György Orbán: Nine Transylvanian Madrigals - for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano
Published in 2020
Available at Rózsavölgyi Zeneműbolt & Webshop: HERE
György Orbán, one of the most played contemporary Hungarian composers, is a dedicated master of vocal music. Taking a sharp turn after the avant-garde period of his youth, he likes to draw from the musical traditions of the past, creatively using elements of folk music, film music, jazz and contemporary music. His Transylvanian madrigals borrow the genre designation in the sense of the text-centeredness of Renaissance madrigals. The selection of their often archaic texts reveals the author's special affinity for the thought of older ages, and also for the linguistic and cultural diversity that left a spectacular mark on Transylvania's past: the madrigals are a cycle of virtuosic and sensitive settings of Latin (Urbs Caelestis), Hungarian (Coloswar, Nóta, Ember vigyász), German, i.e. Saxon dialect (Traum, Nemmih, Der Tod), Romanian (A trecut iarna) and Italian (Mettimi) poems.
The song cycle was dedicated to singer Éva Bátori and pianist Emese Virág.
1. Urbs Cælestis (Hildebert de Lavardin)
2. Coloswar (György Felvinczi)
3. A trecut iarna (Canticle of Canticles – Cântarea cântarilor)
4. Traum (Saxon folk text)
5. Nemmih (Saxon folk text)
6. Nóta (urban tune text)
7. Der Tod (Saxon folk text)
8. Mettimi (Canticle of Canticles – Cantico dei cantici)
9. EMBER VIGYÁSZ (text of an epitaph)
György Orbán, one of the most played contemporary Hungarian composers, is a dedicated master of vocal music. Taking a sharp turn after the avant-garde period of his youth, he likes to draw from the musical traditions of the past, creatively using elements of folk music, film music, jazz and contemporary music. His Transylvanian madrigals borrow the genre designation in the sense of the text-centeredness of Renaissance madrigals. The selection of their often archaic texts reveals the author's special affinity for the thought of older ages, and also for the linguistic and cultural diversity that left a spectacular mark on Transylvania's past: the madrigals are a cycle of virtuosic and sensitive settings of Latin (Urbs Caelestis), Hungarian (Coloswar, Nóta, Ember vigyász), German, i.e. Saxon dialect (Traum, Nemmih, Der Tod), Romanian (A trecut iarna) and Italian (Mettimi) poems.
The song cycle was dedicated to singer Éva Bátori and pianist Emese Virág.
1. Urbs Cælestis (Hildebert de Lavardin)
2. Coloswar (György Felvinczi)
3. A trecut iarna (Canticle of Canticles – Cântarea cântarilor)
4. Traum (Saxon folk text)
5. Nemmih (Saxon folk text)
6. Nóta (urban tune text)
7. Der Tod (Saxon folk text)
8. Mettimi (Canticle of Canticles – Cantico dei cantici)
9. EMBER VIGYÁSZ (text of an epitaph)
