The Eighth Tribe, 1978 (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-02-01 / 2. szám
Page 4 THE EIGHTH TRIBE February, 1978 recognized that he had to look elsewhere for valuable national musical tradition. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kodály found what he was looking for, and this drastically altered the course of music history in Hungary. Kodály discovered, or rather rediscovered for the nation a hidden treasure, the folkinusic of the Hungarian peasants. Although most people did not even realize such music existed, it turned out to be the purest and noblest Hungarian folklore tradition. The most valuable segment of this music, labeled “the old style”, survived many centuries, and was found in the most remote areas, mainly in the Erdély region. These oldest folksongs (Elindultam szép hazámból, Felszállott a páva, etc.) are masterpieces, equal in their beauty to the highest standards of any musical criteria. Kodály was the first to realize that this treasure of folklore, being practically untouched by the influence of 20th century art music could inspire composers to renew their musical language, and it could be the source for an artistic rebirth, creating a truly Hungarian style. The pioneering historical folksong collecting journeys began in 1905, with Béla Bartók joining Kodály in the work. It was undertaken in what most Hungarians consider the “nick of time”, just before the corrupting effects of radio and other communications media. II Compositions by Kodály and Bartók soon absorbed the spirit of this music which was free of anything banal, cheap, sentimental, or superfluous, and which expressed deeply felt emotions with noble persuasion. The influence manifested itself in the use of melody, rhythm, and expressive-emotional content. But, perhaps even more importantly, a new, modern harmonic approach had to be employed. The “old style” resisted conventional harmonies; the traditional “functional” harmony did not fit this material. As a consequence, the worn out Romantic idiom was replaced by one which grew out of the spirit of the old folksong style. Kodály, Bartók, and a whole new generation of composers that followed, utilized the results of Mussorgsky and Debussy who also rebelled against the German domination, one in Russia, the other in France, hut they also reached for forgotten techniques as far back as the Renaissance. II In 1951, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences began to publish what will eventually become the greatest folksong collection in the world: Corpus Musicae Popularis Hungaricae. The basis for that undertaking is Kodály's and Bartók’s initial collection. Eight volumes appeared to date. After initial experimentations, the mature Hungarian school achieved world wide recognition. By the 1920’s it produced masterpieces. Kodály’s own two greatest works, the opera Háry János, and the cantata Psalmus Hungarieus were composed in that period. These milestones in the Hungarian music history (along with Bartók’s works), however, were not readily understood and accepted by a generation which grew up on Brahms, Wagner, or Imre Kálmán, and Elemér Szentirmay. At home, success was preceded hv hitter resistance not only by the old guard of professionals, hut by the Magyar Nóta loving general public as well. The self-assured, erudite, and calm Kodály became the artistic and ideological leader of the new movement. The task, clearly became that of educating the public to be receptive to the new musical idiom. No less had to be accomplished than elevation of the musical taste to a new, high level with the help of an efficient musical pedagogy. In order to achieve that goal, Kodály developed a whole new philosophy of what music education should be about. The essence of this philosophy is summed up in his well-known slogan: “music is for everyone”. The goal was to reveal the beauty of musical masterpieces for the widest possible masses of the populace. The most important means towards that end, Kodály professed, is teaching musical reading and writing (in fact thorough ear training) to all school age children. In order to establish a musical “mother tongue”, the best of Hungarian folklore became th e core of the teaching material. The detailed techniques of Kodály's basic philosophy, which came to he called “the Kodály Method”, were worked out by his disciples (Jenő Ádáni, etc.) under Kodály’s personal auspices. I The Method is currently being discovered and used all over the world, including the U.S. where a Kodály Training Institute has been established). Since teaching according to the method had to begin at an early age in order to prevent the brainwashing effects of the environment, a whole new generation had to grow up to bring it to fruition. The new pedagogical movement was launched in the 1930's witli Kodály’s children's choruses in the folk inspired, modern style. Other composers' (Ádám, Bárdos, etc.) contributions followed. The first written methodology hook was published in 1943. After the war, a series of music hooks for class room use were published, then a great number of singing exercises for ear training, most by Kodály himself. The rest is history. Gradually the whole country was converted to tlie methodology, and around the 1950"s,
