In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Lajos Bardos

Born: 1899. Died: 1986. Lived in: Hungary

Lajos Bardos was a composer, conductor, and professor of music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. Together with Zoltan Kodaly, he laid the foundations of 20th-century Hungarian choral music. From 1928 to 1967 he was a professor at the Academy, where he reformed the syllabus, emphasizing the training of choral conductors, the teaching of church music history, and instruction in music theory and prosody. In 1931 he co-founded the publishing company Magyar Korus, and served as editor of the musical periodical of that name from then until 1950, when it was banned. From 1934 he organized the "singing youth" movement, encouraging young people across Hungary to join choral groups and learn the basics of music.

Through his work as a conductor Bardos raised the standards of Hungarian choral singing to an international level within decades. He directed several choirs and encouraged the development of choral activity in remote areas of the country. His repertory was pioneering: he included choral music from before Palestrina, especially those of Josquin, and promoted new music (he introduced, for example, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms into Hungary). His own compositions also draw on Renaissance polyphony and Hungarian folk music, following in the tradition of Bartok and Kodaly.

Arrangements | Recordings

Recordings and DVDs

Cantemus Children's Choir : Lajos Bardos

Hungarian master composer Lajos Bardos (1899-1987) was an outstanding figure of the prominent generation of students of Kodaly and Bartok who, inspired by their ideas, did much for Hungarian musical culture. As with Kodaly and Bartok, after becoming a master, Bardos taught generations coming after him and was an active choral conductor (for the Cecilia Chorus, the Budapest Chorus and others) for decades. His work as a composer is represented on this disc by a selection of choruses for children's and female voices. Denes Szabo directs the Cantemus Children's Choir and Pro Musica in these 27 lively choral works: "Cantemus!," "On Sunny Roads," "Awake You, Youth," "Blow the Pipe," "Three Choruses for Children," the dramatic "Recruiting Song of the Hussars," "Breeze," "Hey, Put It Right!," the 2-part "The Bride," "To Ferenc Liszt," "In Memory of Bartok," "Summer-Sunday," "Gold-Winged Angel," and the sacred songs "Ave Maris Stella," "Ave Maria" and "The Blessed Virgin Mary." There is piano accompaniment on a few tunes. The high, bright voices of the children go perfectly with this material by a man whose life and work remain a gift to Hungary and to the world.

Songlist: Cantemus!, On Sunny Roads, Awake You, Youth!, Fairy Song, Blow the Pipe, Kutamen - Three Choruses for Children, Recruiting Song of the Hussars, Breeze, Hey, Put It Right!, Rika, Rika, High is the Rue Tree, The Bride, Tavunga, To Ferenc Liszt, In Memory of Bartok, A Tale of Miracle, Summer - Sunday, St. Cecilia, Gold - Winged Angel, Ave Maris Stella, Ave Maria, The Blessed Virgin Mary