Inner Voice is the continuation of last year’s Heavenly Voice. It is only through complete silence and inward contemplation that we can reach the depth of our innermost self. The forces slumbering in the depths of our selves are touched by the most archaic Hungarian prayers, songs and Gregorian chants, using the most natural stringed instrument, the human voice and the double bass.

“The sky is untied from the earth
–not by the dawn, as Attila József wrote in his famous poem, but by the magic of sound casting its spell on us. For a single moment of silence, a special time lasting a few breaths. For an entranced hour, … brought about only by sound and the creation, meeting, separation, spread and rise of sound: the human voice and the sound drawn (by the other person) from the instrument. The obedience of the double bass, the movement of the bow, at times barely perceptible at others heavily emphatic, provide the movement in this visually restrained production…..” Emese Egyed, Kolozsvár/Cluj

“God never hurries and is never late. He is always there. Precisely.
Belief, some kind of certainty that ticks away unnoticed in everybody’s life and which is shaped into a clattering, knocking imprint in our selves – in the confused chaos of our wills, desires and deeds. It ticks away there…
They set themselves an enormous undertaking: to explore the side of the world beyond the self. And something fundamentally more: to question it and gain a response, and tell us what they saw. To make the Earth, Waters, Fire and Air speak. To show that there is still a place in the world that remains intact. And lives in us. It slumbers in our vocal chords and the strings of our double bass. We only have to dare to hear it.” Sándor Semsei, Budapest

The Budapest Tomkins Vocal Ensemble was founded in 1978. Both artistic director János Dobra and most of its members graduated from the Franz Liszt Music College. Together, they worked with a repertoire for which at the time, there was no performing tradition in Hungary. Their style of singing followed the English model (the titular Thomas Tomkins was an English Renaissance composer), but later embraced and integrated other styles. They have given concerts all around Europe, as well as in Japan and India. Besides performing Hungarian music, the Tomkins Ensemble performs a wide range of works, from the Renaissance to those by living composers. Indeed there can be few such vocal works that the Tomkins Ensemble has not sung and performed. They are also keenly interested in different types of liturgical music, for example that of Rachmaninov, which the Ensemble premiered in Hungary. Many contemporary composers have written pieces for them to sing.

János Dobra founded the Tomkins Vocal Ensemble in 1978. He graduated from both the double bass and choir conducting faculties at the Music Academy in 1980. He then studied conducting with Albert Simon. In 1995 he founded the Budapest Purcell Festival of which he is the artistic director.

Dutch discoverers of Hungarian music, led by Péter Scholcz. A chance to rediscover our own treasures!

ELTE University Béla Bartók Choir and Concert Orchestra
The ELTE University Béla Bartók Choir was founded in 1948 by Gábor Baross who remains its conductor and artistic director. The choir enjoys international renown and has performed in Europe and USA. It has won international competitions and represented Hungarian choir culture at international festivals. The Choir performs regularly with the equally celebrated ELTE concert orchestra, which was founded in 1957 and for ten years, has been a regular participant at the Chamber Music Festival and course sponsored by the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra and organised by the Óbuda Music Circle. Their repertoire features works by Baroque, classical and contemporary Hungarian composers. The likes of Kamilló Lendvay, Zoltán Jeney, Miklós Kocsár, Emil Petrovics, Attila Reményi, László Dubrovay, János Vajda, György Orbán and Levente Gyöngyösi have written and dedicated works to the two ensembles. Distinguished instrumental and vocal soloists regularly perform at their concerts.

The Hungarian Radio Choir was formed in 1950. The ensembles conductors have been Endre Székely, Darázs Árpád, Zoltán Vásárhelyi, Cecília Vajda, Imre Csenki, Ferenc Sapszon and Péter Erdei. Since 1992 their choirmaster has been Kálmán Strausz. The repertoire of the Hungarian Radio Choir encompasses all areas of choral music including opera and oratorio in addition to operetta and musicals. Classical and contemporary composers play a great role in the work of the choir. In 1985, the choir’s work was recognised with the Bartók-Pásztory prize. During its existence, the choir has worked with virtually the major world conductors: Antal Doráti, János Ferencsik, Lovro von Matačič, Kurt Masur, Paul Sacher, Peter Schreier, Eric Ericson, Yehudi Menuhin, Lamberto Gardelli, Tamás Vásáry, Giuseppe Patané and Marcello Viotti have all conducted the orchestra. In 2003-2004, the choir enjoyed a very successful tour of Transylvania and Slovakia.

Kálmán Strausz graduated from the Budapest Franz Liszt Music Academy where he studied with Zoltán Vásárhelyi and István Párkai. In 1974 he joined Hungarian Radio as an editor and from 1977 worked as the conductor of the Budapest Youth Choir and leader of the classical music department of Hungarian Television. He was artistic director of the Debrecen Kodály Choir between 1984 and 1991. He has won many competitions with his choirs; he has made records and television and radio recordings. He is a founder of the biannual Budapest InterNational Choir Competition and its artistic director. He is regularly asked to sit on juries at interNational Choir competitions (Debrecen Béla Bartók Choir Competition, the Stuttgart German Choir Competition, the Lawton University Singing Competition.) He has been a guest conductor in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Japan and the United States. In April 1999, he was asked to rehearse the singers for a production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller in Barcelona. Since 1992 he has been the chief conductor of the Hungarian Radio Choir. In 1997 he received the Liszt Prize and in 2004, the Lajtha Prize.

This King Saint Stephen Symphony Orchestra is an amateur ensemble made up from high school students. It was formed in 1954 by music teacher, composer and conductor József Záborszky. In 1960, he also founded the oratorio chorus on a similar basis. He remains the artistic director of both groups, and these ensembles have helped train generations of musicians. His work is being continued by his son, Kálmán Záborszky, the director of the King Saint Stephen Music School and Conservatoire. The high level of the orchestra and chorus’s work has enriched Budapest’s music life, and the two ensembles have given a host of premiere performances. Guest conductors have included János Ferencsik, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi and Tamás Vásáry.