ABSTRACT

Title of Document:

IM VOLKSTON: THE CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPEAN

FOLK INFLUENCE ON VOCAL ART MUSIC BY SELECT
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN COMPOSERS
Joy Marya Stevans, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2014

Directed By:

Prof. Delores Ziegler, Chair, Voice Department, School of Music

This recital series showcases the elements of cultural diversity and blending present in art
music stemming from the dual monarchy of Austro-Hungary. Works by these Austro-Hungarian
composers and others are well-established as part of the traditionally taught classical canon of
Western art music. Most instrumentalists study their works in conservatory and perform them
frequently in concert. However, due to the perceived difficulty of the original languages and
lack of resources for style and diction, much of their vocal repertoire is infrequently studied or
performed in the US. This project addresses this omission by introducing some of this beautiful
and little-known vocal repertoire to the artistic community in the original languages, and with
attention to the style and cultural background of these unique pieces.

Within the series of three, the first recital program consists of Bartk and Kodlys
settings of Hungarian folksongs in the original Hungarian. The second program is comprised of
vocal music influenced by the folk style of the Gypsy/Roma community present in many areas
of Austro-Hungary, and originally composed in German for the concert hall format. The third
program consists of Dvok, Janek and Smetanas art music influenced by Czech folk-song,
poetry and culture and presented in the original Czech dialects. This series of recitals provides
an enlightening musical, historical and linguistic journey through the synthesis of Central
Eastern-European folk elements and Western art music.

IM VOLKSTON: THE CENTRAL-EASTERN EUROPEAN FOLK INFLUENCE ON VOCAL

ART MUSIC BY SELECT AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN COMPOSERS

By
Joy Marya Stevans

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the

University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
2014

Advisory Committee:
Professor Delores Ziegler, Chair
Professor Martha Randall
Professor Gran Wilson
Dr. Edward Maclary
Dr. Peter Beicken

******************************************************************************

This dissertation is dedicated to my parental great-grandparents, Andrew and Irma Oravszky

(later Norman), and Andrew and Anna Stefanik (later Stevans), who each emigrated to the
United States from Austro-Hungary (current-day Hungary and Slovakia) around the year 1900.
This project is a dedication in memory of the homelands they left, and the culture, languages and
music they loved.

The Oravszky Family

The Stefanik Family

****************************************************************

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
This document consists of program notes for three DMA voice dissertation recitals given
at the University of Maryland on February 13, 2013, October 4, 2013 and March 28, 2014. The
titles of the three recitals are those listed below. The audio CDs of these three recitals were
submitted to the UMD Graduate School as required on May 29,. 2014.
Dedication

ii

Table of Contents

iii

Hungarian folksong settings by Bartk and Kodly Program Notes1

The Gypsy/Roma influence on vocal art music from select Austro-Hungarian composers
Program Notes
21
The Czech folk influence on vocal works by Dvok, Janek, and Smetana - Program
Notes .35
Bibliography......48

iii

Im Volkston: Hungarian Folksong settings by Bartk and Kodly

This recital is the first in a series of three on the topic Im Volkston: The CentralEastern-European folk influence on vocal art music from select Austro-Hungarian
composers. This series will be a musical, historical and linguistic journey through the synthesis
of Central-Eastern-European folk elements and Western art music by some of the most wellknown Austro-Hungarian composers. The songs presented will include rarely performed vocal
works by established composers including Bartk, Kodly, Brahms, Dvok and Janek, set in
the three most widely spoken languages in Austro-Hungary: German, Hungarian and Czech.
This first recital will showcase Bartk and Kodlys artistic settings of Hungarian folksongs in
the native Hungarian tongue, and illustrate their increasingly complex development of these
folksong settings for performance in the concert hall.

The dual monarchy of Austro-Hungary, which existed from 1867-1918, was a melting
pot of cultural diversity and blending present in art music. The realm comprised modern-day
Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia,
large sections of Serbia and Romania and small parts of Italy, Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine.
This presence of many unique cultures and languages within one empire, led to a flourishing of
new art song and opera. This music displayed the needs of various cultural groups attempting to
find their own clear voices within a Germanized cultural sphere. According to Grouts History of
Western Music,

The search for an independent, native voice - one important aspect of nationalism was
keenest in England, France the US, Russia, and the countries of eastern Europe, where
the dominance of German music was felt as a threat to home-grown musical creativity.

By employing native folksongs and dances or imitating their musical character,

composers could develop a style that had ethnic identity, although individual composers
in these countries differed in their interest in a nationalistic agenda 1

This movement was especially influential among Central-eastern-European composers ,

including Bartk and Kodly, in Austro-Hungary. Since the creation of the dual monarchy, the
Germanized Magyar aristocracy had maintained dominance within Hungary and surrounding
regions, and tension surrounding this situation manifested in the regions music as well as in
politics. As Antokoletz says in his Bla Bartk: A Guide to Research,
Non-Germanic composers began to react against the ultra-chromaticism of the
Wagner-Strauss period as they turned away from the long tradition of German musical
hegemony toward the new spheres of influence in France and Eastern Europe. These
conditions served as the social and musical framework from which Bartks art was to
emerge. 2
In 1905 Bartk met Kodly, one year his junior, in Budapest while they were both
student musicians. The meeting began a life-long musical and personal collaborative
relationship. They began to take field-trips, near and far, to many areas within the AustroHungarian Empire to collect, notate, and record the folk tunes they encountered there. This
1

Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, 5th ed. (New York and London: W.W.
Norton & Company.) 1996. 665.
2
Elliott Antokoletz, Bla Bartk: A Guide to Research, 2nd ed. (New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc.)
1997. xxiii.

furthered a goal Bartok had elucidated in a letter to his sister in 1904:Now I have a new plan: to
collect the finest Hungarian folksongs and to raise them, adding the best possible piano
accompaniments, to the level of art-song. Kodly seconded this ideal, stating We Hungarians
have no Schubert. But we have a great number of splendid melodies, not inferior to those of
SchubertIf enough pieces are collected, we will have a Hungarian Schubert-like song
literature, something which fulfills a somehow similar function in the process of our
development as Schubert in German music history. 3

These ideals would propel these two composers research over the next several decades,
evenually culminating in many song settings of increasingly complexity, including those
presented this evening. The body of their several decades of research was eventually published
in the mammoth treatise on the subject, A magyar npzene (Hungarian folk music) in 1951. The
ten-volume edition had been conceived of by both composers in 1913, and included folksongs
that numbered over 100,000. Due to the lifetime commitment to and love of the music of their
homeland, generations of world musicians have benefitted from their lifes work, both from their
extensive and well-codified research, and their creation of a truly Hungarian form of art song.

Fig. 1.1 The lifelong collaboration of Bla Bartk and Zoltn Kodly
3

Kodly Complete Edition: Folksongs for voice and piano. Various performers. Hungaraton Classic HCD32557-59.
2009. Recording Notes

Fig. 1.2 The young Bla Bartk and Zoltn Kodly

Magyar npdalok (Hungarian folk songs for voice and piano), published in 1906, were Bartk
and Kodlys first settings of folk songs for distribution among the general public. The group of
twenty songs was a joint venture between the two composers, with Bartk setting the first ten
melodies (1-10) and Kodly the second set of ten (11-20.) The accompaniments are the simplest
of all of either composers settings of folk music, and the vocal line is doubled in the piano part
of each song. The purpose of this was to encourage amateur musicians to purchase, play and
sing these melodies at home. The composers wrote in their preface to this volume:

Because of the conditions under which these will be performed in the home, the melody
has been included in the accompanimentAfter all, we are making available material to
be sung, not only to be played on the piano! 4

Unfortunately, these song settings did not achieve the widespread popularity the
composers had hoped for. More than twenty years after the initial publication, only 1500 copies
had been sold. However, these early song settings are important historically, as they show the
growing intent of both composers to introduce the Hungarian public to these native melodies of
their culture, and to eventually place them, in proper settings, on a par with some of the great

Bla Bartk and Zoltn Kodly, 20 Magyar Npdal (Twenty Hungarian Folksongs,.) (London: Boosey & Hawkes
Ltd.) 1939. Preface.

Germanic art songs by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, etc. In the same postscript of Magyar
npdalok, they wrote,

We hope that these often primordial expressions of our culture would find at least half
the love they deserve. It will take a long time for them to reach their due place in our
musical life both with the public and in the homeThe Hungarian folk song in the
concert hall! How strange this may sound now.5

But eventually, the dream of the widespread performance of these songs in the concert hall
would be realized and become a large segment of their lifes work. Five of these early song
settings, three by Bartk and two by Kodly are included on this evenings program, with
translations below.

From Bartk/Kodlys Magyar npdalok

Elindultam szp hazmbul

I left behind my country

Elindultam szp hazmbul

Hres kis Magyarorszgbul.
Vissszanztem flutambul,
Szemembl a knny kicsordult.

I left behind my beautiful country,

Famous little Hungary.
I looked back from my journey
And tears flowed from my eyes.

n Istenem, rendelj szllst

Mert meguntam a bujdosst.
Idegen fldn a lakst
jjel-nappal a sok srst.

My God, find me a resting place

For Ive grown tired of the journey,
Of dwelling in a foreign land,
Day and night, there is much crying.

ltal mennk n a Tiszn ladikon

I go by the Tisza

ltal mennk n a Tiszn ladikon

Ladikon, de ladikon.
Ott lakik a galambom,

Id by the Tisza, rowing

Rowing, rowing.
He lives, my sweetheart,

Bla Bartk and Zoltn Kodly, 20 Magyar Npdal (Twenty Hungarian Folksong,.) (London: Boosey & Hawkes
Ltd.) 1939. Preface.

Ott lakik a vrosban.

A hamardik utcban.
Piros rzsa kk nefelejts ibolya
Virt az ablakban.

He lives there in the city.

On the third street.
Red roses, blue forget-me-nots and daisies
Bloom in the window.

ltal mennk n a Tiszn nem merek,

nem merek de nem merek
Attl felk, hogy a Tiszba esek,
hogy a Tiszba esek.
Lovam htn, sejehaj, flrefordul a nyereg
A Tisznak habjai kzt elveszek.
A babm nem leszek.

I'd like to cross the Tisza,

But dare not, but dare not.
I fear that I may sink in the Tisza,
sink in the Tisz.
On horseback, hey, the saddles might twist
Ill be lost in the waves of the Tisza.
My sweetheart will never see me again.

Ha fellk, csuhaj

Here we go, hey

Ha fellk, csuhaj, ha fellk

Kis pej lovam htra,
Beugratok, csuhaj, beugratok
Kocsmros udvarba:
Kocsmrosn szp csrdsn
Fekete kvt adjon!
Nem aludtam tizenhrom jjel
Ma jjel se aluszom.

If I get up, hey, if I get up

On my little chestnut horses back,
Well bounce, hey, well bounce
Right into the inn-yard.
Hey, nice innkeeper lady,
Brew me some black coffee!
I havent slept in thirteen days
And I wont sleep tonight!

Ha fellk, csuhaj, ha fellk

Gzkocsi tetejre,
Isten tudja, csuhaj, isten tudja
Hol szllok, ki belle:
rok benne a rzsmnak
Oly szomor levelet,
Tizenhrom jjel
Mindig sirat engemet.

If I get up, he, if I get up

Onto the steam car,
God knows, Ill get on,
but who knows where Ill get off.
I will send a letter to my sweetheart,
A letter so sad,
For thirteen days
She will miss me and cry for me.

Magos a rutafa

The rue has grown tall

Magos a rutafa
ga elgazik
Selyem sr haja,
Magyar Ilona.
Hajn fl gyngy,
koszorja, gyngy.

