Kodály, Jeney, Balogh & Dukay: Stolen Time

This album features a small part of Judit Rajk’s rich repertoire, Hungarian compositions of the 20th and 21st centuries, starting with Zoltán Kodály’s folksong arrangements, through Barnabás Dukay’s large-scale monody, Zoltán Jeney’s brief, resigned lament, to the sensitive song on the death of children by Máté Balogh. Although the bases of the works in this recording differ, they share one point in common: they use a small slice of the past in a daring and unique manner, whether it is actually used or merely as an element of inspiration. The challenge for the performer is to decide how to enrich this “past”, this time of tradition, with her own tempo.