A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Magyar Music

by J. A. Fuller-Maitland

MAGYAR (Hungarian) MUSIC. The most important part of the national music of Hungary is so called because it proceeds from the Magyar portion of the inhabitants. 'The so-called Hungarian style of music,' says the writer of two excellent articles on this subject in the Monthly Musical Record for February and March, 1877, 'as it has come to be recognised, cannot by any means be regarded as indigenous, but may most properly be briefly defined as the product of a commixture of several races. More than one-fourth^[1] of the population of Hungary proper (i.e. Transleithan Hungary, as it has come to be called since its union with the Austrian empire in 1869) consists of Magyars, the descendants of the ancient Scythians of the Tartar-Mongolian stock, who, after wandering from the Ural mountains to the Caspian Sea, and thence to Kiov, established themselves in Hungary in the ninth century. The remainder of the population is made up of Slavs, Germans, Wallachians, Jews, and Gipsies. Of this mixed population, the Magyars, as the dominant lords of the soil, and the Gipsies, as the privileged musicians of the country, are in the main to be regarded as the joint originators of the national style.'

The union of these two latter races resulted in the combination of their musical characteristics. That of the Magyar music is the peculiarity of its rhythms, and that of the Gipsy music is the presence of turns, embellishments, and 'grace-notes' added to and built upon the melody, and eventually becoming a most important feature in it.

This latter peculiarity, together with the scale which is characteristic of Hungarian music—a scale with two superfluous seconds, or the harmonic minor with a sharp fourth—

seem to indicate an Asiatic origin. (The ordinary European scales are also in use.) These two chief characteristics will be examined in order.

I. The rhythms, of Magyar origin. The great distinctive feature of the bar-rhythms is syncopation, generally consisting of the accentuation of the second quaver in the bar of 2-4 time (the rhythm known as alla zoppa, 'in a limping way'), but sometimes extending over larger spaces, as in No. 2 of the Ungarische Tänze of Brahms, bars 1-2, 5-6, etc., where the syncopation extends over two bars. Even where the melody is without syncopation, the accompaniment almost always has it. The phrase-rhythms are not confined to strains of 4 and 8 bars, but phrases of 3, 5, 6, and 7 bars are not unfrequently to be met with. There is no more beautiful example of 7-bar rhythm (although not professedly Hungarian in character) than the second of Schumann's Stücke im Volkston for piano and violoncello, in F major. As examples of 3- and 6-bar rhythms may be cited the third and first of Brahms's Ungarische Tänze, and of 5-bar rhythm, the second part of the following melody ('Beszegödtem Tarnóczàra'), the first part being a phrase of 6 bars.

3-4 time, and consequently 6-8, is unknown in genuine Magyar music, although some modern Hungarian composers have introduced it in slow movements. A very beautiful rhythm of seven in a bar (written, for greater clearness, as a bar of 3-4 followed by a bar of common time) occurs in the 'Hungarian Song' on which Brahms has written variations, Op. 21, No. 2.

II. The turns and embellishments added to the melody, of Gipsy, and hence Oriental, origin.

This peculiarity has been observed by travellers in India, who say that in the performance of the natives any embellishments and 'fioriture' are permitted to be introduced at the will of the performer, provided only that the time of the melody remains intact. The following is a list of the most characteristic turns and 'grace-notes' used in Hungarian music, given by the writer above mentioned:

and the double cadence

to which may be added

The charm which these 'agrémens' give is well illustrated by the first two bars of Schubert's 'Moment musical,' in F minor, where the phrase

is seen to be compounded of the comparatively uninteresting phrase

together with No. 13 and part of No. 4 of the above embellishments.

