The "Rákóczi March" (
Hungarian: ''Rákóczi-induló''), sometimes known as the "Hungarian March" was one of the unofficial state anthems of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
before
Ferenc Kölcsey
Ferenc Kölcsey (archaically English: Francis Kolcsey, 8 August 1790 in Sződemeter – 24 August 1838) was a Hungarian poet, literary critic, orator, and politician, noted for his support of the liberal current in Hungary regarding the poli ...
wrote the
Himnusz
"" (; "Hymn" or "Anthem") is the national anthem of Hungary. The lyrics were written by Ferenc Kölcsey, a nationally renowned poet, in 1823, and its currently official musical setting was composed by the romantic composer Ferenc Erkel in 1844, ...
. It was most likely composed by Nikolaus Scholl in 1820. The melody later used in many famous compositions, most notably:
La damnation de Faust
''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique' ...
(
Hector Berlioz
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
) and
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 (
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
).
Origins
The "Rákóczi March" originates from the "Rákóczi Song" (Hungarian: ''Rákóczi-nóta),'' a melody that first appeared in the mid-17th century with various lyrics. The first widely known lyrics of this song is a
Kuruc poem that was a lament complaining about the misfortune of the Magyars and the Habsburg oppression, and it called back
Francis Rákóczi II
Francis may refer to:
People
* Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Francis (surname)
Places
*Rural ...
, the leader of the Hungarian uprising between 1703 and 1711, to save his people. Although tradition says that this version was the favourite song of Francis Rákóczi II and his court violinist, Mihály Barna, was theoretized to be the composer, scholars tend to agree that it was created around 1730 by one or more anonymous composers. This variant was very popular in the 18th century, became a folksong with more than 20 versions, and was sung even after the 1848 revolution. It gave inspiration to the poets
Sándor Petőfi,
Ferenc Kölcsey
Ferenc Kölcsey (archaically English: Francis Kolcsey, 8 August 1790 in Sződemeter – 24 August 1838) was a Hungarian poet, literary critic, orator, and politician, noted for his support of the liberal current in Hungary regarding the poli ...
and
Kálmán Thaly
Kálmán Thaly (3 January 1839, Csép – 26 September 1909, Zablát) was a Magyars, Hungarian poet, historian and politician. His most important works are his Kuruc poetry, the most famous literary forgery in the history of Hungarian liter ...
.
The instrumental version, referred as "Rákóczi March", appeared almost 100 years later, in the early decades of the 19th century. The composer of this variant remains uncertain; however, it was Nicolaus Scholl who first published his own compositions under this title in 1819 or in 1820, and most likely formed the currently known form of this song. He was the conductor of the 32nd Regiment of the Army of the Habsburg Monarchy that consisted of mostly Hungarians and was led by
Nikolaus II, Esterházy at this time. He was surely influenced by
János Bihary who reportedly played instrumental variants of the song between 1809 and 1820.
Famous compositions
In 1846,
Hector Berlioz
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
arrived to Pest-Buda (today's
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 ...
) to give two concerts to popularize his compositions. For this occasion, as it was usual in his era, he composed a few pieces for Hungarian melodies to win the favour of the audience. One of these pieces was an adaptation of the Rákóczi March that immediately became the favourite one of the audience as he noted in his memoirs: "...''the hall was shaken by unprecedented shouting and stamping of feet. (…) We had to start again but on the second occasion, too, the audience could hardly or not at all control themselves, just like on the first occasion."'' With some modifications, he included this composition later in ''
La damnation de Faust
''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique' ...
'', too, and this version is the best known variant to date.
Between 1823 and 1871
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
wrote a number of arrangements, including his
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15, based on the theme. Pianist
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of al ...
composed a variation on the "Rákóczi March" with elements of both the Liszt and Berlioz versions, which greatly expands on the bravura and flash of the Liszt composition.
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 Hun ...
,
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
,
Johann Strauss Jr.,
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music ed ...
, and
Ferenc Erkel also incorporated the melody in some of their compositions.
Usage
Today the tune is heard usually as an instrumental, without the lyrics. The Berlioz version has become a popular folk-music selection in Hungary, especially for weddings. The March is played at state and military celebrations and is the official inspection march of the
Hungarian Defence Forces. The tune was used for decades as the morning signal of
Kossuth Rádió
Kossuth Rádió (formerly known as ''MR1-Kossuth Rádió'', ''Radio Budapest'' and ''Budapest I.'') is the national radio station of Hungary. It was established in 1925 as Budapest I. and named after Lajos Kossuth, a Hungarian national hero, in 19 ...
at the beginning of the daily broadcast. The march gave its name to a 1933 Austrian-Hungarian feature film—''
Rakoczy-Marsch
''The Rakoczi March'' (german: Rakoczy-Marsch) is a 1933 drama film directed by Gustav Fröhlich and Steve Sekely and starring Fröhlich, Leopold Kramer and Camilla Horn. It was a co-production between Austria, Germany and Hungary.Dassanowsk ...
''—starring
Gustav Fröhlich (who also directed),
Camilla Horn,
Leopold Kramer
Leopold Kramer (29 September 1869 – 29 October 1942) was an Austrian stage and film actor.
Selected filmography
* '' The Eye of the Buddha'' (1919)
* ''Ungarische Rhapsodie'' (1928)
* '' Frauenarzt Dr. Schäfer'' (1928)
* ''Die geheime Macht' ...
and others.
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...
br>page
on ''Rakoczy-Marsch'' (accessed 5.9.2013) The March is also featured prominently in the French historical drama ''
La Grande Vadrouille''.
See also
* The national anthem of Hungary,
Himnusz
"" (; "Hymn" or "Anthem") is the national anthem of Hungary. The lyrics were written by Ferenc Kölcsey, a nationally renowned poet, in 1823, and its currently official musical setting was composed by the romantic composer Ferenc Erkel in 1844, ...
.
* Traditional unofficial national anthem of Hungary,
Szózat
References
Images of the sheet music
External links
*
*
Hungarian patriotic songs
Hungarian military marches
European anthems
National symbols of Hungary
{{anthem-stub