Internationally known and recognized Hungarian musicians and singers can be heard on September 1, from 7:30 p.m. in the St. Stephen’s Basilica, where for the first time in the world we can hear the “Le Devleske” mass in the Lovári language.
Music forms a real bridge between people. Regardless of origin, it promotes the historical, intellectual and spiritual identity of a person. “Le Devleske” belongs not only to the Roma minority, but to everyone who knows how much European minorities have gone through in the course of history, forming a community with their fellow human beings.
Consonance
The entire text of the Bible was translated and published in the Lovári language only a few years ago. The permanent parts of the Holy Mass, which are also sung by the people, can now be heard in an authentic musical setting in the form of a special composition written for this occasion, live for the first time in the world, within a liturgical framework. Fantastic singers, a great choir and internationally known musicians and an excellent conductor will be playing the melodies of the mass.
The assignment
Preparing for the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress, Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate, asked György Lakatos, a multiple award-winning violinist of the American Protégé International Music Competition, who grew up in a musical family, to create and present the Roman Mass. His pianist mother and his primate father tried to protect the boys from this difficult, bumpy course. So he started playing the violin relatively late, at the age of 8.
A student becomes a teacher
György Lakatos’ talent is clearly indicated by the fact that at the age of 12 he was admitted to the preparatory department of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music. After a few years of study, he continued his studies as a music academician under András Kiss and then Miklós Szenthelyi. The excellent violinist is a teacher at the Snétberger Musical Talent Center. In 2013, György Lakatos won the first prize in the adult category of the American Protégé International Music Competition held in New York, which helps young artists build their careers, and the certificate for the best performer.
Born on Christmas Eve…
The idea of the Mass in Lovár came up a few years ago, after a Christmas mass in the Saint Stephen’s Basilica. György Lakatos recalled the circumstances of the invitation: “Cardinal Péter Erdő, Primate, with whom I have been in contact since his installation and have been invited to many church and secular events from him, said the following: “Some biblical texts have been translated into the Lovári language. In preparation for the National Eucharistic Congress, I would like the texts to be set to music”
The head pastor asked the violinist to welcome back the musical identity characteristic of Gypsy and Hungarian music in the classical music work.
A year later, the work was completed. György Lakatos received another commission: prepare the presentation of the play. Due to the epidemic, the premiere was postponed, but on September 1, the melodies of the Lovár mass will be heard for the first time in the world.
On the way
György Lakatos involved excellent musicians in the work. The composer of the Mass in Lovári is the only 23-year-old Oláh Patrik Gergő, born in Salgótarján. He started his music studies in his hometown at the age of seven, majoring in violin. In time, his interest in composing almost coincided with all of this. As a high school student, he entered the Sugár Rezső Composer’s Competition, where he finished 2nd. “That’s when it became obvious to me that composing is my path,” said the young talent. The next milestone was that in 2017 Oláh Patrik Gergő was admitted to the music composition department of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, in the department headed by Gyula Fekete, deputy rector.
Recognized talent
Oláh Patrik Gergő achieved his first international success as a music academic freshman at the Beethoven Composer’s Competition in Budapest, where he finished 1st. This was followed by several national and international competitions, of which the Béla Bartók World Competition stands out, where he reached the top 12.
Performance in front of 45,000 people
The young musician was the first violinist of the Sziget Classical Orchestra (Sziget Festival Symphony Orchestra) in 2017, and from the following year he became involved in the organization of the event as the group’s artistic director. “I had one of the most defining experiences of my life at the 2019 Sziget Festival. Because I was able to perform in front of 45,000 people on the Main Stage of the festival, where we spoke out against school bullying with the participation of American dancer Drew Dolaz, who has worked with stars such as Madonna, Skrillex or Rihanna.”
A historic moment
Gergő Oláh Patrik considers composing and spreading Roma culture to be his profession. He is currently a master’s student at the Academy of Music. In September 2021, we can hear his composition at the Eucharistic Congress, which is the first mass in the history of music in Lovári. The work is based on vocal and instrumental gypsy music. The newly translated Mass text was approved by Pope Francis.
A choir with two decades of history
At the premiere, we can hear the Belvárosi Ferences Kántorátus, led by organist Mónika Kecskés, the church music director and organist of the Belvárosi Ferences Temple. In the advent of 2002, the Cappella Mariana school was founded by music lovers, music teachers and musicians. Another group of the Kántorátus is the Greccio Ensemble.The school and the choir perform together on special occasions. In 2017, on the 15th anniversary of their existence, their name changed to Belvárosi Ferences Kántorátus. In 2011, the ensemble achieved silver at the Musica Sacra Bratislava International Competition. The choir has published several albums, one of them for the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ferenc Liszt.
Grazioso: we love string chamber music
The Chamber Orchestra of the National Philharmonic, Grazioso, also participates in the presentation of the mass in Lovári. In the fall of 2007, the ensemble was formed from selected artists of the National Philharmonic Orchestra with the aim of making string chamber music known and loved as widely as possible. The first artistic director of the Grazioso ensemble was Zoltán Kocsis, who paid close attention to the work of the ensemble, both as conductor and pianist.
