continental drift pt. 7: hungary
Drift is coming at you today from Hungary! Find the playlist here, and listen back to the episode here.
Hungary is a country in central Europe with a population of around 10 million. It is the 91st most populated country in the world. The official language is Hungarian, the world’s most widely spoken uralic language, and one of the few non-Indo-European languages widely spoken in Europe. As a result of the Hungarian language invariably stressing the first syllable of every word, the music tends to have a strong dactylic rhythm (stress, unstress, unstress).
The origins of Hungarian traditional music are unique in Europe, as the Hungarian people (magyars) are descendent of the Ugric and eastern Turkish peoples of the 5th-8th centuries. Composer Kodaly has identified songs that date back 2500 years which share similarities with those of the Mari people in Russia, and ethnomusicologist Bruno Netti has found similarities between traditional Hungarian music and Mongolian/Native American styles. The music of Hungary also has a strong Roma influence.
In the 1800s, Verbunkos was the most popular style of music in Hungary. This was a style originally played at recruitment ceremonies to convince young men to join the army, and was performed, as in so much of Hungarian music, by Roma bands. Verbunkos features a slow dance followed by a faster dance; other Characteristics include the bokázó (clicking of heels) cadence-pattern, the use of the interval of the augmented second, garlands of triplets, widely arched, and free melodies without words.
Verbunkos Sample:
Verbunkos // János Bihari, Monica Huggett, Lux Musica, Linda Burman-Hill
Perhaps the most well known contribution of Hungarian music to the global scene is their classical music. Hungarian Franz Liszt was a major composer of the 19th century influenced by Hungarian traditional music, including verbunkos melodies.
In 1950, classical music hit a road block when the communist state-run art became dominant. Music was dictated to be uniform, festive, and optimistic, with little deviation. This sterile style was unpopular with the public. By 1955, a new generation of Hungarian composers emerged, such as Erzsébet Szonyi.
Classical Segment:
5 Old Dances No. 3: Menuet // Erzsébet Szonyi (composer), Mary Ashley Barret, Kelly Burke, Michael Burns
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 16 in A Minor, S.244 // Franz Lizst (composer), Michele Campanella (piano)
Pastorale, “Hungarian Christmas Song”: Allegretto tranquillo // Ernst con Dohnanyi (composer), Markus Pawlik (piano)
Hary Janos Suite: III. Dal (Song) // Zoltán Kodály (composer), Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, Matyas Antal
Tanchaz was a dance movement started in the 70s as a reaction against sanitized folk music. It began with collecting rural instrumental and dance music for popular consumption.
Tanchaz sample:
Botosánka // ÍGY TEDD RÁ!
The song “Gloomy Sunday,” covered by Billie Holiday and a few others (notably, Bjork) is originally a Hungarian song by Rezső Seress called “Szomoru vasarnap.” It became know as the “Hungarian Suicide Song” because of its lyrics and the urban legends connecting it to many Hungarian suicides, so much so that it was banned by the BBC in England until 2002.
Some of the English translated lyrics include:
Angels have no thought
Of ever returning you,
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?
“Szomoru vasarnap” // Rezső Seress
Rock became popular in Hungary in the early 60s. Omega was one of three dominant bands on the scene. Omega went to Germany after a crackdown on rock music by the communist regime, becoming popular there. Bands that did stay had their music scoured by the song committee, which banned any songs with hints of political dissent.
Early Rock Sample:
“Gyöngyhajú lány” // Omega
After a visit to Hungary, Canadian artist Venetian Snares was so inspired that he created a concept album based on being a pigeon in Budapest. The result is Rossz Csillag Alatt Született, released in 2002, which translates to Born Under A Bad Star”, a Hungarian expression which means “cursed from birth.” Venetian Snares is a pioneer in breakcore, and he also includes on his album a cover of Hungarian Suicide Song with a Billie Holiday Sample.
Hiszékeny // Venetian Snares
Hungarian indie started in the early 1980s, and featured its first revival in the mid-90s when bands like Sexepil and Heaven Street Seven reached international success. The second revival, part of a global indie movement, occurred in the early 2000s when bands like Amber Smith and The Moog signed to international labels. The Moog was the first eastern European band to be signed to any American label (musick.) Now, Hungarian indie is closely tied with electronic music.
Indie segment:
Survive // The Moog
Fairlady // Skeemers
Napoli // The Keeymen
Thanks for catching the drift! Next up is Pakistan.