''Haj, ifjuság!'', also referred to in English as ''Oh, Youth!'', ''Hey, Youth!'', and simply ''Youth!'', is an early vocal composition by Hungarian composer

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde composers in the latter half of the twentieth century" ...

. It was finished in 1952 and published in 1999.

Composition

''Haj, ifjuság!'' was finished in 1952 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, while Ligeti was still a student at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

. Ligeti was, at that time, very influence by

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

's work, and tried to follow his steps when he composed music based on Hungarian traditional songs or poems, as he also did in Lakodalmas, Bujdosó and Kállai kettős. The music used in his Ligeti's early compositions, however, were not extracted from folksongs, but were composed in his own style. Moreover, in 1952, Hungary was occupied by Russia and Hungarian culture was mostly censored, rarely published and secretly performed. It was published much later, in 1999, by

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fou ...

Analysis

Even though it is usually listed and recorded in one movement, ''Haj, ifjuság!'' consists of two movements joined by an

attacca A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

. It usually takes approximately four to five minutes to perform and is scored for a mixed choir which should consist of

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

s, and

basses Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass ...

. The movement list is as follows: * 1. ''Azt hallottam rózsám''. Parlando (nem lassú) * 2. ''Nem láttam én télbe fecskét''. Allegro This composition has been translated and adapted into German by Hilger Schallehn and into English by Desmond Clayton.

References

External links

A preview of the score
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haj, ifjusag! 1952 compositions Compositions by György Ligeti Choral compositions Contemporary classical compositions

Composition

Analysis

See also

References

External links