Superior authentic folk music of the kind that inspired Bartók. Violin virtuosity abounds here. Most of the songs here have catchy melodies and lyrics about the boys and the girls from the village getting together to gaze upon the songbirds and maybe have a turn or three on the dance floor. Though the tracks run to 6 minutes each, almost all are medleys. Highly Recommended
Fun fact: one of the albums by the group is titled “Folk music from Sarkoz” – Sarkoz being the ancestral home of current French prime minister, Sarkozy.

*** 1. Upbeat medley of csardas (char-dosh) style instrumental dance songs
*** 2. The tempo is just a bit labored, the vocals bittersweet; the melodies pretty
*** 3. All-female vocals, sometimes bursting into chants; the song alternates between a
guitar and flute motif that sounds pretty but “plain” and a violin-driven part that is
more flashy
*** 4. First part is flowing and melodic, meant to show off the musical chops; the latter
part is more choppy; it’s typically a men’s dance accompaniment
*** 5. Female, a cappella polyphony
*** 6. Male and female alternating appeals, then a couple of progressively wilder
instrumental sections
*** 7. A very sad song (though no translation is supplied), tenderly sung and played
*** 8. The title translates as “It’s not like the old days”. Once upon a time recorded by
Muzsikás, but more interestingly, The Ex. Here, it’s sort of a halting, hesitant step
into the unknown.
*** 9. Closing on an instrumental medley, as the CD started. It’s interesting here to
check out the different styles as they are pretty distinct and come in succession.
FYI, they are: thick Hungarian, csardas, verbunk, fresh csardas, thin Hungarian