Halmos Béla and Táncház- Palatkai Táncok (Dances from Palatka, 1977)

Dance Cylce:
Lassú- 0:00
Lassú Csárdás- 6:29
Szökős- 13:16
Sűrű Csárdás- 18:26

This is a rare and raw recording by Gary Coyne who spent the summer in Hungary in 1977, recording and filming traditional dances at the Budapest Dance House (Táncház). Very few copies of these recordings exist, and I was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of these 3x vinyls that capture the music from the Táncház Movement. The first album is titled " Dances From Southern and Northeastern Hungary", 2nd is "Palatkai Tancok - Dances From Palatka", and the finale is "Széki Táncrend - Dance Cycle From Szék".

"These recordings are one of the most authentic and raw documents of the Hungarian Dance House movement and if not the only one which documents this movement in such an early form and raw quality. Musicians playing, people dancing, whistling, and shouting.... Gary was able to bring the very first recordings of the Téka band's first authentic Dance House recordings. Long lost LPs have been unearthed in a very limited quantity, of which there are last two complete sets in existence left." -Richard Belan

My friend, Richard Belan (AKA: MusicThatShapes), has identified the bands playing such as Muzsikás, Téka, and Sebő. In this featured video, I managed to identify the violinist as Béla Halmos (1946-2013), due to his familiar style and patterns of which he plays. After listening to this genre of music with serious attention in the past 10 years of my life, it would be difficult to mistake his violin and playing style with anyone else. He carries the fiddle style from the village of Szék (Mezőség), which I assume to be his favorite style, into his other songs. The accompaniment musicians could be a mix of players from Muzsikás, Téka, Sebő, and possibly other bands. Still, it's difficult for me to tell, and the info was neglected from the album's essay material. Regardless, I am confident that the lead violinist in this recording is Béla Halmos. For those who recognize his voice, around the 4:20 mark, you can clearly hear him singing along.

I'll be sure to upload more from this beautiful collection and a deep-dive video covering this beautiful and authentic work by Gary Coyne. Who not only recorded this featured music but also self-published it to a limit of 30 copies.

Palatkai Tancok (Dances From Palatka)
Track: B1- Lassu, B2-Mezőségi
Played by: Halmos Béla and other musicians
Recorded and Self-Released by Gary Coyne (1978)
Location: Táncház in Budapest, Hungary (1977)

https://www.discogs.com/release/11748...

#hungarian #folkmusic #népzene #transylvania #palatka #music #rare #dancemusic