Csárdás
Encyclopedia
Csárdás (ˈtʃaːrdaːʃ, ˈtʃɑrdæʃ or ˈzɑrdəs) is a traditional Hungarian
folk dance
, the name derived from csárda (old Hungarian term for tavern
). It originated in Hungary and was popularized by Roma music
(Cigány) bands in Hungary and neighboring lands of Serbia
, Slovakia
, Slovenia
, Burgenland
, Croatia
, Ukraine
, Transylvania
and Moravia
, as well as among the Banat Bulgarians
, including those in Bulgaria
.
The origin of the Csárdás can be traced back to the 18th century Hungarian verbunkos
, used as a recruiting dance by the Hungarian army.
The Csárdás is characterized by a variation in tempo
: it starts out slowly (lassú
) and ends in a very fast tempo (friss
, literally "fresh"). There are other tempo variations, called ritka csárdás, sűrű csárdás and szökős csárdás. The music is in 2/4 or 4/4 time
. The dance
rs are both male and female, with the women dressed in traditional wide skirt
s, usually colored red, which form a distinctive shape when they whirl.
Classical composers who have used csárdás themes in their works include Emmerich Kálmán
, Franz Liszt
, Johannes Brahms
, Léo Delibes
, Johann Strauss
, Pablo de Sarasate
, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
and others. The csárdás from Strauss
' operetta
Die Fledermaus
, sung by the character Rosalinde, is probably the most famous example of this dance in vocal music. Probably the best-known instrumental csárdás is the composition
by Vittorio Monti
written for violin
and piano
. This virtuosic piece has 7 tempo variations. A recording of Monti's tune was made by Freddie Martin and His Orchestra (Whisper
ing: Gene Conklin) in Holywood
on November 6, 1948. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalogue number 20-3123 and by EMI
on the His Master's Voice label as catalogue number B 9716. The tune was arranged by Ballard.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
folk dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
, the name derived from csárda (old Hungarian term for tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
). It originated in Hungary and was popularized by Roma music
Roma music
Romani music is the music of the Romani people, who have their origins in Northern India, but today live mostly in Europe....
(Cigány) bands in Hungary and neighboring lands of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
, as well as among the Banat Bulgarians
Banat Bulgarians
The Banat Bulgarians are a distinct Bulgarian minority group which settled in the 18th century in the region of the Banat, which was then ruled by the Habsburgs and after World War I was divided between Romania, Serbia, and Hungary...
, including those in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
History
Verbunkos
Verbunkos is an 18th-century Hungarian dance and music genre. Erroneously, this genre was sometimes attributed to Gypsies, because usually they were the musicians, although the Magyars themselves were sometimes performers,as well....
, used as a recruiting dance by the Hungarian army.
The Csárdás is characterized by a variation in tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
: it starts out slowly (lassú
Lassan (music)
Lassan or more properly lassú is a musical term used to describe the slow section of the csárdás, a Hungarian folk dance, or of most of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, which take their form from this dance. It generally either has a dark, somber tone or a formal, stately one....
) and ends in a very fast tempo (friss
Friska
Friska , is a musical term used to describe the fast section of the csárdás, a Hungarian folk dance, or of most of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, which take their form from this dance. The friska is generally either turbulent or jubilant in tone....
, literally "fresh"). There are other tempo variations, called ritka csárdás, sűrű csárdás and szökős csárdás. The music is in 2/4 or 4/4 time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. The dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
rs are both male and female, with the women dressed in traditional wide skirt
Skirt
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...
s, usually colored red, which form a distinctive shape when they whirl.
Classical composers who have used csárdás themes in their works include Emmerich Kálmán
Emmerich Kalman
Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...
, Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes
Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...
, Johann Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
, Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués was a Navarrese Spanish violinist and composer of the Romantic period.-Career:Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Navarre, the son of an artillery bandmaster...
, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
and others. The csárdás from Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
' operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
, sung by the character Rosalinde, is probably the most famous example of this dance in vocal music. Probably the best-known instrumental csárdás is the composition
Csárdás (Monti)
Csárdás is perhaps the most famous composition of Vittorio Monti. A rhapsodical concert piece written in 1904, it is a well-known folk piece based on a Hungarian csárdás. It was originally composed for violin, mandolin or piano...
by Vittorio Monti
Vittorio Monti
Vittorio Monti was an Italian composer, violinist, and conductor.Monti was born in Naples, where he studied violin and composition at the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella...
written for violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. This virtuosic piece has 7 tempo variations. A recording of Monti's tune was made by Freddie Martin and His Orchestra (Whisper
Whisper
-In fiction:* Whisper , fictitious character in the popular Fantasy RPG Fable* Whisper, a character created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond novel and film Live and Let Die* Whisper , a 2007 horror film...
ing: Gene Conklin) in Holywood
Holywood
Holywood is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby. The town hosts an annual jazz and blues festival.-Name:...
on November 6, 1948. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalogue number 20-3123 and by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
on the His Master's Voice label as catalogue number B 9716. The tune was arranged by Ballard.
See also
- Márk RózsavölgyiMárk RózsavölgyiMárk Rózsavölgyi Rosenthal, 1789 Balassagyarmat – 23 January 1848, Pest) was a Hungarian composer and violinist. He has been called "the father of csárdás".- Life and music :...
- Vittorio MontiVittorio MontiVittorio Monti was an Italian composer, violinist, and conductor.Monti was born in Naples, where he studied violin and composition at the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella...
- Monti CsárdásCsárdás (Monti)Csárdás is perhaps the most famous composition of Vittorio Monti. A rhapsodical concert piece written in 1904, it is a well-known folk piece based on a Hungarian csárdás. It was originally composed for violin, mandolin or piano...
- Czárdás (Liszt)Czárdás (Liszt)The three czárdás that Franz Liszt wrote in 1881-2 and 1884 are solo piano pieces based on the Hungarian dance form of the same name. Liszt treats the dance form itself much less freely than he did much earlier with the verbunkos in the Hungarian Rhapsodies, and the material itself remains more...