph Haydn. With the introduction of a standing army, the recruiting of soldiers became a priority and drinking and dancing were employed once again to raise the morale of prospective soldiers. A verbunkos style, which fused elements of western European popular music with the older village folk music was developed to accompany the recruiting dances. Celebrated Gypsy virtuosos such as János Bihari roamed the Pest-Buda area, stirring up nationalistic emotions with new compositions featuring alternating slow and fast sections designed to inspire improvised dances. However, in rural areas far from the nobles’ courts, peasants and shepherds continued to preserve the old musical forms and used the military-like dance moves as tests of dexterity. Around the 1830’s, a csárdás style of couple dancing based on the traditional peasant dances became popular among all social classes.
The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s two bands alternate on stage, one playing authentic peasant music and the other playing composed pieces from Hungary’s romantic era. Among the violinists playing in the village band was István Pál, a recipient of the Young Master of Folk Arts award from the Cultural Ministry. He recommended that we experience this music as played in a dance house, a small club where musicians and dancers interact without the restrictions of a fixed program or choreography. Several nights later we did just that, navigating our way by metro and foot to hear Pál’s band at Fonó, one of the best known folk music clubs in Budapest. No fancy costumes here. People wandered in, chatted at the bar, listened to the music and when the spirit moved them, took to the dance floor. If a couple stepped out to do a csárdás or a young man rose to do one of those boot-slapping peasant dances, István would stand up and play directly to the dancers, leading the orchestra though a series of melodies assembled on the spot to match the dancers’ styles and preferences (and stamina).
István Pál’s group plays a csárdás at Fonó dance house.
To hear the more familiar Gypsy melodies that most of us associate with Hungarian music, one can either seek out a restaurant featuring a Gypsy orchestra or attend a performance of the Rajkó Ensemble at the metro-accessible Duna Palata, an elegant old palace with a small ornate theater. The ten piece band, composed of graduates of the Rajkó music school for Gypsies, recreates the lush sound of the Gypsy band in the heyday of the romantic era. The primas violinist leads the group, serving simultaneously as conductor and soloist, nodding to the clarinet or cimbalom player to take a break and guiding the group though the many changes of tempo and mood with body English and bow movements. Their program includes arrangements of the perennial favorites – Brahms’ Hungarian Dance #5, Monti’s Csárdás, Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #2, and Dinicu’s showpiece, The Lark, in which a trio of violinists create a virtual forest of chirping birds. Interspersed between these classics are regional dances performed by costumed folk dancers, including one “Gypsy dance” performed using yet another configuration of traditional Hungarian Gypsy folk instruments – milk cans and wooden spoons.
Rajkó Ensemble.
Budapest is a bustling city with a lot of charm and a great public transportation system. It’s easy to get around and very pedestrian-friendly. One can often stumble upon fiddlers in the course of strolling around the streets of Budapest. I caught the eye of one street musician alongside the Danube and he followed me around fiddling bits and pieces of various tunes like a musical chameleon until he got a positive reaction – and a tip. On another occasion, I chanced upon a group of children folk dancing in the square by the Tourist Information Center. When they finished their demonstration, I struck up a conversation with the band and soon found myself playing bluegrass tunes to the accompaniment of Hungarian village style viola and bass.
Young folk dancers performing by the Tourist Information Center
Trying out “Old Joe Clark” as a czardas.
I also made contact with a local collector and performer of village music, Tamás Gombai. Just back from a field trip to Transylvania, he invited me along to a gig and arrived at my hotel with his band and a bass all crammed into a tiny car. After introductions, I squeezed in alongside the neck of the bass and we headed out of Budapest toward the Balaton Region, an area known for its beautiful countryside, a lake, and its wine. Only en route did I learn that the gig was to be at a vineyard where the trio was to entertain a small group of German tourists as they sampled the local wine and cuisine. After a week in the city, it was an unexpected pleasure to listen to village music in the tranquility of a hillside arbor, surrounded by grapevines sparkling in the sun.
Tamás Gombai, Attila Erdei, and István Adorján playing dinner music at the Spiegelberg Vineyard in Somló.
The genial host, István Spiegelberg, kept the wine flowing throughout the unhurried dinner and when the sun sank to the horizon, he invited the entourage into the wine cellar to sample sweet chardonnay and riesling right out of the barrel, along with an overflowing plate of fruits and cheese. The viola player demonstrated the Carpathian bagpipes that predated the arrival of violins in the area and even I, as a wine-primed American, responded to a request for “Devil Went Down to Georgia”. István was contemplating setting up a B&B business there in Somló and I would heartily recommend anyone traveling that way to look him up and inquire about a soirée of traditional food and music.
István “pouring” a glass of wine.
As an old Guinness ad once read, “Familiarity breeds content”, and with all the exposure to Hungarian village music, I was beginning to enjoy it as much as the urban Gypsy music I had been familiar with most of my life. It is conjectured that the Hungarian language may have its roots in central Asia and one can only wonder whether the Hungarian peasant music, so different from that of its neighbors, is carrying vestiges of a long distant Asian past.
If you visit Budapest and would like to learn more about Hungarian village music, your first stop should be the Hungarian Heritage House at Corvin tér 8. (Tel.: +36-1-2015017, Fax: +36-1-2256077, www.heritagehouse.hu). The tourist information centers have flyers containing the schedules for the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, Danube Folk Ensemble, and Rajkó Ensemble. The Fonó club at Sztregova utca 3 (Tel: 206-5300, www.fono.hu) has music most nights, with many táncház (dance house) evenings. For a B&B or musical wine tasting in beautiful Somló, contact István Spiegelberg at mobile phone: 06-20/311-45-34 or email: spiegelberg.wein@freenet.de. For the serious student, there are many folk music camps offered throughout the summer in Hungary and Transylvania.