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Kallos Archives

'God save me: Religious songs and folk prayers from Moldva'

Archive recordings from the collection of Zoltan Kallos.

Label - Fono Budai Zenehaz, Hungary
Released 2005

From sleeve notes:
"Religious songs and folk prayers belong to a less-known folk genre. Living in hard historical and geographical conditions the Hungarians in Moldavia have preserved a rich treasure of religious songs and folk prayers; they were sung at home, in midst of the family or during the housework when the peasants were by themselves. The literary motives of the prayers have their parallel ones in the religious literature written in the Hungarian monasteries between the 13th and 16th centuries, but they can also be found in the religious literature of the West, e.g. in the Byzantine apocryphal texts. This is why we think that by editing these songs and prayers we contribute not only to a better knowledge of a special genre of the Hungarian folklore but also to the knowledge of a European cultural heritage. For having the present possibility of this edition grateful acknowledgements are due to the researcher Zoltán Kallós. During ten years in hard material and political conditions he went from village to village, from man to man to take down these values."

Since the 1960s Zoltan Kallos has been researching and recording the traditional music and folklore of the multi-ethnic villages in Transylvania - a region where Romanian and Hungarian culture is mixed. His work has helped to preserve the musical heritage of these people and with these CD releases we can now have a taste of the best of these musical traditions.

Born in Válaszút (Kolozs country, in Transylvania) in 1926, Zoltán Kallós follows in the tradition of Bartok and Kodaly researching and collecting folk music from within the region known as the Carpathian Basin.

His interest in the folk music of this area started while still at school, and he has collected and researched the music since the late 1940s. Around the 1960s he started recording folk music in the various places he had previously studied, and it is these recordings that make up the Kallós Archive. In addition to these field recordings he has himself recorded the songs he collected with the ensembles Okros and Teka.

A forerunner to the Tanchaz (Dance House) folk revival of the 1970s in Hungary he was awarded the "Tree of Life" Prize in 1990, the Pro Hungarian Art Prize in 1993, and the Kossuth Award in 1996.

USD 17.99

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Kallos Archives

'God save me: Religious songs and folk prayers from Moldva'

This symbol  indicates an mp3 sound clip for that track. Click on the symbol and wait for the clip to start. For more information click here. Tracks

1. Már megvirjadván éj után (ima) 2. Uram, irgalmazz nékünk 3. Kelj fel, keresztény lélek 4. Elindula József 5. Születésén Jézusnak 6. Könyörülj méltósággal 7. Felkelék én jó reggel hajnalba 8. Mikor Máriának s az Isten angyala 9. Názáreti Jézus (pénetki ima) 10. Én nemzetem, zsidó népem 11. Lehullott a Jézus vére 12. Úr Krisztus feltámada 13. Feltámadt Krisztus e napon 14. Gyónom Uramistennek (gyónóima) 15. Ma van szent péntek (péneki ima) 16. Atya, Fiú, Szentlélek: egy Isten 17. Üdvezítonknek szent anyja 18. Hallgass meg münköt, Úristen 19. Én felkelék én ágyamból (pénteki ima) 20. Ó, szép Jézus, ez új esztendoben 21. Ó, bút látott, sok kínt vallott gyarló testem 22. Mivel már bésötétedett 23. Szünjék meg bánattól szomorú szívetek 24. Kedves álmot hogy szerezne szülöttjének 25. Én lefekszem én ágyamba (esti ima)

Duration (52'51")

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