Bulletin of the International Kodály Society Autumn 2014 [antikvár]

by Mihály Ittzés President of the Hungarian Kodály Society, Part-time Professor and Researcher (Liszt Ferenc University Kodály Institute), Former Vice-President of the International Kodály Society I would like to invite you to take part in a (written) adventure in the historical and musical past of Hungary. The title Háry János for non-Hungarian music lovers usually brings to mind the orchestral suite. But this six-movement work is only an orchestral "summary" of a larger stage work by Zoltán Kodály. If we want to see the special place and role of this theatrical piece in his oeuvre, and to try to understand the message of the work, several aspects have to be taken into consideration. In this study, a brief account of these different aspects is given so that readers—^who hopefully can also be listeners (or idcaWy spectators) of the whole stage work—can get closer to the piece. Introduction: Kodály and the Stage As a composer, the young Kodály first encountered the stage at the Eötvös College where a play was performed every year, usually parodies of classical pieces or original plays written by the students for which Kodály was commissioned by his schoolmates to compose incidental music. Once, "music is whistled by Mr Kodály" appeared on the poster of a programme.' In 1917 Zsigmond Móricz, one of the leading writers of the period, asked Kodály to compose a song and some dance music to his play Pacsirta (The Lark), which is a village love storyA friendly contact was established between the two masters, and they planned some common work in the 1920s, namely two operas and a play with music, but these were not realized. In 1924 a short Transylvanian folk scene of Kodály's was performed in a Budapest cabaret. Eight years later this little Spinning Room became the basis for the 50-year-old composer to complete his larger stage work under the same title.^ Between these two versions of the piece Kodály composed his most famous and best received stage work, Háry János, which is the main topic of this paper and which is discussed in detail below. A third stage work also has to be mentioned. After World War II Béla Balázs, a friend and Eötvös college colleague from the composer's youth who returned from having emigrated outside of Hungary, asked Kodály to compose incidental music and songs to his historical play, Ballad ofCinka Panna A New Period in the Composer's Activity The Psalmus Hungaricus marked a turning point in Zoltán Kodály's lifework. Until the beginning of the 1920s, he composed mostly chamber music and songs; only a few choir pieces and orchestral works can be found in his list, and relatively few folk music-based compositions are among them. After the great success of the Psalmus in 1923, choral music and folk music arrangements, together with orchestral and stage works, became the central genres of his compositions. He himself emphasized the importance of folk music in his works. In connection with Háry János, he said this about the folksongs: