A Föld Hátán, S Az Ég Alatt (Székelyföldi Népzene Az Elmúlt 120 Évből)

Zoltán Juhász, an ethnomusicologist and a renowned bagpipe, whistle and flute player joined Marianna Nyitrai, a famous folk singer, activist and teacher to record this, whose title translates as The Earth's Back, Under the Sky (Székely Land Folk Music Over the Past 120 Years). It is a collection of folk tunes from Nyitrai's homeland – Székely Land, a historic and culturally interesting area in Romania inhabited mainly by Hungarians.

The record opens with three tunes played with kaval – a flute, performed with drone-like singing – and monodic vocal parts. The sounds of flute and voice weave in long melodies in odd metres and the lack of other instruments creates a soft atmosphere with a lot of space for the listener to dive into. It is almost a meditative experience, calling calm landscapes of fields and mountains to mind.

‘Napom, Napom!’ is the first dance tune on the album and Üsztürü Band add shimmering Balkan mandolin and double bass to the arrangement. The energetic difference and sudden, joyful harmonic changes will make a shiver run up your spine – it is for sure the strongest track on this record.

The album is full of vibrating dance rhythms, tempo changes and gentle, captivating melodies. It has the raw character of an ethnographic documentary that makes it engagingly honest and somewhat innocent while it also emanates an artistic virtuosity that will catch your ear.