After reaping success at film festivals around the world, Endre Hules’ film „THE MAIDEN DANCED TO DEATH” has finally opened in Hungary. Vilmos Zsigmond was Director of Photography, while the music was written by a mythical figure in Hungarian world music: Ferenc Kiss (Vízöntő, Kolinda, Etnofon).

The CD of music from the film presented here according to the artistic process of the work - rather than the sequence of events in the film. Kiss, working together with and inspired by the music of Szilvia Bognár, Béla Ágoston, Balázs Szokolay „Dongó” and other fine musicians, has created a new poetic instrumental process.

Béla Ágoston - saxophones, clarinet, fujara, filinka
Károly Babos - percussion
Szilvia Bognár - voice
Zsuzsanna Fekete - voice
Mihály Huszár - double bass
Balázs Istvánfi - bagpipe
Zoltán Juhász - long shepherd's flute
Ferenc Kiss - violin, kobsa, beat gardon, voice
Dávid Küttel - synthesizer, accordion
Zsigmond Lázár - synthesizer
János Mazura - tuba
Dániel Szabó - cimbalom
Zoltán Szabó - tarogato
Balázs Szokolay 'Dongó' - saxophone, tarogato, flutes, kaval

Featuring:
Orchestra of Honvéd Dance Theatre

As one who was baptized in Debrecen by the 'stiff-necked calvinists' more than half a century ago, when mulling over the upcoming anniversary of Calvin's birth, it seemed to be the moment to explore the invisible, though conceivable, tunnels between hungarian calvinist hymns, hungarian folk song, historic epic song and music from the middle ages, renaissance and baroque periods. This was a great oppurtunity to update the religious music, brilliantly highlihting it, while also making it more useful today. It was also a chance to acquaint the music appreciating audience with the exciting results of hungarian musicology. This was my quest in writing this piece for vocal-chamber music in nine movements. When performing Hungarian Cantionale, we share our agonies and hopes with the heavens, in a poetic and musical language that modern hungarians can relate to, by preserving many centuries of musical language memory, while also performing it. Upholding and honoring the traditions, while updating the sound of the instrumentalization. Reinforcing and supporting man's desire for faith, community and connection.
Ferenc Kiss

Szilvia Bognár - voice
Károly Babos - percussion
István Csörsz Rumen - lute, kobsa, psaltery, fiddle, crumhorn, voice
Mihály Huszár - double bass, voice
Ferenc Kiss - kobsa, violin, voice
Dávid Küttel - synthesizer, accordion
Zoltán Szabó - tarogato, clarinet, turkish clarinet, bagpipe, wooden flute, kaval, bass-prim tambura

„... The soul re-sounds, words sing, love’s doors is ringing”

"This record was born in Bartók’s honour, on the 125th anniversary of his birth. The Budapest Spring Festival asked me to create a piece of music to go on the same program with Bartók’s „Bluebeard’s Castle”. The idea was that Bartók’s sources for this opera – the most beautiful layers of Hungarian folk songs, ballads and instrumental folk music – should be performed by me and my colleagues. Specifically that we should make use of them in our own style, bringing them to life, re-creating our musical tradition. This is how „Lover’s doors” came about; through the balladic world of Bartók’s opera – another story is told in a cycle of seven movements. For help we summoned the dramatic density of folklore’s surreal and symbolic images along with the lively folk music and dance. Though we sing about mythical, poetically named women with fates similar to Judit’s, rather than leading to tragedy, love’s doors lead to hope. The passages neither separate nor conceal, they do not have doors locked with a key; they instead connect the many levels and paths of human feelings and emotions. Re-sounding, they propel our souls out of grief and sorrow into the light; out of misery towards recovery." – Ferenc Kiss

Bea Palya, Ági Szalóki, Kati Szvorák – voice

ETNOFON ZENEI TÁRSULÁS
Ferenc Kiss – violin, viola, voice
Zsigmond Lázár – violin
Mihály Huszár – double bass
Attila Korom – guitar
Dávid Küttel – synthesizer, accordion
Károly Babos – percussion

HEGEDŐS BAND
Csaba Ökrös – violin
Sándor D. Tóth – viola
Zsolt Kürtösi – double bass

Kálmán Balogh - cimbalom
Mihály Dresch „Dudás” – saxophone, wooden flute
Mátyás Bolya – koboz, zither
Pál Havasréti – hurdy-gurdy, hit gardon
Balázs Szokolay „Dongó” – saxophone, bagpipe, tarogato, kaval, wooden flutes, overtone singing

"Approaching my fifties I started thinking, what would happen to me, if I'd lose the feeling. If 'd forget what it's like to be in love. Out of fear, I started to write these songs. My own experiences, archaic folk texts and tunes, natural, cosmic world-view of our ancestors, their ancient, superstitious beliefs, retentive rituals of their strong communities, the Eastern and Christian mythology, the world of tales, the scrap-glass of knowledge, and wine have helped me to give them birth. Finally, I've calmed down. I'm not skilled in astronomy, astrology even less. I'm jus a common dreamer. I have never been seriously involved in the research of our folklore's astral-mythology, either. On the other hand, based on my sole imagination and instinct I had to fabricate a horoscope of my own, according to which the month of Love is that of the Peacock. It is the thirteenth zodiac, screamingly disrupting the order and regularity." - Ferenc Kiss

Bea Palya - voice
VÁNDOR VOKÁL: Szilvia Bognár, Tünde Farkas, Kata Izsák, Andrea Navratil - vocals
Béla Ágoston - clarinets, baritone saxophone, overtonesinging
Károly Babos - percussions
Csaba Bese - bass, double bass
Ferenc Kiss - vocal, koboz, tambourine, zither, violin, viola, hit gardon, Jew's harp
Attila Korom - guitars
Dávid Küttel - accordion, synthesizer
Zsigmond Lázár - violin (5, 7, 9)
Miklós Lukács - cymbal Balázs
Szokolay Dongó - Croatian bagpipe, soprano saxophone, tárogató, kaval

Special guests:
Torbjörn Westman (Sweden) - nyckelharpa (5)
Taraf din Clejani (Romania), from archive record (13)

This CD contains the music form the motion picture Romani kris - Gypsy Lore by Bence Gyöngyössy.

Performers:
Ferenc Kiss - fiddle, guitar, tambur
Zsigmond Lázár - synthesizers
Béla Ágoston - saxophone, clarinet
Levente Szilágyi - trumpet
Éva Auksz, Károly Rostás, Mária Balogh , Julianna Kardelás , Julianna Grancsa , Rita Ivancu , Erzsébet Balogh - voice

ROMÁNYI ROTÁ Ensemble:
Ferenc Balogh, István Balogh "Pacal" , István Nagy, Csaba Rostás, Ildikó Varga