The rue has grown tall

Boughs spreading
Brown silk hair
Helen of Hungary
Hair with shining pearls
Wreathed with pearls

Mg a tengeren is
tal hajladozik,
Selyem, etc.

Even as at sea
the boughs are swaying
Brown silk hair, etc.

Egyik ga hajlik
Barna legny udvarba,
Selyem, etc.

One branch bends

Into the garden of the brown-haired lad.
Brown silk hair, etc.

Msik ga hajlik
Szke leny udvarba,
Selyem, etc.

Another branch bends

into the garden of the blonde girl.
Brown silk hair, etc.

A gyulai kert alatt, kert alatt

In the Gyula gardens, gardens

A gyulai kert alatt, kert alatt,

Barna legny rozmaringot arat.
n vagyok a rozmaring kvektje,
Barna legny igaz szeretje.

In the Gyula gardens, gardens,

A brown-haired lad harvests rosemary,
I bind up the rosemary,
The brown-haired lads true lover.

Benedeki kert alatt, kert alatt,

Rzsrkantym ott maradt, ott maradt
Eredj babm keresd meg,
Sejhaj, keresd meg,
Ha megleled pengesd meg, pengesd meg.

In the Benedek gardens,

My copper spurs were left behind.
Go, my darling, find them,
Hey, go find them,
If you find then, make them ring out.

Fig. 1.3 Bla Bartk in 1902.

Magyar npdalok (Second set.) In 1906, around the same time as the publication of the first
joint Magyar npdalok compilation of Bartk and Kodly, Bartk had also prepared a second set
of Hungarian folksongs for publication. However, due to the poor reception and sales of the first
volume, these songs were not published during his lifetime. These settings, while more spare
and simply written than his later work, show a budding concert style. The melodies are no
longer doubled in the accompaniment, and the accompaniment show elements of the pianistic
virtuosity that will become such a notable part of his later folksong settings. This increasing
demand on the pianists skills is evident in the first setting of this group, Tiszn innen, Tiszn

tl, in the majestic rolling chords which introduce each verse, and the heavily percussive, twohanded choral structures in the seventh setting,Ez a kislny gyngyt fz. Also, this group,
unlike Bartk and Kodlys first 1906 publication, was conceived as a song cycle, also moving it
away from domestic use and closer to performance in the concert hall. 6

From Bartks Magyar npdalok (Second Set)

Tiszn innen, tiszn tl

On this side of the Tisza, beyond the Tisza

Tiszn innen, Tiszn tl

Tl a Dunn van egy csiks nyjastul.
Kis pej lova ki van ktvel
Szrktllel, pokrc nlkl gazdstul.
Tiszn innen, tiszn tl
Tl a Dunn van egy gulys
Nyjastul.
Legelteti a gulyjt
Odavrja, a babjat
Gyepgyra.

On this side of the Tisza, beyond the Tisza

Beyond the Danube is a horseman with his herd.
His small chestnut horse is tied up with
A rope, without a blanket, with his master.
On this side of the Tisza, beyond the Tisza
Beyond the Danube is a herdsman
with his flock.
He lets his flock graze.
He waits for his darling
on a bed of grass.

Erdk, vlgyek,szk ligetek

Forests, valley, groves

Erdk, vlgyek,szk ligetek,

Sokat bujdostam bennetek;
Bujdostam n az vadakkal,
Srtam a kis madarakkal.
Esik es az egekbl,
Rzsa nylik az vlgyekbl.
Ht n csak magam egyedl
Hogy ljek meg nlad nlkl?

Forests, valley, groves

Long I was hiding within you
Hiding with the wild game
Crying with the little birds
Rain falls from the skies
Roses bloom in the valleys
I myself am just alone
How can I live without you?

Olvad a h

The snow is melting

Olvad a h,
csrds kisangyalom,
tavasz akar lenni,
De szeretnk kiskertedben
rzsabimb lenni!
Nem lehetek n rzsa,
elhervaszt Ferenc Jska

The snow is melting,

My fiery little angel.
Spring is coming.
I would like to be a little rose
In your garden!
But I cannot be a rose.
Francis Joseph is sure to wilt me

. Bla Bartk, Tz Magyar dal nekhangra s zongorra (Ten Hungarian Songs for voice and piano,) (Budapest,
Hungary: Editio Musica Budapest.) 2004, Preface.

A nagy bcsi hromemeletes

magos kaszrnyba.

In the large three-story

barracks of Vienna.

Ha bemegyek a csrdba

When I go to the tavern

Ha bemegyek a csrdba,
kimulatom magam,
Van mg egy rongyos forintom,
a cignynak adom.
Felesgem kett,
csrds mind a kett,
Remlem, hogy a jv sszel
reng a cifra bcs.

When I go to the tavern,

I have a good time.
I have one lousy forint
I give it to the gypsy.
I have two wives
saucy, both of them.
I hope, by next autumn
The fine cradle will rock.

Ha bemegyek a csrdba,
kimulatom magam.
Van mg egy rongyos forintom,
a cignynak adom.
Felesgem sincsen,
becsletem sincsen,
Belenylok a zsebembe:
egy krajcrom sincsen.

When I go to the tavern,

I have a good time.
I have one lousy forint
I give it to the gypsy.
I have no wife
nor have I honor.
I reach into my pocket
And find not a penny.

Fehr Lszl lovat lopott

Lszl Fehr stole a horse

Fehr Lszl lovat lopott

A fekete halom alatt: Hej!
Fehr Lszlt ott megfogtk,
Tmlc fenekre zrtk.

Lszl Fehr stole a horse

Below the black hills: Hey!
Lszl Fehr was caught there
And thrown into the bottom of the dungeon.

Megittam a piros bort a pohrbul

I drank a glass of red wine

Megittam a piros bort a pohrbul,

Kr volna mg kimulnom a vilgbul,
Kr volna mg meghalni,
ilyen korn hervadni,
A szelei, kisszelei
temetbe hervadni.
Kr volna mg meghalni,
ilyen hamar hervadni,
A szelei, kisszelei
temetbe hervadni.

I drank a glass of crimson wine

It would be a pity to leave the world now.
It would be a pity to die now,
To fade so early
To fade in the cemetery
of Szele, Kisszele.
It would be a pity to die now
To fade so soon
To fade in the cemetery
of Szele, Kisszele.

Ez a kislny gyngyt fz

This little girl is stringing pearls

Ez a kislny gyngyt fz,

g a szeme, mint a tz,
Haj az enym gy gne,
Csuhaha, barna legny szeretne.
De mivel hogy nem gy g,
Csuhaha, barna legny rm se nz.

This little girl is stringing pearls

Her eyes sparkle, like fire
If mine sparkled like that,
Hey ho, the brown haired boy would love me.
But since they do not sparkle like that,
Hey-ho, he doesnt even look at me.

A haraszti hatron
Cssz leszek n a nyron.
Aki nkem cskot d,
Csuhaha, nem hajtom be a lovt.
Sem a lovt, sem magt,
Csuhaha, sem a kedves galambjt.

On the border of Harazst

I will guard the crops this summer.
Whoever gives me a kiss
I wont take his horse
Not his horse, not himself
Not even his dear sweetheart.

Sej, mikor engem katonnak visznek

Hey, when they brought me to the army,

Sej, mikor engem katonnak visznek,

Mind lehullnak a nyrfalevelek.
Srhattok mr, benedeki lnyok,
Sej, hrom vig nem jrok hozztok.

Hey, when they make me a soldier

The poplars will shed all their leaves.
Mourn me, girls of Benedek.
I will not see you for three years.

Sej mikor engem katonnak visznek,

Az rokban mg a vz is reszket,
Az rokban a vz hadd reszkessen,
Sej, csak a babm igazn szeressen.

Hey, when they take me into the army.

Even the water in the trenches trembles
Let the water tremble in the trenches.
Hey, as long as my baby loves me.

Mg azt mondjk

People say, hey

Mg azt mondjk, sej haj

iciny piciny az n babm.
Ha tncolok vle,
nem is illik nhozzm.
Tyuhaj, nem is bnom,
Akr milyen iciny, piciny vagy,
Nagy az n szerelmem,
gy is, gy is az enym vagy.

People say, hey

My sweetheart is teeny-tiny.
When I dance with her,
we dont match.
Hey, I dont care
how teeny-tiny you are
Great is my love for you,
You are mine, all the same.

Kis kece lnyom, fehrbe vagyon

Little girl, dressed in white

Kis kece lnyom, fehrbe vagyon

Fehrbe rzsm, fehrbe vagyon
Mondom-mondom, fordulj hozzm
Mtkm-asszony.

Little girl, dressed in white

My lwhite rose, dressed in white
I say, turn towards me, turn towards me,
My bride.

10

Bartks Nyolc magyar npdal (Eight Hungarian Songs) (1907-1917) show a growing
complexity in the composers style. The accompaniments are lush and evocative, and while less
dissonant than his later settings, show his divergence from reliance on traditional major-minor
tonality and towards the pentatonic and whole-tone scales found in the folk music itself. While
originally published as a set of eight in 1918, the songs within this set were actually the product
of several folk music collecting tours. The first five of these song were collected at the same
time in 1907, during a trip to Csik County, Transylvania, and the songs display the use of the
pentatonic scale common in the song of this region. The second group within a group (songs
6, 7, and 8) was a result of an additional trip and consist of soldiers songs., as the texts
indicate. The two groups were combined into one volume in 1918 and were finally published by
Universal Editions in 1922. 7

From Bartks Nyolc magyar npdal

Fekete fd, fehr az n zsebkendm

Black earth, my handkerchief is white

Fekete fd, fehr az n zsebkendm,

Elhagyott a legkedvesebb szeretm.
gy elhagyott, hogy mg meg sem siratott,
rzi szvem, nemsokra meghalok.

Black earth, my handkerchief is white

My sweetest lover has forsaken me.
He has left me without even shedding a tear.
I feel in my heart, I soon will die.

Istenem, istenem, raszd meg a vizet

God, oh, God, send the water flooding

Istenem, istenem, raszd meg a vizet,

Had' vigyen el engem apm kapujra;
Apm kapujrl anym asztalra,
Had' tudjk meg immn, kinek adtak frhez.

God, oh, God, send the water flooding

May it take me to the gate of my father
From my fathers gate to my mothers table
They should know to whom they gave me.

Cifra katonnak, nagy hegyi tolvajnak,

Ki most s oda van kereszttllani;
Kereszttllani, embert legyilkolni,
Egy pnzr, kettr nem szn vrt ontani.

The magnificent soldier, the highway robber

Who even now lies in wait at the crossroads.
Waiting to murder people. He does not shy
from shedding blood for one or two pennies.

Osszkiads (Complete edition,) Various performers, Hungaroton: 18260394. 1968. Recording Notes

11

Asszonyok, asszonyok, had' legyek trsatok

Women, women, let me join you

Asszonyok, asszonyok, had' legyek trsatok,

Gyermekruht mosni mivel n is tudok.
Sohse lttam lenybrt hogy rultak vna,
S a timrok kordovnnak ksztettek vna!
Anymtl a kontyot sokszor krtem vna,
Ha keze botjtl nem irtztam vna;
Ebek ugatsn gyakran rvendeztem,
A legnyek jnnek, magamban azt vltem.
Asszonyok, asszonyok, had' legyek trsatok,
Gyermekruht mosni mivel n is tudok.
Sohse lttam lenybrt hogy rultak vna,
S a timrok kordovnnak ksztettek vna.

Women, women, let me join you

As I can also wash childrens clothes
I have never seen soft horsehide being sold
For the tanner to then work into leather!
Mother Id have asked many times to marry.
If I had not feared the stick in her hand!
The dogs barking has given me pleasure
The boys are coming, I would think.
Women, women, let me join you.
As I can also wash childrens clothes.
I have never seen girls skin being sold
For the tanner to then work into leather!

