Béla Bartók (1881-1945) - Duos, Sz.98 by ViolMedium

Béla Bartók (1881-1945) - Duos, Sz.98

Rutén Kolomejka.’ No.35
Oláh Nóta ‘Wallachian Song,’ No.7
Tót Nóta ‘Slovakian Song,’ No.8
Szentivánéji ‘Midsummer Song,’ No.4
Gyermekrengetéskor ‘Cradle Song,’ No.11
Menetelö Nóta ‘Hungarian March,’ No.18
Minuetto, No.3
Mese ‘Fairy Tale’, No.19
Burleszk ‘Burlesque,’ No.16
Lakodalamas ‘Wedding Song,’ No.13
Magyar Nóta ‘Hungarian Song,’ No.25
Párnás Tánc ‘Pillow Dance,’ No.14

Commissioned by German violinist Erich Doflein, Béla Bartók composed his 44 Duos, Sz.98 in 1931 as a series of pedagogical pieces not unlike his Mikrokosmos (1926-1939). Bartók draws from a variety of Eastern European folk melodies & dances as per his youthful ethnomusicological travels with colleague and composer Zoltán Kodály, representing music of many eastern European oral traditions: Hungarian, Romanian, Ruthenian, Serbian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and more. The exquisite quality of the counterpoint, as well as the timbral contrasts, harmonies and melodies make these works ideal for translation to the transparent colors of violas da gamba.

Performed by @EricAMiller-1 & @PhillipWSerna February 3, 2019 at Emmanuel Episcopal Church of La Grange (www.emmanuel-lagrange.org) as part of @ViolMedium's program Façades & Duplicities - Beguiling Curiosities & Excursions for Dueling Gambas, Copyright © 2019 ViolMedium. https://youtu.be/Yh7eUGARp_o

Founded by gambists Eric Miller & Phillip Serna, the viol is the medium through which we bridge contemporary & historically-informed performance with experimental and innovative programming for violas da gamba – ViolMedium!

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