Hungaroton Records

V. Magyarországi, Táancház Találkozó 
Fourth Hungarian Dance-House Festival
Hungaroton, SLPX 18101
Made in Hungary, 1985

What puzzles me is the proportion with which Hungarian records appear in thrift stores in Southwest Florida. There is no indication to me that there is a large Hungarian community in the area, so where do all those records come from? But the records keep coming. By now I could have dedicated a whole blog to the folk music of Hungary which I will leave it to one who has more affinity with such music and to one who can read the Magyar language. There are some sites out there, not too many, and not many who update very often. But the standard of records with Hungarian folk music as their topic seems consistently high. It's not that such music is superior to that of other countries/regions, it's just great music, all the way across. Hungarian music was put on the map early as Hungarian composers Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók did a lot to document the music. And maybe unlike many other countries the Hungarians, as a nation, are proud of their musical heritage. Another musician who did a lot for Hungarian Folk music is Ferenc Sebő. He is from a later generation than the aforementioned composers. In September I documented the album Folk Music from Lőrincréve with arrangements by Sebő. I mentioned there that he launched the career of Márta Sebestyén. At the time I didn't include a track on which Sebestyén could be heard but this time I can't overlook her again. Sebestyén is currently the best known musician in the field of Hungarian folk music, probably the best known living Hungarian musician in general. Sebestyén's mother, a musician too, had studied under Kodály.  

Folk Music from Lőrincréve was released in 1986, and this Fourth Hungarian Dance-House Festival is from the year before. Interestingly the identification number of the former SPLX 18102 comes directly after the 18101 of Dance-House Festival. The two tracks shared here are both from side B; Somogyi és Nógrádi dallamok is a medley of short tunes featuring a bagpipe played by Zoltán Juhsz and a fiddle by Márta Virágvölgyi and Szállj el feskemadár a voice solo performed by the aforementioned Sebestyén.