MusicFolder
Advertise on ChoralNet 
ChoralNet logo

Hungarian help?

Hello Choralnet colleauges,
 
I conduct a young women's ensemble in eastern Canada and have programmed Magos a rutafa by Bárdos (a set of three small pieces) for a concert this March.  In the edition I received no English translation was included and all the editorial markings are in Hungarian.  If there are any Hungarian speakers out there, could you tell me what the following editorial indications mean and offer a rough translation of the text?
 
Editorial Markings:
Heves lendülettel
Lassan, szabadon
Kissé gyorsabban
még lassabban
Igen ritmikusan
Tempóban
komor gyászpompával
miként fekete posztóval bevont dobok
 
The poems for the pieces are as follows:
I.
Magos a rutafa
ága elágazik,
Selyemsárhaja, 
Magyar Ilona,
Haján fölű gyögy,
koszorúja gyöngy.
Egyik ága hajlik
barna legény udvarába,
Másik ága hajlik
szőke leány udvarába,
Selyemsárhaja,
Magyar Ilona,
haja gyöngy, koszorúja gyöngy.
 
II.
Hopp ide tisztán,
szép pallutt deszkán,
nem leszek többé
nyoszolyó leány
ha leszek, leszek, menyasszony leszek,
annak is pedig legszebbje leszek.
 
III.
Összegyűltek az izsapi lányok,
Osz-sze-szektek egy marék lisztecskét,
M-hm ej-ha egy mar´k lisztecskét.
 
Meggyúrák azt, meggyúrák azt, 
zsíros gombócának.
 
Odaméne a biró kutyája.
Mind megevett, zsíros gombócábol.
 
Mind megevett, 
Igy lőn vége, a leányi báknak
hogy odament a bírókutyája és mind megevetta
zsíros gombócából, vége!
 
 
Thank you very much for any help you can provide!
Sincerely,
Christina Murray 
on January 2, 2009 3:19pm
The editorial markings:
 
Heves lendülettel
With fervent drive

Lassan, szabadon
Slowly, freely

Kissé gyorsabban
A bit faster

még lassabban
More slowly

Igen ritmikusan
Quite rhythmically

Tempóban
A tempo   

komor gyászpompával
With somber mourning-pomp

miként fekete posztóval bevont dobok
in the manner of drums covered with black felt
 
(I'm really curious about the context of that last one!)
on January 2, 2009 10:00pm
OK, it took me a bit, but here are the poems:
 
I.
 
(This one is rather abstract and difficult to translate - since Hungarian has no his/hers or he/she, the possesive pronouns in this poem can refer to either the rue tree or the girl (Ilona).  So, I've rendered all the English possesive pronouns as "her".)

Tall* is the rue tree,
her branch branches out,
Her silk mud hair,
Magyar Ilona**
About her hair a pearl,
her wreath is pearly.
The first branch bends
towards the brown lad's court,
The second branch bends
towards the blonde girl's court,
Her silk mud hair,
Magyar Ilona,
Her hair is pearly,
her wreath is pearly.

*Magos is an archaic form of "tall", but in modern usage "magos" means "seedy" - as in full of seeds.
So, this is either "Tall is the rue tree" or "Seedy is the rue tree."  The context seems to suggest "tall."

**Magyar Ilona is a name - the literal meaning is Helen Hungarian.

II.

Jump here neatly,
on the boardwalk,
I will no more be
a bridesmaid,
if I become, I become, I become a bride;
I will be the prettiest, too.

III.

The girls of Izsap* have assembled,
They have gathered a little handful of flour,
M-hm ej-ha** a little handful of flour.

They knead that, they knead that,
into lard dumplings.

The judge's dog comes over.
All of the lard dumplings are eaten.

Everything is eaten,
Thus comes the end of the girls' doings,
that the judge's dog went over and ate all
of the dumplings from, the end!

*Izsap is a village in the Hungarian region of present-day Slovakia.
**These are just vocalizations, not words.
 
on January 3, 2009 1:51am
Dear Christina Murray,
First of all I wish you and your choir a peaceful, happy new year full of beautiful music.
I would help you in the work with Bardos Magos a rutafa.
Please send an e-mail for me, and I will give the translation of the editorial suggestions, and some information on the text as well.
With friendly greetings by,
Eva Kollar
prof. of choral conducting at the Liszt Ferenec Academy of Music Budapest,
conductor of the Budapest Monteverdi Choir
  • You must log in or register to be able to reply to this message.