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Today is the day of Hungarian culture. Only today, because, according to his own date, Ferenc Kölcsey finished the manuscript of the Hymn in 1823 on this very day. More than twenty years later, in March 1844, one of the polyhistorists of the Reformation, Endre Bartay, announced a tender for the music for the poem.
Twenty gold went to the “best folk tune”.
13 entries were received, the jury considered Ferenc Erkel’s composition to be the best by unanimous decision. In July of the same year, the play was presented for the first time at the National Theater, directed personally by Erkel.
But what do we sing in front of him?
Of course, there were solemn events in the life of the nation until then, but there was no formal Hungarian hymn. This function was performed mainly by religious songs, as a kind of unofficial folk hymn, which of course varied from one denomination to another. (So the Catholics sang differently, the Reformed and Lutherans sang another.)
The Kölcsey-Erkel composition, of course, could not be sung after the defeated war of independence, God receives The then Austrian imperial anthem served as a kind ofAlfred Hajós This was also the case with the Olympic victory of 1896) and sometimes even that of 1820. Rákóczi starter, in some official events.
After the disintegration of the Monarchy, all obstacles were removed.
During the socialist era, although the instrumental version was sometimes preferred due to the sacred nuances of the text, after 1956 there was no longer any prohibition of any kind. And since the regime change, it has now been established by law that the first stanza of the Kölcsey poem set to the music of Erkel is our official anthem.
Galore? Reá?
There is an eternal debate about how exactly the hymn text should be understood and sung. Several literary scholars got stuck on the first two lines. Although it may look like a hairline, it is
God bless the Hungarians
In a good mood, in abundance
It can mean at the same time praying for pleasure and (!) abundance at the same time, or even praying just to be abundantly blessed by God’s serenity. The first reading is more common, but there are also followers of the second decipherment.
The other famous dilemma arises with singing and is prosodic in nature.
Do you bring him a happy year or do you bring him a happy year?
The answer here is simpler: due to the easier singing, the second version is common, although this is not the case in the poem.
Verbunkos or duel?
Although it is customary to consider that in 1938 the Ernő Dohnányi transcription slowed down and orchestrated Erkel’s version to the current version, it did not actually record the interpretive practice that had already developed at that time. The most important change was the rhythm of the Anthem. It was originally more surprising and inspiring, but as national succession tragedies followed one another, it grew slower and more cloudy.
As surprising as it is, we must imagine its authentic rhythm in some way:
Meanwhile, Erkel’s score in E-flat major also became B major, as the historically authentic tone could be played almost exclusively by professional choirs, requiring such a wide range of sounds from ordinary people’s children.
In 2013, the challenge faced another challenge. It was found to be too long for Olympic medal distributions, after more than two and a half minutes, while only allowing a one and a half minute period of time for this, which would include the anthem of all other nations.
The Hungarian Olympic Committee then entrusted the MÁV Symphony Orchestra with the “condensed version”, and in the end the coercion turned into historical fidelity, since the Anthem is almost as Ferenc Erkel originally dreamed it for us.
(Cover image: Original manuscript of the Hymn. Photo: Tibor Rosta / MTI)
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