Kállai kettős (Ligeti)

Kállai kettős, also referred to in English as Double-Dance from Kálló,[1] Kálló Two-Step,[2] Two Folksongs,[3] or its French form Kálló's pas de deux,[4] is an early vocal composition by Hungarian composer György Ligeti. It was composed in 1950 and is one of Ligeti's collections of Hungarian pieces which the composer himself conceived as a whole.

Composition

This composition was written in 1950, when Ligeti was still living in Hungary. As Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, Ligeti was very interested in adapting and arranging Hungarian traditional music with his own style. During this period, Hungary was going through a repressive Stalinist era. Ligeti himself commented once on one of its performances:[3][5]

József Gát, an outstanding piano teacher and choral director, asked me for a folksong arrangement for 'his choir', in 1950, without telling me what 'his choir' was called. He probably didn't wish to embarrass me and I thought nothing of it at the time. A few weeks later I was summoned by the state security (called ÁVÓ in Hungary). At the stipulated time I had to report to the ÁVÓ headquarters at the infamous Andrássy út 60. I was led into an auditorium where József Gát and about fifty women and men were assembled, dressed in the state security uniform of the armed border troops. They sang my work.
— György Ligeti

Ligeti also composed other early vocal compositions based on Hungarian folksongs, such as Bujdosó and Mátraszentimrei dalok. This composition was never given a formal premiere, even though it was published by Schott Music in 1952.[6]

Analysis

The compositions is in two movements, which are the two different dances featured in it. It takes approximately three minutes to perform. Both of its movements are joined with an attacca. The movement list is as follows:

It is scored for a mixed choir consisting of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. The songs arranged in this composition are traditional songs from the Hungarian area of Kálló. The text has been translated into English by Laurie Anne McGowan as an adaptation, that is, not for performance.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Ligeti, György (1952). Kállai kettős / Doppeltanz aus Kálló / Double-Dance from Kálló. Mainz: Schott Music.
  2. ↑ "György Ligeti Kállai kettös (Kálló Two-Step), for chorus". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 Bascom, Brandon Roger (2012). The legacy of József Gát on piano performance and pedagogy. Iowa City: University of Iowa – Iowa Research Online. p. 11.
  4. ↑ "Gyorgy Ligeti: Gyorgy Ligeti". EMI 20th Century Classics. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Steinitz, Richard (2003). György Ligeti: Music of the Imagination. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press. p. 61.
  6. ↑ "Kállai kettős composer: György Ligeti (Double-Dance from Kálló)". Schott Music. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
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