Márta Sebestyén (; born 19 August 1957) is a
Hungarian folk vocalist, composer and actress.
Early life
Sebestyén was born in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, Hungary.
Her mother is a composer, and was a music student of
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education.
...
. Her father was an economist and author. When Sebestyén was seven years old, her father, returning from a trip to the U.S. as a visiting professor (under a grant from the
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
), brought home a large collection of ethnic music recordings from the
Smithsonian Institution. Sebestyén was educated at
Miklós Radnóti Grammar School,
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
.
Career
Sebestyén is a founding member of Hungarian folk group
Muzsikás. She is known for adaptations of
Somogy and
Erdély folk songs, some of which appear in
Deep Forest's ''
Boheme'' album, which received the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for
Best World Music Album in 1995. She has also adapted
Hindi,
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
,
Serbian,
Bulgarian,
Slovak folk songs into traditional Hungarian style. She sang in and contributed material to the album ''
Kaddish'' by
Towering Inferno (
Richard Wolfson and Andy Saunders, 1993). She also sang "Rivers" on the multiple artist album ''
Big Blue Ball'' released in 2008.
Sebestyén's song "Szerelem, szerelem", performed with Muzsikás, featured in the movie ''
The English Patient'' (1996). Three more songs she recorded with Muzsikás appeared in the Japanese
anime film ''
Only Yesterday'' (1991) by
Studio Ghibli: "Teremtés" ("Creation"), "Hajnali nóta" ("Morning Song"), and "Fuvom az énekem" ("I Sing My Song"). Costa-Gavras' 1989 film ''
Music Box'' featured the opening half of Sebestyén's song "Mária altatója".
On 1 June 2010, Sebestyén was awarded the
UNESCO Artist for Peace title.
Influence
Ivor Cutler was a fan of Sebestyén, citing her influence on several occasions, most notably in an article for ''The Guardian'' newspaper in January 2004. Cutler selected two of her songs for a CD (''Cute, eh?'') released in 1999 containing his favourite musical tracks. Cutler also chose songs by Sebestyén for his 1991 BBC Radio series, ''Cutler the Lax''.
Selected discography
As primary artist
* ''Márta Sebestyén and Muzsikás'' (
Hannibal, 1987)
* ''Apocrypha'' (Hannibal, 1992)
* ''
Kismet'' (Hannibal, 1996)
With Andy Irvine and Davy Spillane
* ''
EastWind'' (
Tara, 1992)
With various artists
* ''
The Rough Guide to the Music of Eastern Europe'' (
World Music Network, 1999)
* ''
Big Blue Ball'' (
Real World,
Rykodisc, 2008)
References
External links
Márta Sebestyén official website (Hungarian)Márta Sebestyén official website (English)''Deep Forest'' official website (archived)''Muzsikás'' official website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sebestyen, Marta
1957 births
Living people
20th-century Hungarian women singers
Musicians from Budapest
Hungarian folk musicians
Hungarian world music musicians
Hungarian folk rock musicians