Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)

Settling In Budapest. Systematic Collection of Folk Songs (1907–1913)

SETTLING IN BUDAPEST. SYSTEMATIC

COLLECTION OF FOLK SONGS ( 1 907-1 91 3)

1912

private pupils, Boriska Kormos

in

Gyöngyös

to

come see him only on 19 November at the Kodálys

’ Budapest

flat in Áldás

Street,

where he will give the cancelled lesson.

Around 22 November - He is looking for yet another contact: he writes folk song researcher Tiberiu

Brediceanu

in Nagyszeben

(Szeben

county), inquiring about his collecting in Ugocsa county to avoid double collecting.

6 December - Once again he sets out on a collecting tour in the southern region, this time in Valkány

(Torontál county);

the Hungarian National Museum issues a letter of recommendation for him (under No. 1299/1912) on 7 December in support of folk song collecting, but it was too late to be taken along.

11 December - He is collecting in Sárafalva

(Torontál county),

then breaks his trip.

16 December - From Rákoskeresztúr

he

writes in detail about his planned itinerary for folk song collecting to Sámuel

Bobál evangelical

pastor of Egyházmarót (Hont county)

and to Tiberiu

Brediceanu

in Nagyszeben,

then leaves for Temesvár.

21 December

- The sub-prefect of Ternes

county

calls upon authorities in his letter No. 43666/1912 to support Béla

Bartoks

folk song collecting tour. He travels from Temesvár

radially

to the individual communities:

22 December

to Keviszöllős

(Torontál county),

from there to Széphely

(Ternes county);

23 December

to Széphely,

then

to Gilád

(Ternes

county);

on 24 December he collects in Gilád,

where

only men sing, while

on 26 December in Széphely

again

only young girls and women sing. - He writes his wife in Budapest that collecting went poorly at first, but later he got a better guide and managed to collect precious material, mainly ballads.

27 December - He proceeds towards the south, to Alibunár

via

Versec

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