''Kismet'' is an album by the Hungarian musician

Márta Sebestyén Márta Sebestyén (; born 19 August 1957) is a Hungarian folk vocalist, composer and actress. Early life Sebestyén was born in Budapest, Hungary. Her mother is a composer, and was a music student of Zoltán Kodály. Her father was an economi ...

, released in 1996. It is in the

táncház Táncház (, literally "dance house") is a "casual" Hungarian folk dance event (as opposed to stage performances). It is an aspect of the Hungarian roots revival of traditional culture which began in the early 1970s, and remains an active part of ...

musical tradition of Transylvania. Sebestyén supported the album with a North American tour.

Production

The album was produced by Nikola Parov. It includes songs from outside of Sebestyén's Hungary, a first for the musician; on some songs, Sebestyén combined musical styles of different countries to illustrate their connections. Sebestyén sang in English on the majority of the album's songs.

Critical reception

The ''

Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

'' wrote that "this is music that has lived and died a thousand times, sounding so ancient and distant even when updated for the world-music crowd that likes its exotica pristine and slick." ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' called ''Kismet'' "a truly remarkable recording," writing that "the album draws not just from the Hungarian tradition, but also from the music of Ireland, India, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Tatarstan... It's a heady mix, but because Sebestyen so clearly understands the connections between these cultures, the melodic threads weave easily into a strong and lustrous fabric." ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' determined: "Entwining traditional and modern instruments and songs from Eire to India, this is an impeccable, at times transcendent fusion." '' The Republican'' noted the "exquisite soundscape of violins, flutes, acoustic guitars, mandola, tamboura and a host of other instruments." ''

City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...

'' deemed the album "a mostly acoustic set of gorgeous internationalist folk."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that "this is world music fusion as an expression of culture, at the same time as it is an expression of the universality of some ideas and emotions."

Track listing

References

{{reflist Márta Sebestyén albums 1996 albums Hannibal Records albums