Életfa will bring Morristown to life on Sunday

Gyimesi kerekes es magyaros
Gyimesi kerekes es magyaros
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Gyimesi kerekes es magyaros
Gyimesi kerekes es magyaros

If you’ve never experienced the hypnotic melodic intensity and startling, insistent rhythms of Hungarian folk music, you’ll be able to remedy that situation this weekend.

Életfa, one of America’s premiere world music ensembles, will bring their high-energy, infectiously joyful sound to the Community Theater this Sunday, January 16, at 3 in the afternoon.

At the Hungarian Festival 2010
At the Hungarian Festival 2010

Together with their partner dance company Csürdöngölö, they’ll hit the Mayo Center stage alongside guest performers Zsuzsanna Seres, George Petran, László Hajdu-Németh Sr., János Haskó & the Hungarian American Athletic Club, and the Children’s Folk Dance Group.

Lots of energy with all those folks onstage, and all that gorgeous music?  I bet!

Raul Rothblatt, the band’s bass player, says the word Életfa means “Tree of Life” – and for the band’s members, it’s a symbol for the whole Hungarian community in the United States.  The group has staged the Sunday performance as a kind of narration:  the drama of handing down the cultural traditions to a new generation.

To get a savory introductory taste of their music, check out artist Steve Harper’s dazzling video animation (also linked from the image at top), created for Életfa as part of a LinkTV/Eyebeam (www.eyebeam.org) project begun to create music videos for local world music artists. The LinkTV website notes that:

The songs are from Gyimes, a part of Transylvania that has a large Hungarian population despite its location in Romania, and is considered a remote area, even by Transylvanian standards. The

Hungarian dialect that is spoken and certain instruments that are played there are unique to the region, such as the utogardon, that looks like a cello, but is actually a percussion instrument. Listening to this music, it is easy to hear the tonalities that inspired the composer Bela Bartok, who is also famous for having made hundreds of field recordings of Hungarian folk music at the beginning of the twentieth century.

At the Hungarian Festival 2010
At the Hungarian Festival 2010

Folk music is still a very strong influence in Hungarian culture, both there and in Hungarian communities in other lands.

Mostly based in the New Brunswick, New Jersey area, Életfa was recently profiled on Ebru TV’s “Rhythm and Roots.”  That’s a really entertaining half hour, and showcases more of the high-powered music this band is famous for.  Hungarian folk music is predominantly played on stringed instruments only – but a couple of these instruments (the 3-stringed bass and the kontra, a 3-stringed viola) double as percussion.

Still another sample of their music, from the band’s website, is the lovely song Mezokolpenyi:

[audio:https://morristowngreen.com/files/2011/01/08_Eletfa_Mezokolpenyi.mp3|titles=Mezokolpenyi]

Életfa has been the “house band” for established Hungarian communities throughout the United States and Canada, from New Brunswick and Passaic in New Jersey, to Cleveland and Toledo in Ohio, and even to Livingston Parish (Árpádhon) in Louisiana.   They’ve performed at such venues as Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, The Library of Congress, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Empire State Building, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center, The Washington Press Club, and The American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan.

Eletfa
Eletfa

5 COMMENTS

  1. wow i just had to comment on this photo. i used to Live in the House on the LEFT with the telephone pole blocking the picture. its on Plum st. 1973-1976
    ive been back since then & the streets Look like they did years ago. Ive visited New Brunswick several times since 1980 BUT Finally went in 2003-04-2005.
    Lived on High st. 1976-1980. so i remeber going to the Festival as a Kid in the 1970’s Thanks for the great photo.

  2. Barbara,

    Thank you so much for sharing this information. I called the number and spoke with Mike who confirmed your findings. We looking forward to celebrating with all the other Hungarians and their guests at the Scout Fest on Sept. 4th!

    Leigh Ann

  3. Hi Leigh Ann:

    I just did a bit of Googling and found this web address: https://bit.ly/hLBERY .

    It seems to say that the festival will be on September 4 (a Sunday) in Parma, OH. If you click the link that says “more on Annual Hungarian Scout Festival”, there is a phone number to call at any rate. (It’s (440) 237-0135, in case the link above doesn’t go live when I publish this comment.)

    Hope that helps.

  4. Do you know if the Hungarian Scout Festival will be held this year in Cleveland, Ohio? I know in the past several years, it has been the first Sunday in September. We are planning a family reunion in Cleveland over Labor Day Weekend and would like to attend this festival (as my husband’s family is from Hungary – see last name “Kiraly”). Please advise and please share any contact information I can use if I have further questions. Thank you in advance.

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