About the Composer

NPR has a great interview with conductor Marin Alsop and accompanying article about Bartók’s music, where she touches on folk influences and discusses The Miraculous Mandarin, Romanian Dances, Bluebeard’s Castle and more.

Béla Bartók had a breakthrough moment in his early 20s, when he heard a peasant woman singing folk songs. From that point on, he collected, recorded (on an Edison phonograph) and notated hundreds of songs from small villages in rural Hungary and Romania. His work preserving the music of those cultures had a profound influence on his own compositions.

One of the first Hungarian folksongs I learned happens to be one of the first ones that Bartók recorded in 1906. Elindultam szép hazámból, or “I set out from my homeland” (roughly) went on to be one of the most well-known folksongs in Hungary, and was included among Bartók’s 1906 collection of ten art song settings of folksongs called Hungarian Folksongs for Solo Voice and Piano. Kodály also published a set of ten of his own folksong settings the same year. There’s a lovely Hungaroton recording of both of these sets, plus one by László Lajtha.

The Bartók Album, by the folk ensemble Muzsikás, is a must-have for any Bartók fan. It’s a collection of original source material used by Bartók for various pieces, including a real treat. Here’s the actual phonograph recording made by Bartók in 1906 of the folksong mentioned above, Elindultam szép hazámból, sung by András Borek of Békésgyula.

And finally, an anecdote from the the liner notes of The Bartók Album that goes a long way to help us understand Bartók’s connection to Hungarian folk music, and the effect that he had on his country. This is from Klára Huszár, who was present at Bartók’s final concert in Hungary before leaving for exile in the U.S.

When Bartók set off for the exit during the applause, someone started singing this melody “I set off from my homeland”. Within a second, the whole audience had taken up the song, and sang it with strength and passion. Bartók stopped for a moment, and took a few steps backwards. Then he left quietly, leaving the stage of the Music Academy forever.

Don’t miss this item on NPR.org and a whole web of other related material there. Many thanks to Lisa Hirsch for calling this to my attention.

Alex Ross has announced that his current ringtone is John Adams’ Harmonielehre. Excellent choice.

As of a few days ago, mine is an old favorite: Steve Reich’s Music for a Large Ensemble. Before that, and I’ll probably go back soon, it was the announcement jingle heard constantly on Budapest trams and buses.

Check it out:

Now that I think about it… maybe Six Marimbas.

Just found this while trying to find out more about the bass harmonica. Meet the Sväng New Harmonica Quartet of Finland, here offering a bit of that terrific Bulgarian rhythm I blogged about previously. I have trouble turning this off once it gets going. The second half of the video is more of a Ragtime number; also terrific.

As for the bass harmonica, I’d previously only heard it as part of the odd accompaniment in part of the Simon and Garfunkel song “The Boxer” (lai lai lai - thwack - lai lai lai lai lai… etc.). I finally got around to trying to figure out what on earth that instrument is!