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In conversation with...
Katalin Izsák
of
Vándor Vokál

Katalin Izsák has been a member of the vocal group Vándor Vokál since its inception in 1990. In this article Kata talks about the origins of her group, the sources of their music, and the other artists who have invited them to join in their recordings.

The stated goal of the group is "...to preserve the fading treasures of folk traditions and reveal the beauty of them through new CDs, concerts and plays for both adults and children."

Vándor Vokál releases:
Rózsót ültettem, I Planted Roses - Wild Boar Music
Feljött a Hold, Moonrising - Periferic Records

Albums featuring Vándor Vokál as a performer:
Ferenc Kiss - Szerelem hava, The Month of Love
Fonó Group - Mixtura Cultivalis
Rila - Bolgarkert, Bulgarian Garden
Táncháztalálkozó, Hungarian Dance-house Meeting - various years from 1994 to 2003
Új Élo Népzene, Living Village Music - 1998, 1999

Kata Izsák of Vándor Vokál

Ian Morrison (IM) First can you tell me where you are from?
Kata Izsák (KI) We are all from Hungary, I was born in Budapest, Judit Szluka in Szekesfehervar, Tunde Farkas in Transylvania, in Nagybanya (present day it is in Romania).

(IM) How did band and the name Vándor Vokál come about? When and where did you initially meet etc?
(KI) I met Tünde at the music school of Obuda, Klara Bodza was our teacher there, it was in about 1988-1989. The two of us started Vándor Vokál in 1990. A few months later other girls joined us. The name Vándor Vokál came up one evening when we were sitting and talking. It was the idea of a girl called Erzsi Fekete, who had lived in Australia for a while, and sung in a choir there. She said we should give this name because we sing different peoples' folk songs- at that time we sang Hungarian, Bulgarian and Makedonian songs.

(IM) What was you first exposure to folk music?
(KI) Well, it was in primary school in art classes. Our teacher was playing folk songs on tapes and records for us while we were drawing. We also had a wonderful music teacher there, who introduced us into the world of classical music. Then in 1983 I went to Transylvania and Bulgaria where I heard live folk music, met peasant musicians and I was caught by it immediately. Tünde used to go to dance houses in Transylvania and started singing there. When she came to Hungary she found the Obuda school and continued singing with Klara Bodza.

(IM) Vándor Vokál came together from the students of Klára Bodza, can you tell me something about Klára Bodza's teachings?
(KI) Well, she had classical musical education but she was interested in folk music, too. She was one of the first teachers in Hungary who started to teach children folk songs using original recordings, archives. In her lessons we always listened to those recordings and she draw our attention to small details like ornamentations, special features of each region. She also taught us scales and singing techniques.

(IM) On the notes to the CD 'I Planted Roses' you state that you learned your songs from archives and other recordings, can you tell me something more about these sources?
(KI) Well, I can proudly say that in Hungary we have a rich folk music archive in more institutions, for example at the Hungarian Academy for Music. We often went there to copy recordings for ourselves. Then there are the recordings made by Belá Bartók, Zoltan Kodaly, Laszlo Lajtha and others, available in libraries. And, of course the recordings made by our friends and ourselves in field recording trips.

(IM) Where might be your favourite place to collect folk songs?
(KI) My favourite places are Transylvania and Bulgaria. There I have had so many wonderful meetings and occasions where I could hear people singing, playing music and watch them dancing. I have lots of funny and touching memories, recordings, photos, slides and stories....

(IM) From your repertoire what are your favourite songs?
(KI) All of them.

(IM) You have expanded the instrumentation in the group to include bagpipe, is this just for touring?
(KI) No, it is good for us to be able to sing with music and also this gives us the possibility to teach some dances, too...so after the concert we dance, people join us and thus we have a wonderful time together sharing the joy of music and dancing.

(IM) You have also performed 'medieval songs'; can you explain what these were and from where they came, and how different they are from folk songs?
(KI) Well, they come from our German and Czech friends who play them in Germany and the Czech republic in festivals and medieval markets... I think of course medieval music had influence on folk music. Medieval songs, however, are polyphonic in a bit more complicated way than folk songs. In the Hungarian speaking regions folk songs are mostly monophonic, you can only find polyphony in some regions, due to the influence of other nations or the church.

(IM) How do you decide who songs what part and when to incorporate any instruments?
(KI) Well, mostly we decide who sings what part is how it is best. We take our abilities and the sounding into account. With instruments we usually copy the original recording, adding our own ideas to it if we think it is better that way.

(IM) Occasionally you play with other bands, Falkafolk, Ferenc Kiss, Fono Zenekar, for example, can you tell me how these collaborations (and others) came about?
(KI) They are all good friends and if there is a possibility and need, we play together at festivals or other occasions, sometimes they invite us to sing with them, sometimes we invite them to play music with us.

(IM) In particular you guested on Ferenc's 'The Month of Love, Szerelem Hava', can you say something about this project? How did you become involved and what was your part in it.
(KI)  Ferenc Kiss asked us to sing the vocals on it, so we did. He gave us some recordings to study, for example the eskimo love magic recordings which were really interesting to listen to and study. Then we came together and worked out the final form.

(IM) How would a typical Vándor Vokál concert be structured, do you group songs from a particular area together? Would a concert be the singers first followed by musical accompaniment?
(KI)  Yes, usually we put songs from a region into one block. The structure of concerts vary, but we try to make them colourful and interesting, drawing attention to similarities or differences...

(IM) Did you perform at the recent 27th national Táncház Festival and Fair?
(KI) Not this year. We were in Germany then, giving a concert in Qualitz, which was recorded on DVD and CD.

(IM) What performers in previous Táncház Festivals have you enjoy?
(KI) Well, we usually enjoy quite a lot, there are lots of good groups and singers... my favourites are Maria Petras, Zurgo, Egyszolam, but I could list many more...

(IM) As Vándor Vokál you have had 2 album releases, in addition to this you have also been involved in several other projects which must take up a lot of your time, when will we see the third Vándor Vokál CD?
(KI) Well, hopefully soon...we must put ideas together and find sponsors as we want to release it ourselves....

(IM) What else does 2008/9 hold for you and Vándor Vokál?
(KI) We hope more joint musical projects, concerts for example with our German friends, and with Misztral group...we are going to tour Germany and Switzerland in September, and maybe release a CD together with our German friends, too.

End

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