''Lakodalmas'', commonly translated into English as ''Wedding Dance'', 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 completed in 1950, before he finished his musical studies.

Composition

Ligeti finished this composition in 1950, when he was living in Hungary. At that time, he was following

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 steps: he produced other vocal compositions based on Hungarian traditional music and poems. This composition has been later associated with Bujdosó (1946) and Kállai kettős (1950), forming a set called ''Three Hungarian Folksongs'', even though there is no direct relation; all those compositions were composed, conceived, and published separately. ''Lakodalmas'' was composed during a Stalinist era, and Hungarian folksongs were strictly restricted. It was later published 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

This short composition is in only one movement and takes approximately one minute to perform. It is amongst Ligeti's shortest vocal compositions. It is scored for an unaccompanied mixed S A T B choir. The lyrics are in Hungarian and have never been adapted to any other language. However, they have been translated into English by Laurie Anne McGowan and German by Gyula Hellenbart. The lyrics are as follows: Menyasszony, vőlegény, de szép mind a kettő
Olyan mind a kettő, mint az aranyvessző
hej, mint az aranyvessző. Jeges a sudárfa, nehéz vizet merni
Ösmeretlen kislányt nehéz megölelni
hej, nehéz megölelni. Vetettem ibolyát, várom kikelését
Várom a rózsámnak visszajövetelét
hej, visszajövetelét. Van széna, van szalma a szénatartóba
megölellek rózsám a pitarajtóba!
haj, a pitarajtóba. The song has a steady tempo of ''♩ = 140'' and is marked '' Poco meno mosso'' towards the end of the composition, where the

eighth note 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...

s used along the composition are turned into

half note ''Half Note'' is a live album by saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1974 and first released on the SteepleChase label in 1985.List of compositions by György Ligeti This is a list of compositions by György Ligeti. Orchestral Concertos * ''Concert românesc'' (1951) * Cello Concerto, for Siegfried Palm (1966) * Chamber Concerto, for 13 instrumentalists (1969–70) * Double Concerto, for flute, oboe an ...

References

External links

A preview of the score

{{György Ligeti Compositions by György Ligeti 1950 compositions Choral compositions Contemporary classical compositions