Annyi bnat a szvemen

So much sadness is in my heart.

Annyi bnat a szvemen

Ktrt hajlott az egeken.
Ha mg egyet hajlott volna:
Szvem kett hasadt volna.
n elmegyek kzletek,
Isten maradjon veletek.
Tlem tbb panaszt nem hallasz,
Kit hallottl, avval maradsz.

So much sadness is in my heart.

That heaven has split in two
And if it had split a second time
My heart would have broken in two
I am leaving all of you
May God keep each of you
You will hear no more complaints from me
What you have heard, you will remember.

Ha kimegyek arr' a magos tetre

When I go to the high hilltop

Ha kimegyek arr' a magos tetre,

Tallok n szeretre kettre.
Ej, baj, baj, baj, de nagy baj,
Hogy a babm szve olyan, mint a vaj!
Nem kell nekem sem a kett, sem az egy,
Azt szeretem, aki eddig szeretett,
Ej, baj, baj, baj, de nagy baj,
Hogy a babm szve olyan, mint a vaj!

When I go to the high hilltop,

I find there two lovers.
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble,
That my darlings heart is like butter!
I dont need both and I dont need one
I love the one who has loved me until now.
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble,
That my darlings heart is like butter!

Tltik a nagy erd tjt

The great forest road is filling up

Tltik a nagy erd tjt,

Viszik a szkely katont;
Viszik, viszik szegnyeket,
Szegny szkely legnyeket.
gy elviszik arr'a helyre
Hol az t is vrrel festve,

The great forest road is filling up.

Szkely soldiers are being led away
Led away, led away, the poor men
The poor Szkely boys.
They are being taken to a place,
Where even the road is painted with blood

12

Kit a goly, kit a lndzsa,

Kit les kard sszevgta.

One is killed by a bullet, the other by a spear

The third by a sharp sword.

Eddig val dolgom a tavaszi sznts

Til now it has been my job to till the spring field

Eddig val dolgom a tavaszi sznts,

Kertekbe, rtekbe fvet lekaszls;
Immr krm hejjin lovam a nyeregbe,
Szjostorom hejjin kantrszr kezembe.
Eljtt mr az a nap, melyben kell indulni,
Hzamtl, hazmtl bs szivvel tvozni.
Kedves szleimtl srva elbcszni,
Kedves hitestrsam rvn itt kell hagyni.

Til now it has been my job to till the spring field

To mow the grass in the gardens and meadows
But now my ox is in the stable, my horse saddled
My leather whip hung up, the reins in my hands
The day has come on which I must go
From my home, leave my home full of sorrow.
Take leave of my dear parents with tears
Leave my dear wife orphaned behind.

Olvad a h

The snow is melting

Olvad a h,
csrds kisangyalom,
tavasz akar lenni,
De szeretnk kiskertedben
rzsabimb lenni!
Nem lehetek n rzsa,
elhervaszt Ferenc Jska
A nagy bcsi hromemeletes
magos kaszrnyba.

The snow is melting,

Fiery little angel.
Spring is coming.
I would like to be a little rose
In your garden!
But I cannot be a rose.
Francis Joseph is sure to wilt me
In the large three-story
barracks of Vienna.

Fig. 1.4 The mature Zoltn Kodly

Kodalys Magyar npzene (Hungarian Folksong Settings) and Style

Kodly set ten volumes of his Hungarian Folk Music which were mainly published over a
single decade between 1924 and 1932 (the final volume was published in 1964.) The six songs
chosen today are from his first four volumes and include settings based on tunes he collected

13

from Transylvania, the Northwest and Eastern-most part of Hungary (today part of Slovakia and
Rumania.) Later volumes focused on soldiers songs, historical songs from the 17th and 18th
centuries, a group of Wine Songs from various regions, and others.8
Although their passion for the folk music of the Hungarian people was the same, Bartk
and Kodlys compositional treatment of the folk tunes they collected was quite individual.
Kodly is more conservative and less dissonant in his harmonies. Many of his songs retain a
clear strophic structure, with one verse or A section repeating multiple times, (perhaps with some
variation) within a setting. The melodic lines are dominant, underpinned by relatively traditional
harmonies and choral structures with the accompaniments much less percussive and chromatic
than Bartks. The uniquely Hungarian flavor and style is achieved through respectful attention
to the natural accents of the language, use of the pentatonic scale and of Magyar rhythms taken
from the original folk tunes themselves. According to Grouts History of Western Music, The
music of Zoltan Kodaly, more narrowly national, is less thoroughgoing than Bartks in
integrating folk and art styles.while rich in allusions to plainchant, Renaissance and Baroque
polyphony and ethnic Hungarian music. 9
Kodly placed a primacy on the human voice in his folksong settings. As Carol Kimball
writes, Kodly is primarily a composer of vocal music. His songs are gratefully written for the
voice and are not musically complex, although they are rich in melodic elements. 10 He believed
singing to be the foundation of all music, and also had a deep respect for the folk tunes as they
stood, stating .the single song, or flower, of this folk culture is often an authentic
masterpieceIt is no primitive product, but an art mature and refined by thousand of years of
8

Kodly Complete Edition: Folksongs for voice and piano, Various performers. Hungaraton Classic HCD32557-59.
2009. Notes.
9
Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, 5th ed. (New York and London: W.W.
Norton & Company.) 1996. 665.
10
Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Style & Literature, (Redmond, Washington: Pst. Inc.) 1996. 236.

14

evolution. 11This respect and attention to melodic line are evident in each of the songs
presented.

From Kodalys Magyar npzene I-IV

Kitrkotty mese

Cock-a-doodle-doo song

n elmentem a vsrra flpnzzel,

Tykot vettem a vsrba flpnzzel.
Tykom mondja: Kitrkotty! Kri-kittyom,
ds tykom, mgis van egy flpnzzem.

I went to the market with money to spend

I bought a rooster with my money
The rooster says Cock-a-doodle-doo
What a rooster! I still have one coin left.

n elmentem a vsrra flpnzzel,

Csirkt vettem a vsrba flpnzzel.
Csirkm mondja: csip, csip, csip,
Tykom mondja: Kitrkotty! Kri-kittyom,
ds tykom, mgis van egy flpnzzem.

I went to the market with money to spend

I bought a chicken with my money
The chicken says Cheep-cheep-cheep
The rooster says Cock-a-doodle-doo
What a rooster! I still have one coin left.

n elmentem a vsrra flpnzzel,

Pulykt vettem a vsrba flpnzzel,
Pulykm mondja: dandal,
Csirkm mondja: csip, csip, csip,
Tykom mondja: Kitrkotty! Kri-kittyom,
ds tykom, mgis van egy flpnzzem.

I went to the market with money to spend

I bought a turkey with my money
The turkey says Gobble-gobble
The chicken says Cheep-cheep-cheep
The rooster says Cock-a-doodle-doo
What a rooster! I still have one coin left.

n elmentem a vsrra flpnzzel,

Brnyt vettem a vsrba flpnzzel.
Brny mondja: be-he-he-e,
Pulykm mondja: dandal,
Csirkm mondja: csip, csip, csip,
Tykom mondja: Kitrkotty! Kri-kittyom,
ds tykom, mgis van egy flpnzzem.

I went to the market with money to spend

I bought a lamb with my money
The lamb says Baaaa
The turkey says Gobble, gobble
The chicken says Cheep-cheep-cheep
The rooster says Cock-a-doodle-doo.
What a rooster! I still have one coin left.

n elmentem a vsrra flpnzzel,

Disznt vettem a vsrba flpnzzel.
Disznm mondja: rff, rff, rff,
Brny mondja: be-he-he-e,
Pulykm mondja: dandal,
Csirkm mondja: csip, csip, csip,
Tykom mondja: Kitrkotty! Kri-kittyom,
ds tykom, Elfogyott a flpnzzem!

I went to the market with money to spend

I bought a pig with my money
The pig says Oink-oink-oink
The lamb says Baaaa
The turkey says Gobble, gobble
The chicken says Cheep, cheep, cheep.
The rooster says Cock-a-doodle-doo.
What a rooster! Now all my money is spent!

11

Kodly Complete Edition: Folksongs for voice and piano, Various performers. Hungaraton Classic HCD3255759. 2009. Notes.

15

Meghalok, meghalok

I die, I die

Meghalok, meghalok,
Mg beteg sem vagyok,
Kolonyi, temetn nyugodni akarok
rted vagyok rted, ilyen beteg
Te rted ll rzsm
Mindennapi hideg

I die, I die
Im not even sick
In the cemeteries I want to rest
I understand, you know, these sick ones
Do you understand?
Everyday is cold.

A rossz felesg

The bad wife

Jjjn haza desanym!

Mert beteg az desapm!``
Vr, lnyom, egy kicsit,
Hadd tncjak egy kicsit,
Minnyr n is menyek,
Eggyet kettt fordulok,
Minnyr otthon leszek.

Come home quickly, mother

My father is sick
Wait, my daughter, just a little,
Let me dance a little
Ill be coming soon
Just a couple more turns
Then I will be home

Jjjn haza desanym,

Gyntassuk meg desapm!
Vr, lnyom, egy kicsit,
Hadd tncjak egy kicsit,
Minnyr n is menyek,
Eggyet kettt fordulok,
S minnyr otthon leszek.

Come home quickly, mother

The priest has come to my father
Wait, my daughter, just a little
Let me dance a little
Ill be coming soon
Just a couple more turns
Then I will be home soon

Jjjn haza desanym,

Meght mr az desapm!
Vr, lnyom, egy kicsit,
Hadd tncjak egy kicsit,
Minnyr n is menyek,
Eggyet kettt fordulok,
Minnyr otthon leszek.

Come home quickly, mother

My father is burning with fever
Wait, my daughter, just a little
Let me dance a little
Ill be coming soon
Just a couple more turns
Then I will be home soon

Jjjn haza desanym!

Eltemettk desapm!
Jaj! jaj! lepedm,
Szp fehr lepedm!
Mer'n urat mg kapok,
De lepedt nem szabok;
Mer n fonni nem tudok,
Lepedt sem csinlok!

Come home quickly, mother

They have buried my father! ``
Oh, no, my sheets!
My nice white sheets!
Another husband one can find
but sheets not so easily
These I cannot spin!
The loss of sheets I deeply grieve!

16

Fig. 1.5 The mature Bla Bartk

Hsz magyar npdal (20 Hungarian Folksongs) In these latest folksong settings, completed in
1929, Bartks most mature style is fully evident. The group of twenty is divided into four
series: 1) Sorrowful Songs, 2) Dance Songs, 3) Mixed Songs and 4) New Songs. 12 While written
during the same decade as Kodlys Magyar npzene, the comparison illustrates the
composersdivergent approach to the same goal of creating a truly Hungarian music for the
concert hall. The melodies chosen by Bartk tend to contain more unusual intervals and phrases,
and are less legato or traditionally melodic. Extremely demanding for the pianist, they continue
the use of non-traditional scalar structures (pentatonic, whole-tone, modal, etc.) while
surrounding these harmonies with strong, unexpected accents, irregular meters and motoric
rhythmic motives. As Lszl Somfai says in his notes on the Complete Works of Bartk,

Kodlys piano accompanimentwas illustrative, variegated and multicolored. Bartk

usually chose a more uniform and at the same time more far-flung solution. He grasped
the basic atmosphere of the song in a single element (e.g. a motive or type of chord) and
developed this into a characteristic accompaniment figure which he pursued through the
whole movement. 13

12
13

Bla Bartk, 20 Magyar Npdal (Twenty Hungarian Folksongs.) (London: Boosey & Hawkes Ltd.) 1939.
. Osszkiads (Bla Bartk - Complete edition.) Various performers. Hungaroton: 18260394. 1968. Notes.