But the importance of Hungarian music lies not so much in its intrinsic beauty or interest, as in the use made of it by the great classical masters, and the influence which it exercises on their works. The first composer of note who embodies the Hungarian peculiarities is Haydn. The most obvious instance of course is the well-known 'Rondo all' Ongarese,' or 'Gipsy Rondo,' in the Trio No. 1 in G major; but besides this avowedly Hungarian composition there are many passages in his works which show that the years during which he held the post of conductor of Prince Esterhazy's private (and almost entirely Hungarian) band, were not without their effect. Instances of this may be found in many of the 'Salomon symphonies' (the Symphony in B♭, No. 9), etc. We next come to Beethoven, in whom the Hungarian element appears but rarely. In the music to 'King Stephen,' however, it is prominent, as we might expect, in many parts, and the chorus 'Wo die Unschuld Blumen streute' is marked 'Andante con moto all' Ongarese.' The composer however who has made the greatest use of Hungarian characteristics is Schubert. Constantly throughout his works we come upon a peculiarity which at once tells us of its nationality. The C major Symphony (No. 9) for instance, or the Fantasia in C major, op. 15, are full of Hungarian feeling and character, while almost all the peculiarities of the Hungarian style are present in the little 'Moment musical' before alluded to, and still more in the splendid Divertissement à la hongroise (op. 54).

Never, probably, has Hungarian music had such an influence over compositions as at the present time, and among living composers. It is enough to cite such names as Liszt, Brahms, and Joachim, to bring to the mind of every reader the use made by each of them of Hungarian forms and themes. We may think it only natural that the first and the last of these should, being natives of Hungary, have a natural love for their national music, as we see in the 'Legend of St. Elizabeth,' the symphonic poem 'Hungaria,' the fourteen 'Rhapsodies Hongroises,' by Liszt, and the noble Hungarian violin concerto of Joachim, which is a splendid instance of the combination of national characteristics with the classical forms. In the case of Brahms, however, there is no national prejudice to which the partiality for the Hungarian element might be ascribed, and yet here we meet with many Magyar characteristics, not only in the Ungarische Tänze, which are nothing more than transcriptions for the piano of the wild performance of the Hungarian bands (according to the best authorities on this subject), but also in the Sextets for strings, the pianoforte variations, etc.

The following are some of the most important Magyar compositions.

Dances.—The Csárdás, derived from Csárdá, an inn on the Puszta (plain), where this dance was first performed. Every Csárdás consists of two movements,—a 'Lassu,' or slow movement, andante maestoso, and a 'Friss,' or 'quickstep,' allegro vivace. These two alternate at the will of the dancers, a sign being given to the musicians when a change is wished. [See Csárdás.]

The 'Kör-táncz,' or Society-Dance, of which a part consists of a Toborzó, or Recruiting dance.

The 'Kanász-táncz,' or Swineherd's Dance, is danced by the lower classes only.

Operas.—Among national Magyar operas—i.e. operas of which the libretti are founded on national historic events, and the music is characterised by Magyar rhythms, etc.—may be mentioned 'Hunyadi László' 'Báthory Maria,' 'Bánk Ban,' and 'Bránkovics,' by Francis Erkel, and the comic opera 'Ilka,' by Doppler. Besides these two composers, the names of Mocsonyi, Császár, Fáy, and Bartha, may be given as examples of operatic writers.

Songs.—Many collections of Nepdal, or popular songs, have been published. One of these, 'Repüli Fecske,' has been made widely known by M. Remenyi's adaptation of it for the violin.

The great National March—The 'Rákocsy Indulo,' made famous by Hector Berlioz, who introduced it in Paris with an immense orchestra.

The National Hymn of Hungary is called 'Százat,' or 'Appeal.'

That the Magyars know how to value their own national music may be shown by the existence at Budapest of a National Conservatorium, of which Liszt is Director, and two national theatres, one (the older, which has existed for nearly half a century) for opera and drama, and the other, opened three years ago, for vaudevilles, operettas, etc. A new grand opera-house is in course of construction, and will be opened in a few months. Musical journalism is represented by two weekly publications, one of which, the 'Zenészeti Sapok,' edited by Abranyi, is often referred to as an authority on Magyar music.

[ J. A. F. M. ]

1. The proportion appears to be more like one half than a quarter.