Bartók Béla, ifj.: Chronicles of Béla Bartók's Life (Budapest, 2021)
Settling In Budapest. Systematic Collection of Folk Songs (1907–1913)
1910 CHRONICLES OF BÉLA BARTOK'S LIFE Bucharest. In a letter dated 29 November, József Rippl-Rónai wrote Bartok: “I hear you will go to Veszprém on 3 December”. (This didn’t happen.) 5 December - Debussy’s concert at the Budapest Vigadó. Debussy plays Childrens Corner, 3 pieces of Pagodes, and accompanies the singing of Rose Feast; Debussy’s String Quartet is performed by the Waldbauer String Quartet. Bartok had wanted to meet Debussy, but whether or not this came true is uncertain. Bartok is preparing to go to Transylvania for the Christmas holidays, he sends 60 phonograph cylinders ahead, takes along 100 himself. 24 December - He arrives in Transylvania, stays in Abrudbánya (Alsó- Fehér county) between the 25th and 28th. 27 December - He is collecting in Kerpenyes (Alsó-Fehér county), 45 songs between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m., then he walks back to Abrudbánya through beautiful - safe - countryside. 28 December 2 - He writes his wife a letter in French about Abrudbánya, that collecting is impossible there, so he moves on to Topánfava (Torda-Aranyos county). 29 December - He sends his wife a closed postcard from the community of Fehérvölgy - called Albac by the Romanians (Torda-Aranyos county). He describes at length the beauty of the land and the difficulties of folk song collecting as habitations are scattered considerably “the villages ... scattered on a huge territory ... the neighbouring group of houses... about an hour’s walk away ...” He writes sadly: “... folk costume is ruined”. By then recorded material filled 38 cylinders. He collects in Torda-Aranyos county in the communities of Feketevölgy, Középvidra, Fehérvölgy, Bisztra, Alsóvidra, and Felsővidra. 31 December - By the time of the national census, he is in Fehérvölgy, he is registered there. - He writes a letter to his mother and wife: “I got about 150 numbers, although half of them are not songs but dance fiddle, alpine horn signals, piping.” He is enchanted by the beauty of 126