17

This development of each song around a unique rhythmic or melodic motive is evident in the
songs presented below. The first of the songs from the second volume of Dance Songs,
Szkely "Lass, is built around a highly repetitive crying motive of a major second. In the
third song Prosit, (these last two are taken from the third volume of Mixed Songs.,) the
composer uses sparkling repeated sixths and rolled chords to evoke the horses bells mentioned
in the text.

From Bartks Hsz magyar npdal

Szkely "Lass"

Szkely "Slow Dance"

Azt akartam n megtudni,

Szabad-e mst szeretni, jaj, jaj, jajajaj;
Tudakoztam, de nem szabad,
gy a szvem gyszban marad, jaj, jaj, jajajaj.

I wanted to find out

If it was alright to love anothers sweetheart.
I asked, but it is not allowed,
And so my heart remains in grief, oh, woe.

Jaj Istenem, add megrnem,

Kit szeretek, avval lnem, jaj, jaj, jajajaj;
Ha azt meg nem adod rnem,
n Istenem, vgy el engem, jaj, jaj, jajajaj.

Oh God, let me stay,

Until I can live with the one I love, oh, woe.
If you dont give me this,
Then God, take me away, oh, oh, woe.

Pr-nek

Pair of voices

Ne hagyj el angyalom, megregszem,

Lbaim nem brnak, megbetegszem,
Tmadkom te legyl,
nlad nlkl ne legyl,
Panaszimnak higyl.

Dont leave me, my angel: I grow old,

My legs no longer carry me, I am ill.
Be my support,
Dont go far from me,
Believe my complaints.

Nem hagylak, angyalom, nem hagylak el,

Lbaim nem brnak, megregszel..
Tmadkod n leszek,
nlam nlkl nem leszekl,
Panaszidnak hiszek.
Rzsm, nem hagylak el!

I will not leave you, my angel:

Your legs no longer carry you,
You grow old, I will be your support,
I will not be without you,
I believe your complaints.
My rose, I wont leave you!

Prosit

Pairing-off

Srga csik, cseng rajta,

Yellow pony, decked with bells

18

Vajon hov megynk rajta?

Huzsedr, huzsedom.

I wonder where we are going?

Ding-a-ding, ding-dong

Majd elmegynk valahova,

Kocsis Rza udvarra,
Huzsedr, huzsedom.

Soon we'll go somewhere:

To Rose Kocsiss courtyard.
Ding-a-ding, ding-dong

Betekintnk az ablakon,
Ki krtyzik az asztalon?
Huzsedr, huzsedom.

Look through the window,

Who is playing cards?
Ding-a-ding, ding-dong

Kovcs Jani ott krtyzik,

Kocsis Rza fslkdik,
Huzsedr huzsedom.

John Kovcs is playing cards there.

Rose Kocsis combs her hair.
Ding-a-ding, ding-dong

Ugye Jani, szp is vagyok,

ppen neked val vagyok,
Huzsedr huzsedom.

John, arent I pretty?

Im just perfect for you.
Ding-a-ding, ding-dong.

From Kodalys Magyar npzene I-IV

Zld erdben

In the green forests

Zld erdben, zld mezben

Lakik egy madr.
Kk a lba, zld a szrnya,
Jaj, be gyngyen jr.
Vrj, madr, vrj,
Te csak addig vrj,
Mg az Isten megengedi,
tid leszek mr.

In the green forests, green fields,

Lives a bird.
The legs are blue, the wings are green.
Oh, how nicely it moves.
Wait, bird, wait,
Just wait until
If God allows it,
I will be yours soon.

Kocsi, szekr, kocsi, szn

Wagon, carriage, wagon, sleigh

Kocsi, szekr, kocsi, szn,

Mg a tlen,
Libilibi limlom,
Lomzati bombom,
Leszek lny.

Wagon, carriage, wagon, sleigh,

Later this winter,
Fa-la-la-la-la,
Tra-la-la-la-la,
Ill become a woman.

Jv tlen, ha lek,
Frhez mengyek,
Libilibi limlom,
Lomzati bombom,
Ha vesznek.

Next winter if I still live,

Ill get married,
Fa-la-la-la-la,
Tra-la-la-la-la,
If someone will have me.

19

Ha nem vesznek, maradok,

Otthon is el,
Libilibi limlom,
Lomzati bombom,
Lakhatok.

If no one will have me,

Ill stay at home,
Fa-la-la-la-la,
Tra-la-la-la-la,
I can live.

Akkor szp az erd

The green forest is so lovely

Akkor szp az erd mikor zld,

Mikor a vadgalamb benne klt,
A vadgalamb olyan, mint a lny,
Fj a szve a legny utn.
Nem vagyok n oka semminek,
desanym oka mindennek,
Mrt nem adott engem olyannak,
Akit vlasztottam magamnak?
Megvert az risten, de nem fj,
Fgefa levele lehullt mr.
Fgefa levele, gygyts meg,
Rgi volt szeretm, cskolj meg!

The forest is so lovely when it is green,

When the wild dove seeks a mate.
The dove is like a girl,
Her heart longs after a boy.
Nothing that has happened is my fault.
My mother is the cause.
Why didnt she give me to
The man I have chosen for myself?
Beaten by Fate, it does not hurt.
The fig tree leaves were falling.
Fig tree leaf, bring me comfort.
My long beloved one, kiss me.

20

Im Volkston: The Gypsy/Roma influence on vocal art music

from select Austro-Hungarian composers
This recital is the second in a series of three on the topic Im Volkston: The CentralEastern-European folk influence on vocal art music from select Austro-Hungarian
composers. This series is a musical, historical and linguistic journey through the synthesis of
Eastern-European folk elements and Western art music by some of the most well-known AustroHungarian composers. The songs presented include rarely performed vocal works by established
composers including Bartk, Kodly, Brahms, Dvok and Janek, set in the three most widely
spoken languages in Austro-Hungary: German, Hungarian and Czech.

The dual monarchy of Austro-Hungary, which existed from 1867-1918, was a melting
pot of cultural diversity and blending present in art song and opera. The realm comprised
modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Slovenia, large sections of Serbia and Romania and small parts of Italy, Montenegro, Poland and
Ukraine. This presence of many unique cultures, sub-groups, and languages within one empire,
led to a flourishing of new art music. This music displayed the needs of various cultural groups
attempting to find their own clear voices within a Germanized cultural sphere. According to
Grouts History of Western Music,

The search for an independent, native voice was keenest inthe countries of eastern
Europe, where the dominance of German music was felt as a threat to home-grown
musical creativity. By employing native folksongs and dances or imitating their musical
character, composers could develop a style that had ethnic identity 14

14

Donald Jay Grout and Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, 5th ed. (New York and London: W.W.
Norton & Company.) 1996. 665.

21

In the first recital of this series, an exploration of the work of two Austro-Hungarian
composers, Bartk and Kodly, was presented, with a focus on arrangements of their own native
Hungarian folk melodies in creating the unique ethnic identity mentioned by Grout. This
second recital presents examples of the influence of a culture both widespread and diffuse within
the Austro-Hungarian Empire the gypsy subculture, and more particularly Hungarian gypsy
subculture. While the composers discussed Brahms, Dvok, Klmn, and Strauss were not
of gypsy background or blood they all used elements of Hungarian gypsy music in their
compositions, providing a hint of exotic or ethnic flavor to distinguish their pieces from the
traditional Austro-German style or Western side of the Empire. This practice became so
widespread during the time period in which these composers lived, that it became commonly
known as the style hongrois or the French for Hungarian style. This program showcases songs
and arias inspired by this style and thus influenced by gypsy musical and linguistic traditions.
The musical characteristics used to create the unique Central-East European flavor of the style
hongrois includes use of the csrds and other similar dance forms, pianistic references to
traditional gypsy instrumentation (particularly the cimbalom, violin and other stringed
instruments), and texts filled with references to gypsy life and experience. Virtuosic runs and
extremely fast passages are common, as are dotted rhythms, gypsy scale patterns and musical
references to the natural rhythms of the Hungarian language.

Because it is used so frequently within the style hongrois, and appears several times on
this program, the term csrds deserves a bit of special explanation. This dance surfaced in the
mid-19th century and originally took shape as a variation on a traditional Hungarian army
recruitment dance called the verbunkos. In the verbunkos, members of the Hungarian light

22

cavalry would recruit villagers by performing an elaborate, dignified, and gradually more
energetic and frenetic dance including lots of jumping and clicking of spurs.
These recruiting dances were typically accompanied by gypsy musicians, and were associated
with violin playing, virtuosic trills and runs and a form alternating slow (lass or lassan) and fast
(friss or friska) sections. According to John Bellman in his article for Oxford Music Online,

Like the verbunkos, the csrds had slow sections (lassan and lass) and fast ones
(friska or friss) the first in a heavy 4/4 metre that suggested dignity, pride and often
grief, while the latter could achieve extremely fast tempos and was danced with
abandon. 15

Bellman also writes of one csrds by Liszt (which also could be applied to others of the genre):

The first section has a heavy, proud and theatrical pathos, while the second begins with
twittering cimbalom effects and builds to a furious prestissimo.

Gradually this two-part form and style that began as the verbunkos became increasingly
popular among the aristocratic classes, and was renamed the csrds (Hungarian for country
inn.) The csrds became known as the national dance of Hungary in the latter half of the 19th
century, but with the turn of the 20th century and the eventual disintegration of the Empire, this
folk-like form began a gradual decline in popularity. Similarly, as a larger phenomenon, the
style hongrois gradually dissipated in use over the first two decades of the twentieth century, and
15

Jonathan Bellman, Csrds, Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007-2013.
Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber/article/grove/music/06918

23

has rarely been heard in compositions since that time. In these pieces, the style captures the
distinctive flavor of a specific time period in European history, and the unique blend of
Germanic song and aria form with the flavor, style and color of an individual Austro-Hungarian
subculture.

24

Fig. 2.1 Emmerich Klmn

Hre ich Zigeunergeigen- from Grfin Mariza - Emmerich Klmn
Emmerich Klmn was one of the twentieth centurys most successful producers of the
Viennese operetta, a genre also made popular by Johann Strauss (whose Die Fledermaus aria
Csrds is featured later in the program.) Like many Viennese operetta composers, Klmns
style drew heavily from the style hongrois in its inclusion of exotic elements of and references
to Hungarian gypsy music throughout his work. Klmn himself was Hungarian, and was a
fellow student of Bartk and Kodly at the Budapest Academy of Music during the early years of
the twentieth century. All of his operettas are set in Hungary, and he included many coloristic
instruments in his orchestration to provide Hungarian gypsy flavor to his pieces, including
glockenspiel, harp, celesta, tam-tam and of course, the ubiquitous gypsy fiddles.16 The aria
Hre ich Zigeunergeigen, an ode to the Gypsy violin and its incitement of wild passion and
exuberant living, is drawn from Klmns operetta Grfin Mariza or Countess Mariza. The
rhythms of this piece loosely follow the form of the csrds, with a stately opening theme
followed by a progressively wilder second section with a gradual but consistent accelerando.
The plot line follows a wealthy and sought-after Hungarian Countess, who has named
and promoted an imaginary fianc in efforts to fend off unwanted suitors. It is quite a surprise
when she throws a party and the imaginary man she has named shows up! After assorted

16

Andrew Lamb, Emmerich Klmn, Oxford Music Online, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007-2013. Article
url: http://oxfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber//article/grove/music/O007404.

