Sebő Ensemble – Táncházi Muzsika - Music In Folk Dancing Rooms

"Following the work of folk-music collecting hallmarked by the names of Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály, the collecting of peasant dances also began in Hungary. Folk-dance performances attracting wide interest were held as early as the late 'thirties' but the peasant of folk-dance - in the rendition of professional and amateur dance ensembles - really made its break-through on the stage after World War II. It became known and popular as a stage production, in arrangements by choreographers, and the most outstanding Hungarian dance ensembles presented Hungarian peasant dances virtually all over the world. Recent years have brought a new, different demand with regard to folk-dance in Hungary, and young people now want to only to enjoy it in a stage-managed form, but actually dance it for sheer enjoyment in the ballrooms. Similar folk-dance clubs have existed for a long time in the towns of several European and overseas counrties, and in Hungary they have now become established as "folk-dancing rooms". In the villages this was once the term used both for the place young people went for amusement, and the occasion itself.

In the Hungarian folk-dancing rooms people usually dance what is called "programme of dances". These programmes came into fashion at the balls of the Medieval Royal Courts, and were then ed on by the aristocracy and later by the bourgeoisie to the peasants. The programme of dances or dance cycle means a series with the order of the dances strictly defined. This strict order has remained one of the main characteristics of the entertainments in the folk-dancing rooms as well.

At the initiative of FOLKRAFT-EUROPE, on of the great international music accompaniment supplying centres of folk-dance, Hungaroton has released about 100 minutes of folk-dance music of the most popular pieces of the Hungarian dance houses, performed by the Sebő Ensemble.

The Sebő Ensemble first appeared in public in Budapest in 1969. It is led by Ferenc Sebő, who, together with Béla Halmos, an other founder of the ensemble (both of them architects by profession) were the first disseminators of old folk-dance music in the Hungarian folk-dancing rooms. They have scored significant successes with their individual programmes from Japan to Scandinavia, and by now are among the best representatives of the genre internationally. An unusually interesting feature of the recording is the fact that excellent peasant musicians have participated in it as guest performers. The melodies used on the record come partly from live collections and partly from scholarly publications, adhering strictly, so far as possible, to the various dance types. Virtually all the music has been grouped according to the dance cycles. Let us note here that part of them may be used for the collection, "The Art of Hungarian Folk Dance", by Pesovár and Lányi. The figures given in square brackets after the various dance names always refer to the number of the dance description in the above mentioned book."
Csaba Pálfi - Sándor Tímár