Székelyfonó
Encyclopedia
Székelyfonó is a one-act theatre piece with music by Zoltán Kodály
from Hungarian folk songs. The work is described as ‘Daljáték egy felvonásban’, folk songs in one act. First created in 1924 as a short cabaret with a small accompanying orchestral ensemble, Kodály expanded the work, with mime but without dialogue for a full production at the Royal Hungarian Opera House, Budapest in 1932. The songs and dances are taken from Transylvanian folk music, and include spinning choruses and musical pictures representing death, burial, betrothal and marriage folk-rituals. The work is sometimes referred to as The Transylvannian Spinning Room in English.
In his first stage work, Háry János
, Kodály had used the layout of musical 'numbers' with solos, duets, and choruses and spoken dialogue in between. In the final version of Székelyfonó orchestral bridge passages link some of the numbers. The music consists mostly of Transylvanian folk melodies whose words suggest action, although the nature of the work is more that of a scenic cantata
. The piece might also be described as "a mimed action to vocal, choral and orchestral accompaniment" and is in some ways reminiscent of Stravinsky’s Les Noces
.
It was the first ever Hungarian operatic work to be produced in Italy (as La Filanda Magiara) in Milan on 14 January 1933, and was broadcast from London on 26 May 1933 with the composer conducting. It was produced in Brunswick (in German) on 9 February 1938. A semi-staged version was produced at the 1982 Buxton Festival
, a recording of which was broadcast in January 1983 by BBC Radio 3
.
János Ferencsik
conducted two complete recordings of the work, in 1963 (Qualiton
) and 1971 (Hungaroton
).
In the first scene, a man and woman say farewell before he is taken away. A little girl tries to stop him leaving. Two gendarmes appear at the doorway, search the room; the man goes out. In the second scene the woman bemoans her fate. Women and girls from the village enter in the third scene, attend to chores around the spinning room and a young woman sings a lively song of their life with so many men absent from home. There is a dance and they try to comfort the lone woman. The woman sings of thirty-three weeping willow branches and thirty-three peacocks, then a neighbour enters with a song about animals bought at the market (with their distinctive sounds). The fourth scene is a choral exchange between the young men who have entered and the young women who exchange taunts. In a pantomime a young man dresses as a ghost but is beaten by the girls.
The fifth scene involves a young man Lázlós singing to his mother that he is dying of heartache, and there follows a traditional folk-song of spinning gold and silver, and the ballad ‘Ilona Görög’ (Helen). Scene six introduces a masker, disguised as a flea claiming riches but looking for lodgings, and seeking food.
However, the gendarmes return - the man they arrested has protested his innocence. An old woman claims to know the real culprit – it is the 'flea' who is now hiding in a corner. In the final scene the man is reunited with the woman he loves and the village celebrates in song and dance.
Kodály wrote of the beauty and variety of Hungarian folk songs "like jewels sparkling in a strange, ancient fire"; these form the thread of the work, while his accompaniments are "full of colour, lush chromaticism and contrapuntal effects based on close canon and imitation".
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
from Hungarian folk songs. The work is described as ‘Daljáték egy felvonásban’, folk songs in one act. First created in 1924 as a short cabaret with a small accompanying orchestral ensemble, Kodály expanded the work, with mime but without dialogue for a full production at the Royal Hungarian Opera House, Budapest in 1932. The songs and dances are taken from Transylvanian folk music, and include spinning choruses and musical pictures representing death, burial, betrothal and marriage folk-rituals. The work is sometimes referred to as The Transylvannian Spinning Room in English.
Background
After the 1924 performances Kodály wrote "through hearing these songs in the concert hall I realized that, torn from their natural environment they are scarcely intelligible. The whole purpose of my present experiment was to attempt to display them in a living unity with the life from which they have sprung..." Kodály continued "Székelyfonó is not an experiment in opera"; Eösze describes it, with its 27 songs, ballads, dances and musical games, as a dramatic rhapsody or operatic folk-ballad.In his first stage work, Háry János
Háry János
Háry János is a "Hungarian folk opera" in four acts by Zoltán Kodály to a Hungarian libretto by Béla Paulini and Zsolt Harsányi, based on the comic epic The Veteran by János Garay. The first performance was at the Royal Hungarian Opera House, Budapest, 1926...