25

explanations, machinations, and assurances of appropriate social standing, the Countess Mariza
and her mystery man agree to marry after all, and all ends well. The operetta was debuted in
Vienna in 1924, and was one of the composers most popular and well-known works.17
Hre ich Zigeunergeigen

Hear the Gypsy fiddle

Hre ich Zigeunergeigen,

Bei des Cymbals wildem Lauf.
Wird es mir ums Herz so eigen
Wachen alle Wnsche auf.
Klingt ein heisser Csrdstraum
Sinnbetrend durch den Raum.
Klingt ein toller, sehnsuchtsvoller,
Heisser, wilder Csrds Traum!
Winkt im Glase der Tokajer
Rot wie Blut und heiss wie Feuer
Komm und mach die Seele freier
Spiel, dazu, Zigeuner!
Willst du woll der Freude leben?
Soll dass Herz vor Lust erbeben,
Jauchzend sich zum Himmel heben!
Spiel, dazu, Zigeuner!
Willst du wild die Nacht durchzechen?
Wollen wir von Liebe sprechen?
Will das armes Herz auchbrechen?
Spiel, dazu, Zigeuner!
Spiel! Spiel! Spiel!
Spiele mit Gefhl!
Alles kannst du mit uns machen,
Weinen mssen wir und lachen,
Wie es deine Geige will!
Wo wohnt die Liebe?
Wer kanns mir sagen?
Wo wohnt die Liebe?
Wenn soll ich fragen?
Einmal das Herz in toller Lust verschenken,
Kssen, kssen und nicht denken!
Einmal, nur glcklich sein!
Wo wohnt die Liebe?
Wer kanns ergrunden?
Wo wohnt die Liebe?
Wer kann sie finden?

Hear the Gypsy fiddle,

Running with the wild Cymbals
Around my heart, it so strangely
Awakens all wishes.
Sound the hot Csrds dream
through the room.
Sound the great, full of longing,
Hot wild Csrds dream!
It beckons in the glass of Tokay,
Red like blood and hot like fire,
Come and make the soul free,
Play, Gypsy, Play!
Do you wish for the joy of living?
Should the heart tremble with desire,
Exulting to the heavens above!
Play, Gypsy, Play!
Would you like to go carousing in the night?
Would we speak of Love?
Will your poor heart also break?
Play, gypsy,
Play! Play! Play!
Play with feeling!
Everything you do with us,
We must cry and laugh,
As your tune wills it!
Where dwells Love?
Who can tell me?
Where dwells Love?
When should I ask?
Once the heart in great desire gives itself,
Kiss, kiss and think not!
Once only, to be happy!
Where dwells Love?
Who can say?
Where dwells Love?
Where can one find it?

17

Andrew Lamb, Emmerich Klmn, Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007-2013. Article
url: http://www.oxrfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber/grov/music/O007404.

26

Nur einmal, kssen bis der Liebe Flammen

Schlagen ber mir zusammen!
Einmal, nur glcklich sein!

Only once, to kiss until love flames

Flicker all around me!
One chance, only to be happy!

Fig. 2.2 Johannes Brahms

Zigeunerlieder Johannes Brahms

Brahms took the texts for these songs from Hugo Conrats German translations of
twenty-five Hungarian folksongs, and he reflects the Hungarian gypsy scenes depicted with a
variety of musical techniques. In the Hungarian language, words are almost always accented on
the first syllable. Brahms maintains this linguistic characteristic in these pieces, which although
written in German, each begin directly on the downbeat of each song, giving the effect of a
reference to the language of the Magyars.18The stamping triads characteristic of Gypsy music
are present in the first piece, and in the second half of the piece the melody echoes the whining,
crying quality in the Gypsy violins colorfully illustrated in the text.19 In song 3, of this set, he
draws from the tradition of the slow-fast csrds form, creating a miniature dance sequence.
Each stanza begins with a slow, more tender expression of love by the young man and his
maiden, following by an accelerated rhapsodic expression of passion by each lover. In song 5,
Brahms indulges in a bit of musical word-painting, echoing the coins thrown on the cymbals to

18

Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Style & Literature, (Redmond, Washington: Pst. Inc.) 1996, 116.

19

Matthew Head, Style Hongrois, Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007-2013.
Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.co:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/44652.

27

make them ring (another Hungarian gypsy tradition) through a high-pitched arpeggiated chord
in the right hand.

1.
He, Zigeuner, greife in die Saiten ein!
Spiel das Lied von ungetreuen Mgdelein.
Lass die Saiten, weinen, klagen, traurig, bange,
Bis die heisse Trne netzet diese Wange.

Hey, Gypsy, strike the strings!

Play the song of the untrue maiden.
Let the strings cry, mournfully, anxiously,
Until the hot tears roll down these cheeks.

2.
Hochgetrmte Rimaflut , wie bist du so trb.
An dem ufer klag ich laut noch dir mein Lieb.
Wellen, fliehen, wellen, strmen,
Rauschen an den Strand heran zu mir.
An dem Rimaufer, nach mich ewig.
Weinen nach ihr.

High, churning Rima waves, you are murky.

On the banks I lament still for you, my love.
Waves, flee, waves, flow,
Sweeping onto the beach close to me.
On the Rimas banks, I will cry
after her always.

3.
Wisst ihr, wann mein Kindchen,
Am allerschnsten ist?
Wenn ihr ssses Mndchen,
Scherzt und lacht und ksst.
Mgdelein, du bist mein,
Inniglich, kuss ich dich.
Dich erschuf der Liebe Himmel
Einzig nur fr mich.

Do you know, when my darling,

Is her most beautiful?
When her sweet mouth
Plays and laughs and kisses.
Maiden, you are mine,
fervently, I kiss you.
God in Heaven made you just for me alone
just for me alone.

Wisst ihr, wann mein Liebster

Am besten mir gefllt?
Wenn in seinen Armen
Er mich umschlungen hlt.
Schtzelein, du bist mein,
Inniglich, kss ich dich.
Dich erschuf der Liebe Himmel
einzig nur fr mich!

Do you know when my sweetheart

pleases me the most?
When in his arms
he holds me closely.
Sweetheart, you are mine,
Fervently I kiss you.
God in heaven made you
just for me alone!

4.
Lieber Gott, du weisst,
wie oft bereut ich hab
Dass ich meine Liebchen
einst ein Ksschen gab.
Herz gebot, dass ich ihn kssen muss
Denk so lang ich leb an diesen ersten Kuss.

Dear God, you know

how often I have rued
That to my dear beloved
I once gave a kiss.
My heart told me, that I must kiss him.
My whole life, I will think of that first kiss.

28

Lieber Gott du weisst

Wie oft in stiller Nacht
Ich in Lust und Leid
An meinem Schatz gedacht.
Lieb ist sss, wenn bitter auch die Reu.
Armes Herze bleibt in ewig, ewig Treu.
5.
Brauner Bursche, fhrt zum tanzen
Sein blauugig schnes Kind.
Schlgt die Sporen keck zusammen,
Csrds Melodie beginnt!
Ksst und Herz
Sein ssses Tubchen.
Dreht sie, fuhrt sie,
Jauchzt und springt.
Wirft drei blanke silbergulden
Auf das Cymbal das es klingt!

Dear God, you know

how often in the still night
I in joy and sorrow,
Thought on my dear sweetheart.
Love is sweet, when bitter also is remorse.
My poor heart remains ever, ever true.
The brown-haired lad leads to the dance
His blue-eyed pretty girl.
Clinking his spurs together,
The Csrds melody begins!
He kisses and caresses
his sweet dove.
Whirls her, leads her,
shouts and springs about.
Throw three shiny silver coins
O the cymbal so it rings!

6.
Rslein dreie in der Reihe blhn so Rot,
Dass der Bursch zum Mdel geht ist kein Verbot!
Lieber Gott, wenn das verboten wr,
Stndt die schne weite Welt so langst nicht mehr!
Ledig bleibe Snde wr!
Schnstes Stdtchen in Alfld ist Ketschkemet.
Dort gibt es gar viele Mdchen schmuck und nett.
Freunde, sucht euch dort ein Brutchen aus.
Freit um ihre Hand und grndet euer Haus,
Freundebecher leeret aus!

Little roses, three in a row bloom so red,

That the lad visits his girl, is not forbidden!
Dear Lord, if that was forbidden,
This beautiful world would no longer exist!
To stay single would be a sin!
The prettiest town in Alfld is Ketschkemet.
There are so many girls, pretty and nice.
Friends, go there to choose a little bride.
Ask for her hand and establish your home,
Then empty cups of joy!

7.
Kommt dir manchmal in den Sinn,
Mein ssses Lieb,
Was du einst mit heilgem Eide mir gelobt?
Tusch mich nicht, verlass mich nicht.
Du weiss nicht, wie Lieb ich dich hab.
Lieb du mich, wie ich dich,
Dann strmt Gottes huld auf dich herab.

Do you sometimes remember in your soul,

My sweet love,
What you once with holy oath to me vowed?
Replace me not, leave me not.
You know not, how much I love you.
Love me as I love you,
Then Gods grace will descend on you.

8.
Rote Abendwolken
ziehn am Firmament,
Sehnsuchts voll nach dir mein Lieb,
Das Herze brennt.
Himmel strahlt in glhn der Pracht,
Und ich trum bei Tag und Nacht,

Red evening clouds move

Across the firmament,
Full of longing after you, my love,
The heart burns.
The heavens shine in glowing splendor,
And I dream, day and night,

29

Nur allein von den sssen Liebchen mein.

Only of my sweet love.

Fig. 2. 3 Johann Strauss

Klnge der Heimat from Die Fledermaus Johann Strauss
As previously mentioned, famed composer Johann Strauss wrote a number of successful
Viennese operettas, of which Die Fledermaus or The Bat is one of the most enduring. Unlike
Klmns works which uniformly take place in the composers native Hungary, Strauss sets this
operetta in his home city of Vienna, and peoples it with characters drawn from the Viennese
aristocracy of the time. However, like Klmn, in this particular aria, Klnge der Heimat
(alternately entitled Csrds), Strauss pulls heavily from the style hongrois, adding a moment
of Hungarian gypsy flair to the otherwise more Germanic scene and style. The aria begins with a
sinuous line in the piano, outlining elements of a gypsy scale common in Hungarian music
(with a transposed pattern of c-d-eb-f#-g-a-b-c.) and small motives taken from this scale are
echoed through the first half of the piece. Like Klmns aria from Grfin Mariza, the form of
the piece also follows the Hungarian csrds dance form outlined earlier, with a slower
beginning section, leading to a frenzied accelerando at the end of the piece.
In this aria, the Viennese Rosalinde has gone in disguise as a Hungarian countess to a ball
held by Russian Prince Orlofsky. Rosalinde knows her husband has gone to the party secretly
without her, and she is looking to expose him in his unfaithful ways. She sings this aria in
character as Hungarian nobility, allowing the audience in on her tongue-in-cheek, highly
empassioned devotion to her supposed homeland. Her husband is predictably enchanted by the
30

strange womans allure and his wandering ways are revealed. He promtply repents, she forgives,
and again, alls well that ends well, at least in operetta. Strausss work debuted in 1874, and it
has since remained a favorite among both producers of operetta and opera alike. 20
Klnge der Heimat

Sounds of my homeland

Klnge der Heimat,

,
Ihr weckt mir dass Sehnen,
Rufet die Trnen, ins Auge mir!
Wenn ich euch hre, ihr heimlichen Lieder,
Zieht michs wieder mein Ungarland, zu dir!
you!
O Heimat, so wunderbar,
Wie strahlt dort die Sonne so klar!
Wie grn deiner Wlder,
Wie lachend die Felder,
O Land, wo so glcklich ich war!
!
Ja, dein geliebtes Bild
Meine Seele so ganze erfllt.
Und bin ich auch von dir weit,
Ach, weit, Ah!
Dir bleibt in Ewigkeit doch,
Mein Sinn immer dar,
Ganze allein geweiht!
Feuer, Lebenslust,
schwellt echt Ungarbrust.
Hei! zum Tanze schnell,
Csrds tnt so hell!
Braunes Mgdelein;
Musst meine Tnzrin sein,,
Reicht dem Arm geschwind,
Dunkelugig Kind!
Durstge Zecher
,
Greift zum Becher,
Lasst ihn Kreise,
Schnell von Hand zu Hand!
Schlrft das Feuer
Im Tokajer!
Bringt ein Hoch aus dem Vaterland!

