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Neti's Csárdás:
An interview with Sándor Fodor

by
László Kelemen
(Translated by Peter Laki)

Sándor Fodor 'Neti' was born in 1922 in Transylvania and sadly passed away recently. He '... is representative of the lost generation of great Transylvanian Traditional Fiddlers. These musicians, who for the most part are Gypsies, have entertained the people of Transylvania for centuries. They transformed the style of Transylvanian instrumental music, a style that from the eighteenth century onward could already be considered as specific to the Carpathian Basin. In his recordings, Hungarian, Romanian and Gypsy music intermingle, echoing the general, but at the same time distinctive ring of the Transylvanian spirit. This common language beyond spoken language is dying out, as it is swept away by the consumer society, which largely appeared after the changes in 1989.'

'Neti is well known and respected in folk music circles. Born in 1922 in Gyalu (Gilau), he was introduced to the violin by his father and later was taught by Ferenc Varga, "Csipas the Left-handed". In Szucsag (Suceag) he played both with Ferenc "Male" and with Simon Kovacs "Burald".

After a great deal of roaming the country he moved to Bacs (Baciu) in 1980. As a result of his frequent wanderings he played in almost every village of Kalotaszeg, his music was influenced by each of them and formed his unique individual style; he rarely played the same tune twice the same way. The mixing and the collective effects of Hungarian, Rumanian and Gipsy folk music resulted in such a mature, balanced way of playing and ornamentation that Neti can be considered to play the classical style of Transylvanian instrumental folk music.'

Sándor Fodor is a legend, it is no exaggeration to say that his violin playing has influenced many of the folk music ensembles in Hungary today. He has been a guest on recordings by Muzsikás and Ökrös as well as being featured in several compilations. The interview below was conducted in the 1990s by László Kelemen and is re-produced here with the kind permission of Kalman Magyar, whose web site (www.csardas.org/) was the first to publish it. Be sure and check out this site for other interesting articles on Hungarian folk and dance music.

Neti's Csardis:
An interview with Sándor Fodor

by László Kelemen (translated by Peter Laki)

Sándor Fodor or "Neti," as he is known, is the great old man of folk music in the Kalotaszeg region. At 78, he is still active as a performer, teacher, and a frequent guest at folk-music camps and workshops. His playing can be heard on three CDs and countless field recordings. His repertoire is seemingly inexhaustible: every time I see him, he surprises me with a tune I have never heard before. He is a small, stocky man; his eyes are full of life and his mien extremely expressive. When I first saw him play, I noticed that he was making music with his face, with his body, with his whole being. When I first met him I was a student and I used to go to Kalotaszeg to collect music. During the breaks of the recordings I picked up the viola and we played together. Later he invited me to do weddings with him: I accepted, as this allowed me to learn the living Kalotaszeg music from the inside. We stayed in touch even after I moved from Transylvania to Hungary. We regularly invite him on tours and recordings with the Okros Ensemble. During the long years of our acquaintance I heard him tell many interesting stories about old Kalotaszeg. about musicians and his own life full of struggles and adventures.

I wrote as he spoke:
I was born in Gyalu (Gilau), Kalotaszeg, but I didn't stay there very long, for my parents got divorced and we moved to Szucsak (Suceag). I have moved around in Kalotaszeg all my life. I even lived in Hungary for a while, near Szekesfehervar, when we had to flee during the war. We were very poor. I had to work. At twelve, I already played first fiddle at weddings. My father was also a musician but he didn't care about us. I was named after my mother, who was named Neti. My uncle introduced me to Feri Csipas, the Left-Handed, who taught me, along with his own son. He was the best-known musician in the whole area: he played in the hotel restaurant at Banffvhunyad (Huedin). He got the most recent sheet music from Budapest every month, and even played in a movie (The Madonna of Kalotaszeg). He was very strict and demanding. But the toughest lessons were the weddings where he took us with him: we had to sit on the musicians bench and watch the music. Then after we got home we had to play what we remembered. I was scolded very often, Ill never forget: "Sanyi, you'll never make a first fiddler"- I did.. anyway! I remember waking up in the morning under the musicians bench: we were full of dust from all the dancing, so that we couldn't even open our eyes until we washed them. Well, that was my education, but it was a good one because I still live by it. My sons fate was different: he went to a music school. We bought him all the instruments. He can play on these new-fangled instruments that I'll never learn, but these days he often accompanies me on the organ, because the world has changed. This year I haven't played a single wedding with viola accompaniment, only electric ones.

When I met you guys, I was surprised: why would these young folks, my sons age, want to learn to play the old Kalotaszeg music on the old instruments? Why don't they just go after their own music, why don't they play the guitar, the drums, the organ, like the rest of the young people? Then I understood and now I'm glad to be able to pass along what I have in my head and my hands, as I learned it from Csipas and the other musicians of the old days. A lot of people come to my house - young people -- I welcome everyone and no one has ever left me without a song for the road. Under Ceausescu it was forbidden to put up foreigners, what's more, I live right across the street from the police station. Even in those days, I had guests, so security came to tell me I'd be punished because I'd had foreigners stay at my house. I told him, this isn't right that you can't receive guests in your own house. One word followed another. I offered him a glass of brandy, I played some music, and at the end he said: "Uncle Sanyi, you put up who you want. just let us know so we can look the other way" - and left. I was never pestered again, even though I had many visitors, even Japanese and Americans. Then Ceausescu was finished, and now I can travel, too. I often go to Kolozsvar (Cluj) to the táncház ("dance house"), to help out. I love to play for the young people, because they're looking for the old things; I like to teach them so that this music may be preserved. I go to Hungary every year to teach at camps, or just to play. I'll go for as long as I have the strength. It's hard because I'm old and it hurts everywhere, but l've hardly ever been sick in my life, even though I've been smoking since I was a kid, and I eat and drink what I want. Other people have all these grains and mueslis for breakfast to stay healthy, but I start the day with a good shot of brandy, coffee, and a cigarette.

When I was young, I travelled on foot a lot. There were no taxis (in Kalotaszeg people called a car a taxi). The train was expensive, often I walked home three villages away after two or three days of exhausting playing.

(LK) Uncle Sanyi, you've lived through a lot: war, Communism, capitalism. What do you think: has the world changed?

Well, a lot has changed and nothing. When I was a kid, we were very poor. People had no money, so they gave you produce for playing: wheat, potatoes, or they would give you labor. Today's young people have everything, yet they don't always appreciate it. Nor do they always appreciate us musicians! Today, it's this disco stuff everywhere: easy music, easy dancing, they turn on the tape recorder, they turn off the lights, nobody cares how they dance. Sometimes I come with "pig" bands that I feel ashamed of: saxophone, drums, and organ. The older people pull away, they say: "Sanyi, Sanyi, what kind of band did you bring?" But what am I supposed to do if that's what the young people want? That's how the world has changed.

Yet music is power even now, but only if you serve people. You have to cater to people, do as they wish. They valued me for my music, and they still do. But I keep learning even to this day. I learned a lot of songs from you guys. I don't need much time - I hear it once or twice and I know it already. I teach a lot, too, because the more people know your music, the more people will talk about you. Poor Csipas has been dead for ten years, but people still know him through his music. Or Komos of Tura is still known for his songs, even though he was a lead fiddler in the past century. If I have a chance to go into the world, I have to bring the songs of these long-gone musicians as well. I have to show Buralos legenyes, Csipass Csárdás or Nonikas virtita. They are always with me, they guide my hand and hold my bow when I play. And maybe you guys, too, will say some day: "This is Netis legenyes or Csárdás."

End

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