Ikvai Nándor szerk.: Tanulmányok Pest megye múzeumaiból (Studia Comitatensia 3. Szentendre, 1975)
Néprajz - Paksa Katalin. Vázlatok Alsónémedi zenei életéről
IRODALOM Bartók В., 1924. A magyar népdal. Bp. Járdányi P., 1961. Magyar népdaltípusok. Bp. Kodály Z. f 1952. A magyar népzene. Példatárat szerkesztette Vargyas L., Bp. Kodály Z.—Vargyas L., 1952. A Magyar Népzene Tára II. Jeles napok. 1953. Szerk.: Bartók B. és Kodály Z. Sajtó alá rendezte Kerényi Gy. Bp. Volly I., 1947. Ütik a rézdobot. Bp. Katalin Paksa: SKETCHES OF THE MUSICAL LIFE OF ALSÖNÉMEDI Alsónémedi is a village near Budapest, whose inhabitants have greatly taken on bourgeois habits. We have endeavoured to sketch its musical life as it was 50—60 years ago, to demonstrate its folk-songs, referring to the continuity of musical culture and to the changes that have taken place up to our days. In doing so we relied on the recollections of people who are 60 to 70 years of age. The opportunities for singing and music-making were attached to 1. work performed in community, such as corn-husking, the different stages of hemp processing, the life of the agricultural workers; 2. the customs of family and social life, wedding feasts and dancing parties; 3. festive occasions, such as the celebration of namedays, the Nativity plays, the procession of the Three Magi. Important requisites of the village's musical life were the instruments: the zither, the shepherd's pipe, the swineherd's horn, the tárogató (a Hungarian oboe-like instrument). The brass-band was a local ensemble, while gipsy bands were occasionally hired from some neighbouring village. The opportunities for learning songs: During infancy the family played the most important part in teaching songs; later on they learned songs in communities, at parish feasts, markets and when doing military service. The stock of songs of the village has been very diverse. They sang and still sing folk-songs and other songs: popularly composed art music, Hungarian popular tunes, operettas, music-hall songs, pop tunes. Of these, however, the popularly composed ones are preferred. Together with the descending pentatonic tunes also the old-fashioned, adorned parlato-rubato manner of rendering disappeared completely. The giusto of a middle tempo suitable to the new style is now characteristic. Under the influence of the radio programmes, the mannered way of singing, the artificial vibration of the voice, the overdone rubato are often heard. At the same time, however, the expression of sincere feelings in the songs is not rare either. In general, people sing much and on many occasions at Alsónémedi also today. The general lack of aesthetical demands has its own historical and social reason: the old community standard became obsolete for the generation departing more and more from the traditional peasant culture.