Sounds of my homeland,
you awaken my longing,
Bringing tears to my eyes!
When I hear you, native songs,
You draw me back, my Hungary, to
O homeland, so wonderful,
How shines still the sun so bright!
How green are your forests,
how cheerful your fields,
O country, where I was so happy!
Yes, your beloved image
Completely fills my soul.
And I also am far from you,
Oh, so far!
To you I still offer in Eternity,
My soul forever,
Wholly devoted to you!
Fire, love of life,
Swells the real Hungarian breast.
Hey quickly to the dance,
The Csrds rings so clearly!
Brunette maiden,
You must be my dance partner,
Give me your arm quickly,
Dark eyed girl!
Thirsty drinker,
Seize the glass,
Around the circle,
Pass it quickly from hand to hand!
Taste the fire
in the Tokay!
Raise a toast high to the fatherland!

20

Andrew Lamb. Die Fledermaus. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007-2013.
Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber/article/grove/music/O901956.

31

Fig. 2.4 Antonn Dvok

Zigeunermelodien Antonn Dvok 1880
Widely considered among Dvoks finest songs, the composers Zigeunermelodien are
rich in dramatic contrast, textural effects and references to the freedom and joys of the nomadic
character of gypsy life. The texts are chosen from a book of poetry published by Adolf Heyduk
in Czech in 1859. However, Dvok wrote them with a specific tenor in mind (one Gustav
Walter) whom Dvok had met in Vienna and who only spoke German. Due to his singers
linguistic skills and the Viennese audience for which these songs were debuted, Heyduk and
Dvok translated the poems into German for performance, while also maintaining the rhythms
and possibility of performance of the original Czech. 21This is one good example of the frequent
necessity of Germanization within the Austro-Hungarian milieu, but also of one composers
striving to infuse national and ethnic character into his song repertoire. Dvok draws on
Hungarian gypsy dance rhythms in Songs #2, 5 and 6, expansive melodic lines to evoke the farwandering nature of the Gypsy, and pianistic references to the cimbalom (or Hungarian
hammered dulcimer) in song #5 as well. 22

1.
Mein Lied ertnt ein Liebespsalm,
Beginnt der Tag zu sinken,
Und wenn das Moos der welke Halm
Tauperlen heimlich trinken,
Mein Lied ertnt, voll Wanderlust,
21
22

My songs sounds a love-psalm,

The day begins to sink,
When from moss, the wilted grass,
Dew-drop pearls secretly drink,
My song sounds, full of wanderlust,

David Adams, The Song and Duet Texts of Antnin Dvok, (New York. Leyerle Publications.) 2003, 158.
Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Style & Literature, (Redmond, Washington: Pst. Inc.) 1996, 236.

32

In grnen Waldeshallen,
Und auf der Pussta weitem Plan,
Lass frohen Sang ich schallen!
Mein Lied ertnt, voll Liebe auch,
Wenn Haidestrme toben,
Wenn sich zu letzten Lebenshauch,
Des Bruders Brust gehoben.

In green forest halls

And on the wide Pussta plain,
I let the joyful song sound!
My song sounds, also full of Love,
When heather storms rage,
When in the last lifes breath,
a brothers breast is lifted!

2.
Ei! Ei, wie mein Triangel
wunderherrlich lautet!
Leicht bei solchen Klngen,
In den Tod man schreitet!
In den Tod man schreitet
beim Triangelschallen.
Lieder, Reigen, Liebe,
Lebewohl dem Allen

Oh! Oh, how my triangle

Wonderfully sounds!
Easily by the same sounds,
One could march through death!
One could march through death
By the triangles sounds.
Songs, dances, love,
Farewell to everything!

3.
Rings is der Wald so stumm und still,
Das Herz schlgt mir so bange.
anxiously.
Der schwarze Rausch sinkt tiefer stets
Und trocknet meine Wange.
Ei meine Trnen trocknen nicht,
Msst andre Wangen suchen!
Wer nur den Schmerz besingen kann,
wird nicht dem Tode fluchen.

The dark smoke sinks always deeper

And dries my cheeks.
Oh, my tears should not dry,
They must be felt by other cheeks!
Who can simply sing, in pain,
Will not curse death.

4.
Als die Alte Mutter,
Mich noch lehrte singen,
Trnen in den Wimpern,
Gar so oft ihr hingen.
Jetzt wo ich die kleinen
Selber ub in Sangen,
Rieselts in den Bart oft
Rieselts oft von den brauen Wangen.

Like my old Mother,

Who taught me to sing,
Tears in her eyes,
So often would catch there.
Now when I sing
To the children myself,
Tears trickle down the beard often,
Trickle down the brown cheeks.

5.
Reingestimmt die Saiten,
Bursche, tanz ihm Kreise!
Heute, froh und morgen,
Trb nach alter Weise.
Nchste Tag am Nile,
Am dem Vter Tische,

Tune the strings,

Lad, dance in the circle!
Today, happily and tomorrow
Mournful, after the old wisdom.
The next day by the Nile,
As at our fathers table,

The forest sounds so mute and silent,

The heart beats within me so

33

Reingestimmt die Saiten,

In den Tanz dich mische!

Tune the strings,

Mingle together in the dance!

6.
In dem weitem, breitem,
Luftgen Leinenkleide,
Freier der Zigeuner
Als ihns Gold und Seide.
Jaj, der goldne Dolman
Schnrt die Brust so enge
Hemmt des freien Liedes,
Wanderfrohen Klnge,
An der Lieder Schallen.
Lsst das Gold, das schnde
In die Hlle fallen!

In the wide, ample

airy linen dress,
Freer is the Gypsy
than in gold and silk.
Yes, the gold Dolman
binds the chest so tightly,
Hemming in the free songs,
Happily wandering sounds.
In songs resounding.
Let the Gold, with contempt,
Fall into Hell!!!

7.
Darf des Falkens Schwinge
Tatrahhn umrauschen
Wird des Felsennest er mit
Den Kfig tauschen?
Kann das wilde Fhlen,
Jagen durch die Haide,
Wird ans Zaum und Zgel finden
Seine Freude?
Hat, Natur, Zigeuner, etwas
dir gegeben?
Jaj, zur Freiheit schuf sie mir
Dass ganze, dass ganze Leben!

Can the winged falcon

Rustling through the High Tatras
Its cliffside nest
Exchange with a cage?
Can the wild foal,
Chasing through the heather,
find in the bridle and rein
His joy?
Has Nature, Gypsy,
given something to you?
Yes, for freedom, she created
My whole life!

34

Im Volkston: The Czech folk influence on works by Dvok, Janek, Smetana

This recital is the third in a series of three on the topic Im Volkston: The CentralEastern-European folk influence on vocal art music from select Austro-Hungarian
composers. This series is a musical, historical and linguistic journey through the synthesis of
Central-Eastern-European folk elements and Western art music by some of the most well-known
Austro-Hungarian composers. The songs presented will include rarely performed vocal works
by established composers including Bartk, Kodly, Brahms, Dvok and Janek, set in the
three most widely spoken languages in Austro-Hungary: German, Hungarian and Czech (with
one cycle including both Czech and Moravian Slovak songs.) This third recital will showcase
works by three native Czech composers: Antonn Dvok, Leo Janek, and Bedich Smetana,
and illustrate the influence of Czech folk song, folk poetry, and culture on their musical style.

The dual monarchy of Austro-Hungary, which existed from 1867-1918, was a melting
pot of cultural diversity and blending present in art song and opera. The realm comprised
modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Slovenia, large sections of Serbia and Romania and small parts of Italy, Montenegro, Poland and
Ukraine. This presence of many unique cultures and languages within one empire, led to a
flourishing of new art music. This music displayed the needs of various cultural groups
attempting to find their own clear voices within a Germanized cultural sphere. According to
Grouts History of Western Music,

The search for an independent, native voice - one important aspect of nationalism was
keenest in England, France the US, Russia, and the countries of eastern Europe, where
the dominance of German music was felt as a threat to home-grown musical creativity.

35

By employing native folksongs and dances or imitating their musical character,

composers could develop a style that had ethnic identity, although individual composers
in these countries differed in their interest in a nationalistic agenda

In the first recital of the series, an exploration of the work of two Austro-Hungarian
composers, Bartk and Kodly, was presented, with a focus on arrangements of their own native
Hungarian folk melodies in creating the unique ethnic identity mentioned by Grout. The
second recital presented examples of the musical influence of the gypsy or Roma subculture,
and more particularly Hungarian gypsy subculture within the traditional genres of German lied
and operetta. This style was so frequently represented in Austro-Hungarian composers work it
became known as the style hongrois or French for Hungarian style. In this third recital, the
influence of Czech folk poetry, folksong, and culture on art song and aria is explored in works by
Dvok, Janek, and Smetana, as is the desire of these Czech composers to create their own
native voice.in art music.

Leo Janeks
Folksongs from Leo Janeks Moravsk lidov poesie v psnch
(Moravian folk poetry in song)
The beginning set of this evenings program is taken from Leo Janeks volume of 53
Moravian folksongs, Moravsk lidov poesie v psnch or Moravian folk poetry in song, set for
voice and piano, and first published in 1908. Over the course of his career, Leo Janek set
more than 150 Moravian, Silesian and Slovakian folk songs with his own piano
accompaniments. As Brtk and Kodly did in their native Hungarian lands, Janek spent a
significant portion of his career collecting folksongs from his native Czech area near the

36

Moravian border, as well as studying those folksongs already collected and published by Erben,
Suil and Barto. According in Bohumr tdro in his preface to the Barenreiter edition of
these songs:

Folk song was for [Janek] the complete embodiment of man, body, soul and
environment. In his view, folk song had a unifying spirit, in which unadulterated man
was revealed in his original culture, not in an adopted one... 23

All of Janeks songs are settings of actual folk melodies, retaining both the original
folk poetry and the tunes that he and others had collected from their native lands. While Dvok
(whose compositions will be heard later in the program) was a mentor and inspiration to Janek,
the two composers differ in this regard. As David Adams mentions these differences in regards
to the works from each composer included on this program:

Folk-song as art-song comes about in one of two ways; either the composer takes a folkpoem with no specific musical associations and sets it to music, or a composer takes a
folk-poem along with a traditional melody associated with it and arranges it harmonically
and with newly composed features of accompaniment. Dvoks V narodnim tonu, and
Moravian Duets are examples of the former, all of the many folk song settings of
Dvoks close friend Janek are of the latter. 24

23

Leo Janek, Moravsk lidov poesie v psnch (Moravian Folk Poetry in Song.) (Kassel, London: Barenreiter)
1976, Preface.
24
David Adams, The Song and Duet Texts of Antnin Dvok, (New York. Leyerle Publications.) 2003.

