Magyar Hírek, 1984 (37. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1984-01-21 / 1-2. szám
NEW TIMES, NEW TONES PHOTO: Mir Name a Hungarian pop-group that has broken big abroad? So much so that they have changed their name for better “visibility”? With singles and albums that have gone gold? And all this in the biggest record-buying country outside the United States? Who have just won a major pop-award and recording contract in Japan? The answer to all these questions is, of course, The Newton Family, the group that has dominated Hungarian disco ever since they were formed. In fact, they have been highly successful in Japan since a single, Sancta Maria, shipped gold there in 1979. Just last month, another single, Time Goes By, took first place in the Yamaha Grand Prize from a field of some 1,990 entries which came down to 18 fi-' nalists. With it went $ 10,000 cash and a three album contract from Toshiba Music. Their sound is somewhere between the gloss of Abba and the deadly studio productions that come out of Munich. Basically László Pásztor and Gyuri Jakab, the two members of the group who write mast of their numbers, give their albums a bright bouncy dance sound backed up with tuneful ballads. They share the singing among them, though Éva Csepregi and Ádám Végvári are prominent. They themselves put their success down to the fact that their albums are first and foremost danceable too. But there is more to it than that (Four gold singles and albums and a triumphant tour of Japan are no accident.) Along the way have acquired lyricists who have produced fine versions in English of their domestic hits — Iván Bradányi, who wrote their earlier records and the husband and wife team of István Ambrózy and Emőke Zákányi, They have an astute business sense too — witness the change of name from Neoton Família and, sign of the times here, forming their own record label, New Tone Music. Their records available in English versions are Sancta Maria, Don Quixote, Marathon, Gambol; the new one is due soon. p, d. The colourful world of Kalocsa embroidery motives came conjures up a vision of an ancient, traditional folk art practiced there. But the true story is different. It began to develop towards the end of the last century, when the nimble-handed womenfolk of the Kalocsa district began to embroider with black, red and blue threads border stripes of table and bed linen to patterns given by manchester goods merchants who paid meagre wages for their work. In time they acquired the skills not only of the technique of needlework but also of the design of patterns. In time, they formed, recoloured the patterns to suit their own taste and used them on their own shirts, sleeves, blouses, kerchieves, cushions, and covers. Early this century they already did away with the stencilled patterns and drew their own individual ones instead. The most talented of them used their drawing ability not only for their embroidery work but also to paint the outside walls of their houses with the colourful flower patterns, that sprung to life under their busy hands. The basic characteristics of the present-day embroidery work developed from the crystallization of motives used for wall painting. The improvement of techniques contributed to artistic changes. It produced, for instance, the application of broiderie anglaise, which made the materials look like lace. Kalocsa embroidery changed in other respects too because the flower ornaments, which used to be applied in stripes now cover the surfaces to suit their character, occassionally completely. Compared to embroidery in other areas of Hungary, which preserved their traditions for hundreds of years, Kalocsa embroidery is a relatively new folk art, but it is practiced by hundreds of thousands at a high standard, for it is beautiful, stylish, and easily lends itself to variations. ÁGNES NYERGES If there is such a thing as a popular pastime Kalocsa needlework certainly is that. Several hundred thousand women took to the needle in Hungary in recent years to try their hands at Kalocsa embroidery either as a way of passing the time or for practical purposes. It became so fashionable, that the Kalocsa needle-work has almost monopolized the concept of needle-craft. What kind of needle craft is Kalocsa embroidering? Technically, it is a combination of eyelet embroidery, loop stiching, broiderie anglaise, satinstiching and straight stiching applied to white cambric or fine linen as a decoration following the contours of a pre-drawn or stencilled pattern. The motives used are stylized garden and wild flowers: roses, pansies, fuchsias, forget-menots, leaves, stemps, pistils or stamens. The colours of Kalocsa embroidery are also reminiscent of the fresh variety of garden colours. Perhaps the most enticing feature of this needle-work, and the one that is the most likely the reason for its popularity is that while the stencilled pattern determines the lines one has to follow, it allows some freedom in the tones one uses to imitate the colours of nature. Everyone is at liberty to turn the petals of the roses to any shade from light rose to deep red, to use the tone of green she likes most for stiching the stems of leaves. Arranging the flowers into garlands, scattering them about the material, grouping them into various formations offers an almost limitless opportunity for using Kalocsa embroidery. It may decorate a tray-cloth as well as the neckline, or border of a summer evening dress, a table cloth, or an apron, a blouse or collar. Colourful boleros and bodices, even cushions are made in open-work Kalocsa embroidery. The name of Kalocsa, calling to mind the district from which the more or less closed world of these PHOTO: FERENC NOVOTTA 62
