Verbunkos

Verbunkos (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈvɛɾbunkoʃ], other spellings are Verbounko, Verbunko, Verbunkas, Werbunkos, Werbunkosch, Verbunkoche) is an 18th-century Hungarian dance and music genre. Erroneously, this genre was sometimes attributed to Gypsies, because usually they were the musicians.

The name is derived from the German word werben that means, in particular, "to enroll in the army"; verbunkos—recruiter. The corresponding music and dance was played during military recruiting, which was a pretty frequent event at these times, hence the character of the music.

The Gypsy composer János Bihari remains the most well-known composer and interpreter of verbunkos. 84 compositions of his remain. Bihari was an accomplished violinist during his lifetime, and he played in the court in Vienna during the entire Congress of Vienna in 1814. Another composer of verbunkos was József Kossovits (d. c. 1819).

In the second half of the 19th century verbunkos appeared in opera too. The most successful operas of Ferenc Erkel namely Hunyadi László and Bánk bán were heavily influenced by this genre.

Béla Bartók's Contrasts (1938), a trio for clarinet, piano and violin, is in three movements, the first of which is named Verbunkos. His Violin Concerto No. 2 is also an example of verbunkos style.

External links

• Hungarian music