37

Janek also retains more minute and subtle folk elements such as the notation of small
accents or grace notes, called sasovka. which connect the songs further to their original style.
He imitates native instrumentation at various points as well, for example, quick accents and runs in
the song Muzikanti which reference the cymbals and strings mentioned in the text. 25

Tuba

Desire

Ej, Janku, Janku,

voav hebku,
Jaks ty mn zavol
V tom irm poleku.

Hey, John, Johnny

Like sweet cloves
to me
you are scented.

To moje srdenko
Tak ve mn buchoce
Jako ta rybnka
V hlubokm potoce.

To my heart
Your love
Is as the silverfish
In the deep creek

Laveka
Ta naa laveka
Aj, u sa polmala
Co sem ze synekem
Aj, na n sedvala

The benches
Oh, already they are broken
where the lad
Oh. rested on it.

Byla to laveka
Aj z deva olovho
Bl ten mj syneek
Srdenka falenho.

It was the benches

Behold the wood
Where I gave my lad
My heart.

Ta naa laveka
Na dv sa rozdlila
e nae srdenka
Ob dv rozlila

The benches
were split in twain
where our hearts
were together.

Ty naa laveko
Aj, zrstni sa mi ee
Starodvn galn
Aj navrat sa mi ee!

The benches
oh, come back to me, still
Old lover
Oh, return to me still!

Muzikanti
25

Leo Janek, Moravsk lidov poesie v psnch (Moravian Folk Poetry in Song., (Kassel, London: Barenreiter)
1976, Preface.

38

Muzikanti, co dlte
Aj, mte husle a nehrte.

Musicians, what will we do

If you dont play the violin!

Zahrte mn na cimble
At moja mil vesel je.

Play for me the cymbals,

That make my dear one cheerful!

Zahrte mn na husliky
A rozveselte ty driky.

Play for me those trumpets

To cheer up those maidens!

Zahrte mn na t basu,
A rozveselte vecku chasu.

Play for me this bass

And cheer up the whole party!

Zahrte mn veci spolu,

A vyprovodte mn a domu.

Play me all the instruments together

And escort me to the house!

Stlost

Constancy

Zelen sem sela,

erven m schod
Povz mi syneku
Kdo tebe rozvod.

I have sown green

The red stairs
Tell me. lad
Who you divide

Rozvod, rozvod
Cel m rodina
e si ty chudobnj
Mamnky dvina.

Divide, divide
All the family
And the poor
Girls mother

Nedaj, Boe, nedaj

Fialence rozkvst
Nedaj sa, syneku
Od creky rozvst.

It cannot be, God, it cannot

Red blooming.
I wont allow it, lad
Red blooms.

ak j nedm, nedm
Ani nerozved
Dokud j, creko,
Dokud j iv budu.

I wont give
Not a divorce
While I live,
While I live.

Fig. 3.1 Antonn Dvok

39

V nrodnm tnu (In Folk Tone) by Antonn Dvok

The four songs of Dvoks V nrodnm tnu, like the Moravian Duets also included on the
program, are settings of native folk-poetry texts from Moravia and neighboring areas, the easternmost part of the Czech lands. This particular cycle uses texts from the border between Moravia
and Slovakia. Thus, three of songs in the cycle (Dobr noc, alo dieva, alo trvu and Ej,
mm j koa faku) are in a dialect that is closer to Slovak than Czech. (The Slovak and Czech
languages are very closely related speakers of one can usually understand the other - although
only a few of the diction differences manifest themselves in these particular songs.) The third of
the four songs, Ach, nen tu is in standard Czech. These songs, dating from 1886 are interesting
in that they are some of Dvoks first settings of folk poetry (after the Moravian Duets) and thus
set a precedent not only for his later work, but for many Czech composers following him,
including Leo Janek, Vitzslav Novk, Bohuslav Martin, and Petr Eben. 26

1. Dobr noc

Good night

Folk poem from the Slovcko region (Moravian Slovakia) (in Slovak)
Dobr noc, m ml, dobr noc,
Nech ti je Pn Boh sm, na pomoc.
Dobr noc, dobre spi,
Nech sa ti , snvaj, mil sny.
Snvaj sa, ti snok, ach snvaj,
Ked stane, snoku veru daj,
e ta j milujem,
Srdeko svoje ti darujem.

Good night, my dear, good night,

May the Lord God help you.
Good night, good sleep,
May you dream pleasant dreams.
Dream a little dream, ah dream,
When you rise, believe the dream,
That you I love,
That to you, I give my heart.

2. alo dieva, alo trvu

A maiden reaped grass

Folk poem from the Slovcko region (Moravian Slovakia) (in Slovak)
26

David Adams,The Song and Duet Texts of Antnin Dvok. (New York. Leyerle Publications.) 2010, 123.

40

alo dieva, alo trvu

Nedaleko Temevru
Ked naalo, poviazalo,
Na uhajka zavolalo:
uhaj, uhaj, z druhej strany,
Pod mi dvhat batoh travy!
Nech ti dvha, otec, mti,
Nechce-li ta za ma dti.
Ete ta len kolimbali,
U ta a ma slubovali:
Ete si len hsky psla,
U si v mojom srdci riastla.

A maiden reaped grass

not far from Temesvar.
When the grass was reaped and bound
to a lad she called,
Lad, lad, on the other side,
Come and lift the sack of grass for me!
Let your father or mother lift it,
since they dont wish to give you to me.
Even as they rocked you in the cradle,
Already they promised you to me..
Even as you tended the geese,
You already grew in my heart.

3. Ach, nen tu

`Oh,there is nothing here

Folk poem from Bohemia (in Czech)

Ach, nen, nen tu co by mn tilo;
Ach! nen tu, nen co m t.
Co m tvalo, vodou uplynulo.
Ach, nen tu, nen co m ts.
Vdycky mn dvj co se mn nelb.
Vdycky mn dvj co j nechci.
Dvaj mn vdovce ten m jen pl srdce.

Oh, there is nothing here that would please me.

Oh, there is nothing here that pleases me.
What pleased me has floated away with water.
Ah, there is nothing here that pleases me.
Always they give to me what does not appeal
Always they give me what I dont want.
They give me a widower with only half a heart.

4. Ej, mm j koa faku

Hey, I have a strong horse

Folk poem from the Slovcko region (Moravian Slovakia) (in Slovak)
Ej, mm j koa faku co ma dobre nos,
Po horach, po dolach, po studenej rosi.
Ej, mal som skorenku zlmala si noku,
Podaj mi m mil erstvej vody troku.
Ej! Mal som frajereku ako iskereku;
Ale ma sklamala strela v jej srdieku!

Hey, I have a strong horse who carries me well.

Over mountains, valleys, over the cold dew.
Hey, I had a little mouse that broke its leg.
My dear, bring me some fresh water!
Hey, I had a girl like a little spark,
But the arrow failed me in her heart!

Ach, jak zal - Ten lsky sen From Prodan Nevsta (The Bartered Bride)
by Bedich Smetana
The opera Prodan Nevsta (The Bartered Bride) was one those of written by Smetana in
his quest to create a uniquely Czech version of the art form. Written in 1866, its premiere was

41

conducted by Smetana himself at the Czech provisional theatre in Prague, which would later
become the Prague National Theatre. The theatre itself stands as a sign of the pride of the Czech
people, as its construction was funded almost completely by private donations to create an opera
house that would rival those in Vienna and other Austro-German locales. 27
This aria is taken from the third act of the opera. In this scene, the character of Maenka,
the ingnue of the opera, believes she has been deserted by Jenk, the man she truly loves, who
appears to have sold his contract to marry her for a significant sum of money. (This later turns
out in fact not to be the case but does provide the title for the opera The Bartered Bride.) A
simple and somewhat immature young man, Vaek, seem to be the next in line for her hand.
Maenkas and Vaeks parents along with Kecal, the scheming marriage broker, strongly
encourage her to think wisely about her future. After they leave, she sings this plaintive aria,
mourning the believed loss of her true love. 28

Ach, jak zal - Ten lsky sen

Oh, what woe! The dream of love

Ach, jk l! jk to al,
Kdy srdce oklamno!
Vak pece jet nevm
A stoj tam napsno,
Nevm, a s nm promluvm.
Snad ani o tom nev!
k se mi v nesnzi te skuten
Pravda zvjev!

Oh, what woe! What woe!

When a heart is deceived!
Though I still dont believe it,
Although it stands there in writing.
I wont believe it until I speak with him.
Perhaps he doesnt even know of it!
Oh, in my distress let the real,
Real truth be shown to me!

Ten lsky sen, jak krsn byl

Jak nadjn rozkvtal
A nad ubohm srdcem mm
Co tich hvzda svtal
Jak blah ivot s milencem
V snu tomto sem si padla!

The dream of love, how beautiful it was

How hopefully it bloomed!
And over my distraught heart
It was shining like silent star.
How in this dream an blissful life
With my love I saw!

27 27

Timothy Cheek, The Bartered Bride Prodan Nevsta: A Performance Guide with Translations and
Pronunciation, (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.) 2010, 3.
28
Ibid, 3.

42

Tu osud pivl vichici

a re lsky svadla.
Ne, nen mon tak klam, ne,
Nen, mon tak klam!
Tent smutnou by byl ranou,
A rozplakala by se zem
Nad laskou pochovano.

Now destiny rushed like a storm,

And loves rose has withered.
No, such betrayal is not possible,
No, such betrayal is not possible, no.
It would be a bitter pain,
And the earth would burst in tears
Over the entombed love.

Selections from Moravsk dvojzpvy (Moravian Duets) - Antonn Dvok

The duets presented next are chosen from 23 duets written by Dvok between 1875 and
1877 (The five chosen are from the ten set specifically for soprano and mezzosoprano/contralto.) Dvok was acquainted with a well-off businessman in Prague named Jan
Neff (he gave piano lessons to Neffs children), who requested that the composer arrange some
folksongs from a collection by Frantiek Suil. In the end, Dvok chose to create his own
melodies for the two singers in these pieces, while retaining the Moravian texts of the original
folksongs from the Suil collection. Like the folksong settings of Janek from the beginning of
the program, the texts for these duets are in a Moravian dialect, which still considered Czech,
differs slightly from standard Czech in grammar, spelling and pronunication.29 These duets are
charming, melodically appealing, and easily accessible to most listeners. Like the set of
Moravian Slovak and Czech folk texts presented in V nrodnm tnu, the images and stories
depicted present a timeless portrait of rural life in the Moravian lands, mirroring the common
relationships between man and nature, farmsman and noble, bridegroom and bride. As most of
the folk poetry and songs published by Dvok and other Czech composers, they were originally
published with German as well as Czech texts, as the common perception was that the German
language was the more dominant and marketable idiom for art song. However, Dvok clearly
wrote these songs to be performed in Czech for a Czech speaking audience.
29

David Adams, The Song and Duet Texts of Antnin Dvok. (New York. Leyerle Publications.) 2003, 56.

43

1. Prsten

The Ring

Hraj, muziko, hraj

Play, musicians, play

Hraj, muziko, hraj

Z cicha na Dunaj,
Budem sa ubrat na milho kraj.
A vy, forman irujte kon,
A vy drubov,
Sedajte na n!
Ztratila jsem vnek,
Mj zlat prstnek
U mamiky mej.
U mej matery v truhle zamen
ervnm jabkem s milho
Srdekem zapeacen.

Play, band, play,

from the quiet on the Danube,
We will go towards the country of my dear.
And you, drivers, saddle the horses,
And you groomsmen,
mount them!
I have lost my garland,
And my golden ring
At my mothers house.
At my mothers, locked in the chest
With the red apple
Sealed with the heart of my dear one.

