Amor Fati

Fatima Szalay is a young Hungarian singer who trained at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and this is her debut album featuring excellent performances of (mainly) traditional songs. She has a natural, unforced voice which suits the repertoire very well. Aged 18, she went with her teacher Éva Fábián to Transylvania to hear some of the traditional singers and she’s returned many times since. Many of the songs are from different parts of Transylvania and they’re recorded with a fine group of musicians, particularly the fiddler Pál Danhauser. They sound excellent on ‘Te Nyavalyás’ (You Scumbag) from the village of Palatka.

The name Fatima isn’t common in Hungary and comes from the fact that she was adopted and is half-Hungarian half-Afghan. This mix has led her to pick bilingual songs – in Hungarian and Romanian, Hungarian and Romani, Hungarian and Croatian. There are also Turkish songs with lute and clarinet. Rather different is ‘Psyché Dala’ (Song of Psyché), setting Hungarian lyrics to the tune we know as ‘Greensleeves’ and a more Balkan sounding irregular 7/8 melody. A refreshing new voice on the scene.