Places / Fonó / Berka Ensemble

Berka Ensemble
The music and dance of the Hungarian speaking Csángó minority of Modavia differs from the Hungarian folklore of the Carpathian Basin, and contains many elements reminiscent of the music of Medieval Europe.

Typical instrumentation includes wooden flute, kaval and violin, as well as koboz (a fretless lute) and drum, that constitutes an ensemble able to play Hungarian, Rumanian, and Balkan music with equal facility.
Formed in 2008, the Berka Ensemble is one of Hungary’s newest and most dynamic bands playing the music of Moldavia and the Gyimes region of Transylvania. The full sound of the combined melody instruments of two flutes and a violin is powerful, and adds variety to the instrumentation without forsaking the music’s roots. Recently the ensemble has also experimented with composing music to poetry of Csángó authors, and including such instruments as double bass, cello, and plectrum dulcimer in the original compositions.
Since 2009 the band has made five research trips to Moldavia and has played 50 to 60 dance-house events a year. The ensemble has its permanent dance-house in Budapest at the Fonó Music Hall. At their concert ”classical” Csángó music and songs can be heard from the cultural tradition of smaller villages that have sunk into oblivion.

At the Folkbeats Talent Search Competition (Folkbeats Népzenei Tehetségkutató Verseny) in 2011 they were placed second.

 

 

www.berkaegyuttes.hu

 

Members of the band

Ágota Manninger – voice

Szabolcs Endrődi – flute, kaval, double bass

Márton Komáromi – violin

Móric Máté – drums, gardon, jaw harp (doromb), [PR1] cello

János Szalai-Gindl – flute, kaval, shepherd’s pipe (tilinkó)[PR2]

István Szengyel – koboz

 

Manager

Szabolcs Endrődi

derbayer@gmail.com

 [PR1]Nem tudtam eldönteni, h szükséges-e angolul szerepeltetni.

 [PR2]Nem tudtam eldönteni, h szükséges-e angolul szerepeltetni.