The concertmaster
The Grazioso String Chamber Orchestra was founded by Detvay M. Marcella, and its concertmaster was Ferenc Bangó, who was a student of the special talents department of the Liszt Ferenc University of Music. The violinist, who has won prizes in numerous domestic and international competitions, has been a member of the National Philharmonic Orchestra since 1998 and concertmaster since 2015. We can hear him in a similar role since 2007 in the Grazioso Chamber Orchestra. Ferenc Bangó has been the concertmaster of the Solti Chamber Orchestra for twelve years, and has been a member of the world-famous Kodály String Quartet since 2014.
A thousand styles of an artist
Rózsa Farkas, Liszt and Artisjus award-winning dulcimer artist, will also participate in the premiere of “Le Devleske”, who changed instruments at the age of 12, as she started her studies on the piano. As a second-year student at the Bartók Conservatory, he made his debut with his master, Ágnes Szakály, at the La Fenice Opera House in Venice, and that’s when their dulcimer duo was formed, which has since recorded numerous records and radio recordings. In addition to classical music, Rózsa Farkas got to know Hungarian and Balkan folk music, as well as world music, but coffeehouse gypsy music is also not missing from her repertoire. He played in several domestic and international ensembles – for five years as a soloist of the 100-member Gypsy Orchestra. Several composers have written works for the dulcimer artist, who is also at home in contemporary music. Rózsa Farkas’ career so far has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Liszt and Artisjus awards.
A voice of the best
Two well-known and extremely talented singers, Nikoletta Szőke and Nikolasz Takács, can also be heard at the premiere of the mass. Szőke Nikoletta is a Montreux competition winner, Junior Prima award-winning performer, and one of the country’s most popular jazz singers. One of the most famous music critics, Ted Gioia, mentions him among the best non-American jazz singers in the world in his book “The State of Jazz Vocals Today”. In addition to domestic concert halls and festivals, he has performed with great success, including in New York, Tokyo, Brussels, Copenhagen, London and Berlin, singing with great artists such as Michel Legrand or Bobby McFerrin.
“Let the road take you”
So far, he has released seven solo albums, all of which topped the sales charts in Japan. His latest album, Moonglow, was produced by Grammy Award winner Helik Hadar. In the spring of 2017, we heard Nikoletta Szőke’s first own composition in Hungarian, entitled “Az út hadd vigyen”, and since then she has been continuously creating new songs. In the Dal 2021 program, he won the first selection with his own composition entitled “New Chance” and reached the semi-finals. With his band, the Szőke Nikoletta Quartet, he performs concerts both at home and abroad.
Hats off!
Nikolasz Takács is a thirty-two-times platinum and gold record performer, multiple Phonogram Award nominee. The guy in the hat with the great voice was recognized by a country from a television talent show. He began his musical studies at the Bratislava State Conservatory, majoring in classical singing and violin, then studied jazz at the Kőbánya Music Studio. At the age of nineteen, he was able to appear on stage with such outstanding musicians as the world-famous jazz drummer Vilmos Jávori, Gyula Babos, Tony Lakatos, Charlie and János Solti. The American smooth-jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum, who won the Grammy award, contributed to the fifth solo album of Nikolasz Takács. The Galanta-born singer has released seven solo albums in the past decade, is extremely popular on domestic stages as well as abroad, and regularly performs at sold-out international festivals.
Maestro
The harmony of great musicians and singers is created by a world-renowned conductor. The premiere will be conducted by the Istanbul-born Hungarian conductor Ertüngealp Alpaslan, who won the Mitropoulos International Conductor Competition in Athens in 2002 and has since been recognized internationally as an outstanding representative of the Hungarian conducting school. He has been the permanent guest conductor of the Szombathely Symphony Orchestra for twenty years, and music director since 2006. He founded the Academia Hungarica Chamber Orchestra from Hungary’s finest musicians, which for more than a decade only performed concerts abroad.
Track change
Ertüngealp Alpaslan was an excellent pianist, but he had to give up his career due to a hand injury he suffered in an accident. He then devoted all his attention to conducting. Winner of the 1998 János Ferencsik Conducting Competition in Budapest and the 1999 Prokofiev Conducting Competition in Saint Petersburg. He conducted the most prestigious orchestras in Hungary and abroad. For three years, as deputy and artistic assistant of the legendary conductor Claudio Abbado, he collaborated with, among others, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the La Scala Orchestra, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino from Florence, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart. He is currently a doctoral student at the Doctoral School of Philosophy at the University of Pécs.
On September 1, from 7:30 p.m. in Budapest, we can witness the premiere of the “Roma Mass” in the St. István Basilica.On September 9, at Hungexpo, within the framework of the Holy Mass, the pieces of the work will be played again.
Photo: Andrea Felvégi, Dávid Lukács
The original article is available at: https://www.iec2020.hu/hu/hirek-sajto/vilagpremier-kongresszuson
The article can be downloaded: Világpremier a kongresszuson _ Eucharisztikus Kongresszus – IEC2020