A j ti uplynu

From you I will float away

A j ti uplynu
Pre po Dunajiku!
A j chovm doma takov udiku,
Co na n ulovm kdejak rybiku.
A j se udlm divokm holubem,
A j budu ltat pod vysokm nebem.
A j chovm doma takov havrany,
Co mn vychytaj kdejak holuby!
A j se udlam t velik vran,
A j ti uletm na uhersk stranu.
A j chovm doma takovtu kusu,
Co ona vystel vechnm vranm duu.
A j se udlam hvezdiku na nebi,
A j budu lidem svtiti na zemi.
A s u ns doma takov hvezdi,
Co vypoitaj hvezdiky na nebi.
A ty pec bude ma
Lebo mi t Pn Buh da!

From you I will drift away

on the Danube!
I have at home a fishing rod,
With which I will catch all kinds of fish.
And I will turn myself into a wild dove,
And I will fly beneath the high sky,
And I have at home such ravens,
They will catch all kinds of doves for me.
And I will turn myself into a great crow,
And I will fly to you on the Hungarian side.
At home I have a crossbow,
Which will shoot the souls of all the crows.
I wll become a little star in the sky,
And I will shine on the people of the earth.
And among us at home are such astronomers
Who count stars in the sky.
And you will be mine yet
Because the Lord God will give you to me.

Dyby byla kosa nabren

If the scythe were sharp

Dyby byla kosa nabren

Dyby byla votava
Co by vona drobn jetelinku
Co by vona upala!
A upaj, upaj, drobn jetelinko
Co je mn po tob

If the scythe were sharpened

If there was a second growth of grass,
How it would cut into the small clover!
How it would cut into it,
And cut, cut the small clover!
What are you to me, my golden maid,

44

M zlat panenko,
Co je mn po tob dys ty se mn provdala!

What are you to me,

Now that you married someone else!

Zajta

Captive

alo dve, alo trvu

Nedaleko vinohradu.
Pn se na u z okna diva,
On si na u ruk kv.
iruj koi iruj kon ,
Pojedeme v ire pole,
ir pole projdali,
A sa k dvati dostali.
Daj nm, dve, daj nm zloh,
es na panskm trvu alo!
Dvala jim sv plachtiku,
Pn ju pojal za ruciku.
U si dve u si moj,
Lb sa mn liko tvoje.
Tob moje a mn tvoje,
Lbija sa nm oboje.

A maiden mowed grass

Near the vineyard.
Her lord looks at her from the window,
And waves his hand at her.
Saddle the horses, coachman,
we will ride to the wide field.
They rode through the wide field,
Until they reached the maiden.
Give us payment, maid,
for the lords grass you mowed.
She gave him her scarf,
The lord took her by the hand.
You are mine already,
Your blushing cheek pleases me.
Mine pleases you and yours mine.
We are both to each others liking.

Neveta

Comfort

Hjku zelen, kdo ta hjit bude?

Myslivca zabili, hajnho nebude.
Hijku zelen, u sem ta dohjil
Galaneko moja, u sem kvm dochodil
Hajicku zeleny kdo ta hajit bude?
Galanecko moja, kdo kvam chodit bude?
Ee su hjc co mia hjvali.
Ee s pacholci, co knm chodvali.
Ee su hjc co mia hajit bud,
Ee s pacholci, co knm chodit budu.

Green forests, who will guard you?

The hunter is killed, theres no gamekeeper
Green forests, already I have guarded you,
My lass, already I have come to you
Green forests, who will guard you?
My lass, who will go to you?
There are still guards that guard me;
There are still lads who have come to me.
There are still guards that will guard me
There are still lads who will come to me.

Msiku na nebi hlubokm (Song to the Moon) from Rusalka Antonn Dvok
The famed Song to the Moon aria, which closes the program this evening, is taken
from Dvoks opera Rusalka, which was debuted at the Prague National Theatre in 1901 and
tells the tale of the tragic love story of a water nymph and a human prince. This tale has taken
many forms in various cultures, and Americans will no doubt recognize elements of the story

45

from either Hans Christian Andersens version or its most recent incarnation as The Little
Mermaid of Disney fame. However, in Rusalka, Dvok and his librettist Jaroslav Kvapil drew
their version of the timeless tale from uniquely Czech sources, particularly the Czech collection
of folk tales compiled by Karel Jaromr Erben, entitled Kytice z pov or A Garland of national
tales/fales/legends/myths. The librettist Kvapil himself wrote,

I beganto design an opera text with the tone of Erben. I think that the libretto of
Rusalka is very Czech and that its happy fate surely lay in deciding on the spirit of Erben,
of which Antonn Dvok had so much instinctive understanding. 30

The aria takes place in Act I, as the opera opens in a moon-lit glade by the side of a lake,
surrounded by trees. Wood sprites and water sprites play back and forth between forest and
waves, unobserved by human eyes. Vodnk, an elder male water sprite, notices his daughter,
Rusalka (the Czech word for water nymph), lingering in a melancholy mood by the edge of the
water. Upon questioning her, she reveals that she has fallen in love with a human, a Prince, and
wishes to leave their watery kingdom for the land of the golden sun. Vodnk is dismayed and
tells her she must seek help from Jeibaba, a witch. Before going to see the witch, Rusalka turns
to the moon and urges it to tell the man she loves that she waits for him. Rippling motives in the
accompaniment evoke both the water of the lake and the movements of clouds obscuring and
clearing the sight of the moon overhead, gracefully framing Rusalkas memorable and beautiful
melody line in this aria.

31

30

Timothy Cheek, The Bartered Bride Prodan Nevsta: A Performance Guide with Translations and
Pronunciation,. (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.) 2010. 8.
31
Ibid. 3.

46

Msiku na nebi hlubokm

Moon in the broad sky,

Msiku na nebi hlubokm

Svtlo tv daleko vid
Po svt bloud irokm
Dv se v pbytky lid

Moon in the broad sky,

your beams see far away,
Around the entire world you roam,
You see into the homes of people.

Msiku postj, chvli

ekni mi, kde je mj mil

Moon, wait for a moment, answer me,

Where is my love?

ekni mu, stbrn msku

M e jej objma rm
Aby si alespo chviliku
Vzpomenul ve snn na mne.

Tell him, oh pale moon,

That my arms embrace him,
So that he, for at least a moment,
May see me in his dreams.

Zasvt mu do daleka, zasvt mu,

ekni mu, ekni, kdo tu na ek

Give him your far away beams,

Tell him, that I wait for him here!

O mn-li due lidsk sn,

At se tou vzpomnkou vzbud!
Msku, nezhasni.

Oh, if his human heart dreams of me,

Let this vision awake!
Moon, remain with me!

47

Bibliography
Publications
Adams, David, 2003. The Song and Duet Texts of Antnin Dvok. New York. Leyerle
Publications.
(A comprehensive guide to the complete songs of Dvok, including historical
background of each song/song set, IPA and multiple translations, and general background
research on Dvok's life and times.)
Antokoletz, Elliott. 1997. Bla Bartk: A Guide to Research. 2nd ed. New York and London:
Garland Publishing, Inc.
Bellman, Jonathan. Csrds. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007-2013.
Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber/article/grove/music/06918
Bellman, Jonathan. Verbunkos. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 20072013. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber/article/grove/music/06918
Bres, Jzsef. 2009.Szp Magyar nek (Fine Hungarian Song.) Magyarorszg (Hungary):
Akovita.
(An anthology of fine Hungarian folk tunes (melodies only), with extensive background
notes given on each in Hungarian and English)
Cheek, Timothy. 2010. The Bartered Bride Prodan Nevsta: A Performance Guide with
Translations and Pronunciation. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
__________. 2009. Rusalka: A Performance Guide with Translations and Pronunciation.
Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
Grout, Donald Jay and Claude V. Palisca. 1996. A History of Western Music, 5th ed. New York
and London: W.W. Norton & Company.)
Head, Matthew. Style Hongrois. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 20072013. Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.co:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/44652.
Kimball, Carol. 1996. Song: A Guide to Style & Literature. Redmond, Washington: Pst. Inc.
(A comprehensive overview and style and listening guide for the major classical styles
and composers from each geographical region.)
Lamb, Andrew. Grfin Mariza. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 20072013.
Lamb, Andrew. Die Fledermaus. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 20072013. Article url:
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber/article/grove/music/O901956.

48

Lamb, Andrew. Emmerich Klmn. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2007-2013. Article url:
http//www.oxfordmusiconline.com80/subscriber/article/grove/music/O007404.
Srosi, Balint. Hungary. Oxford Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007-2013.
Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/13562.
Wilkinson, Irn Kertsz. Gypsy [Roma-Sinti-Traveller] music. Oxford Music Online. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. 2007-2013.
Article url: http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com:80/subscriber/article/grove/music/4142
Musical Scores
Bartk, Bla and Zoltn Kodly. 1990. Magyar npdalok, nekhangra zongoraksrettel.
(Hungarian folksongs with Hungarian words for voice with piano.) Budapest: Zenemukiad
Vllalat.
Bartk, Bla. 1955. Nyolc Magyar Npdal (Eight Hungarian Folksongs.) London: Boosey &
Hawkes.
___________. 1939.20 Magyar Npdal (Twenty Hungarian Folksongs.) London: Boosey &
Hawkes Ltd.
___________. 2004. Tz Magyar dal nekhangra s zongorra (Ten Hungarian Songs for voice
and piano.) Budapest, Hungary: Editio Musica Budapest.
Brahms, Johannes. 1954. 70 Songs for Voice and Piano. Ed. Sergius Kagen. New York:
International Music Company.
Dvok, Antonin. 2004. Msiku na nebi hlubokm. Arias for Soprano Vol. 2. Larsen, Robert
L. Ed. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.
Dvok, Antonin. 1909. Zigeunermelodien. Milwaukee: Boosey & Hawkes (N. Simrock.)
Dvok, Antonn. 1928. Moravsk Dvojzpvy. (Moravian Duets.) Hamburg, London: N.
Simrock.
Janek, Leo. 1976. Moravsk lidov poesie v psnch (Moravian Folk Poetry in Song.) Kassel,
London: Barenreiter:
Klmn, Emmerich. 1924. Grfin Mariza. Operette in 3 Akten. Leipzig W. Karczag.
Kodly, Zoltn. 2009. Magyar Npzene - nek s Hangra (Hungarian Folk Music -Voice and
Piano.) Vienna, London, New York: Universal Edition.

49

Strauss, Johann. Klnge der Heimat. Arias for Soprano Vol. 2. Larsen, Robert L. Ed. New
York: G. Schirmer, Inc. 2004.
Smetana, Bedich. Ach, jak zalTen lsky sen. Arias for Soprano Vol. 2. Larsen, Robert L.
Ed. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc. 2004.
Diction Coachings
Kopfstein-Penk, Charles. (Czech-American voice teacher/diction coach.) Weekly Czech diction
coachings with the dissertation candidate from November 2013-March 2014.
Major, Olga. (Embassy of Hungary.) Weekly Hungarian diction coachings with the dissertation
candidate from July 2012-Feb. 2013.
Turcan, Duan. (Native Slovak speaker.) One hour Slovak diction coaching with the dissertation
candidate March 2014.
Recordings
Bartk, Bla. 1968. Osszkiads (Complete edition.) Various performers. Hungaroton: 18260394.
Recording Notes by Lszl Somfai with Eng. translation by Rosemarie Prockl.
Kretzinger, Esther and Andrej Hovrin. 2009. Lieder im Volkston. Gramola Vienna Program
Notes 98917 2010. Recording notes by Dr. Michale Malkiezics with Eng. translation by Ian
Mansfield.
Kodly Complete Edition: Folksongs for voice and piano. . 2009. Various performers.
Hungaraton Classic HCD32557-59. Recording notes by Mihly Ittvs with Eng. translation by
Kata Kvendi-Ittzs.

50