, Kodály had used the layout of musical 'numbers' with solos, duets, and choruses and spoken dialogue in between. In the final version of Székelyfonó orchestral bridge passages link some of the numbers. The music consists mostly of Transylvanian folk melodies whose words suggest action, although the nature of the work is more that of a scenic cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
. The piece might also be described as "a mimed action to vocal, choral and orchestral accompaniment" and is in some ways reminiscent of Stravinsky’s Les Noces
Les Noces
Les noces by Igor Stravinsky, is a dance cantata, or ballet with vocalists.-History:The ballet was premiered on June 13, 1923 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, by the Ballets Russes with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska...
.
Performance history
The first performance of Székelyfonó took place at the Royal Hungarian Opera House in Budapest on 24 April 1932, when it was warmly received.It was the first ever Hungarian operatic work to be produced in Italy (as La Filanda Magiara) in Milan on 14 January 1933, and was broadcast from London on 26 May 1933 with the composer conducting. It was produced in Brunswick (in German) on 9 February 1938. A semi-staged version was produced at the 1982 Buxton Festival
Buxton Festival
The Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of opera, music, and a literary series, held in Buxton, Derbyshire in England since it began in July 1979.-History:...
, a recording of which was broadcast in January 1983 by BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
.
János Ferencsik
János Ferencsik
János Ferencsik was a Hungarian conductor.Ferencsik was born in Budapest; he actively played music even as a very young boy. He took violin lessons and taught himself to play the organ. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music in Budapest, where his major subjects were organ performance...
conducted two complete recordings of the work, in 1963 (Qualiton
Qualiton Records
Qualiton is a frequently used label in different countries. There have been and there still are several labels known as Qualiton. Most noticeable the Hungarian state owned corporation during the communist years in post WWII Europe. Other records labels bought the license from Budapest and...
) and 1971 (Hungaroton
Hungaroton
Hungaroton was the one and only record and music publisher company in Hungary for about 40 years.Hungaroton was founded in 1951, since then, its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like Melodiya, Supraphon and Eterna from other socialist countries. Previously called...
).
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 24 April 1932 (Conductor: Sergio Failoni) |
|---|---|---|
| Háziasszony (housewife) | alto Alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,... |
Mária Basilides |
| Kérője (her suitor) | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Imre Palló Imre Palló Imre Palló was a Hungarian baritone, and later opera house manager.Palló studied in Budapest with Georg Anthes and in Italy with Mario Sammarco.... |
| Szomszédasszony (neighbour) | alto | Mária Budanovits |
| Fiatal Legény (young man) | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Endre Rösler |
| Fiatal Leány (young girl) | soprano | Anna Báthy |
| A Nagyorrú Bolha (flea) | baritone | Oszkár Maleczky |
| Chorus, dancers | ||
Synopsis
The setting is a spinning room in the Székely regionSzékely Land
The Székely Land or Szekler Land refers to the territories inhabited mainly by the Székely, a Hungarian-speaking ethnic group from eastern Transylvania...
In the first scene, a man and woman say farewell before he is taken away. A little girl tries to stop him leaving. Two gendarmes appear at the doorway, search the room; the man goes out. In the second scene the woman bemoans her fate. Women and girls from the village enter in the third scene, attend to chores around the spinning room and a young woman sings a lively song of their life with so many men absent from home. There is a dance and they try to comfort the lone woman. The woman sings of thirty-three weeping willow branches and thirty-three peacocks, then a neighbour enters with a song about animals bought at the market (with their distinctive sounds). The fourth scene is a choral exchange between the young men who have entered and the young women who exchange taunts. In a pantomime a young man dresses as a ghost but is beaten by the girls.
The fifth scene involves a young man Lázlós singing to his mother that he is dying of heartache, and there follows a traditional folk-song of spinning gold and silver, and the ballad ‘Ilona Görög’ (Helen). Scene six introduces a masker, disguised as a flea claiming riches but looking for lodgings, and seeking food.
However, the gendarmes return - the man they arrested has protested his innocence. An old woman claims to know the real culprit – it is the 'flea' who is now hiding in a corner. In the final scene the man is reunited with the woman he loves and the village celebrates in song and dance.
Kodály wrote of the beauty and variety of Hungarian folk songs "like jewels sparkling in a strange, ancient fire"; these form the thread of the work, while his accompaniments are "full of colour, lush chromaticism and contrapuntal effects based on close canon and imitation".