Neked

Over the past five years, Hungarian violinist Félix Lajkó has become surprisingly prolific, having released half a dozen albums – the last being Most Jöttem. Neked (For You) comes without any English information, suggesting Fonó think it’s unlikely to appeal to an international audience. The songs are short settings of Hungarian poems by children’s writer Erika Barto: Lajkó is a fan of her poems and feels their simplicity can appeal to adults too. But even without understanding the lyrics, the folk-like melodies sung by Gabriella Tintér with mostly delicate accompaniments on violin and zither are charming.

The opening ‘Boszorka’ comes with strong, fiery violin and insistent, nervous zither plucks. ‘Festek’ is much more laid-back and easygoing. The most fun is ‘Parkoló’, with a classic old-style folk song melody. It’s illustrated by a nice line drawing of a French 2CV whizzing about: Bartos is also an excellent artist and there’s an illustration for every song.