Magyar News, 1998. szeptember-1999. augusztus (9. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1999-04-01 / 8. szám
by Bette Johnson On a Saturday afternoon in February about 200 adults and children spent an hour toe-tapping and hand-clapping to the vibrant music played by four men from the Ukraine who call themselves “CHERES” And what does CHERES mean? It is the ancient word in the Ukrainian language for a very wide leather belt worn by shepherds which had two to six buckles fastening it around the waist.. Costumed in brightly embroidered shirts, vests ,wide leather belts, dark trousers and low boots with tumed-up toes, only one player, the leader, wore a round felt hat trimmed with a colored band. These were some of the festive costumes of the Ukraine which ressemble closely clothing of Hungary, Rumania and other nationalities around the Carpathian! Mountains of eastern Europe. The brilliant colors of their outfits added to the fast-paced music played on a violin, an accordion, a bass fiddle and a variety of sizes of “pipes” . The tall, mustached leader was the "Piper". The audience quickly saw that these men were masters of speed and harmony! These pipes, used in many cultures by shepherds, ressemble the more modem instruments called "recorders". Made of beautifully polished woods, the different sizes of the pipes ranged from six inches to one mammoth pipe about twelve feet long which was made in two pieces and had to be attached together to be played.. The twelve-footer was different from the smaller pipes which had holes for the fingering. The player of the long pipe would merely blow various sounds ressembling a hunting hom. Strange,but a primitive form of producing sounds! Most of the tunes were very typical of those played in the Carpathian Mountains. Hungarians from that area recognized the motifs that used to be performed by the Hungarian gypsies. The songs and melodies played by the folk quartet included marches, dances, full of trills and rhythmic tempos. To watch the flying fingers and skills of these performers was breathtaking! Several songs in Ukrainian were interspersed with the instrumental works. One song was a traditional tune played while peasants would wash their wagon wheels. Another bubbley, gay and colorful song was typical of wedding music which could go on for two hundred hours! However, the performance by Cheres was so spirited that the hour's program of a dozen selections flew by and ended with hearty applause from the audience. The South Shore Music Club, Pequot Library, and Zera Musicland, offered this program, the second in a series of four programs A Musical Journey Around The World, an ethnic musical experience. These are open to the public at no charge, but tickets must be obtained at Pequot Library the week before each concert. http://www.fsz.bme.hu/hungary/ - Hungarian Home Page http://www.meh.hu/ - Prime Minister’s Office (Links to Ministries) http://www.hungarvemb.org/ - Embassy of Hungary, Washington, D C. http://www.hungarv.com/tourinform http://www.hu.net/hudir - Hungarian Internet Index http://www.hungarv.org/~hipcat/ - The Hungary Page http://www.hungarv.org/users/hipcat/historv.htm - Hungarian History Page http://origo.hnm.hu - Hungarian National Museum http://mineral.umd.edu/hungaria/ - Hungarian American Associations http://www.magvar.org/folklor/esemenvek.html - Folklore http://www.magyar.org/Folklor/Tisza http://www.blue-danube.com - Hungarian gifts on-line http://www.globewalker.com - Comprehensive Information on Hungary http://www.ksh.hu - Central Statistics Bureau http://www.bmc.hu - Budapest Music Center Online Page 6 Tunes from the Carpathian Mountains
