Söndörgö
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Söndörgö

Szentendre, Pest, Hungary | Established. Jan 01, 1995 | MAJOR

Szentendre, Pest, Hungary | MAJOR
Established on Jan, 1995
Band World Folk

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"Söndörgö, la musique retrouvée des Balkans"

Musicalement, on retient le plus souvent de l’europe de l’est les musiques festives jouées par des fanfares gitanes ou des chansons tristes à fendre le cœur. Pourtant, la gamme des émotions sonores de cette région est bien plus étendue. Fondé en 1995 en Hongrie sur les bancs du lycée, Söndörgö (prononcer « schundergueu ») est composé de trois frères, un cousin et un ami qui se sont donné pour mission de faire vivre et évoluer une musique héritée des populations slaves du sud de la Hongrie et fondée sur l’usage du tambura. Ce luth à 5 cordes, dont une double, cousin du saz ou du setar, est né dans l’empire ottoman et fut exporté par les Turcs. La musique qui en découle est tour à tour cristalline, romantique ou euphorique, mais toujours délicate.

A l'âge de 6 ans, Aron Eredics entrait à l’académie de Musique de Budapest pour y étudier les fondements de la musique classique. A la maison, les soirées étaient souvent animées car son père, son oncle et les amis de la famille constituaient Vujicsics, groupe phare du renouveau folk hongrois des années 70, dont le nom se réfère au musicien et musicologue hongrois Tihamér Vujicsics. Fascinés par la musique de leurs parents, Aron, ses jeunes frères david et Benjamin et leur cousin Salamon s’endormaient souvent au milieu des instruments ou se relevaient la nuit pour observer les musiciens. Ils se souviendront de ces heures passées à espionner quand, avec leur ami Attila Buzàs, ils devront choisir un nom de groupe : Söndörgö, qui signifie « les enfants qui épient ».
A l’académie, Aron étudia le cor, Salamon la flute et Benjamin la trompette, mais c’est en jouant du tambura qu’ils développèrent leur cohérence et leur carrière musicale, en 1995. Quelques années plus tard, ils accompagnaient des groupes de danses ou se produisaient lors de bals serbes. Avec
leurs tamburas de taille et de fonctions différentes (soliste, tenor, basse ou alto), auxquelles ils ajoutent des instruments à vents, de la derbouka ou de l’accordéon, les trois frères interprètent un répertoire qui provient en partie des collectages effectués par Bela Bartok (1881-1945) et surtout Thiamer Vujicsics (1929-1975) dans les régions du sud de la Hongrie, particulièrement auprès de minorités serbo-croates. 15 ans après ses débuts, Söndörgö est un groupe très respecté en Hongrie.

Le 30 novembre 2011, lors du concert célébrant cet anniversaire, ils ont triomphé devant une salle comble au prestigieux Bartók Béla nemzeti Hangversenyterem (vidéo ci-dessus), au centre de Budapest. Ils étaient naturellement accompagnés par le groupe Vujicsics, mais aussi par la diva nationale Marta Sebestyèn ou le célèbre saxophoniste macédonien Ferus Mustafov, avec lequel Söndörgö a souvent joué et enregistré un album. Deux de leurs invités figurent aussi au cœur de "Tamburising - Lost Music of the Balkans" : le chanteur gitan Antal Kovacs, ancien leader de Romano drom, et la chanteuse et comédienne Katya Tompos. Ce disque, qui sort ce printemps en France, présente des morceaux appris à Hovacs, petite ville du sud du pays où le tambura est roi et où les musiciens de Söndörgö sont des héros. - Mondomix


"Uplifting stuff that’s glad to have been found"

The tamburica, which comes in various shapes and sizes that may resemble a guitar, a long-necked mandolin, or a bass viol, is a long-established and popular instrument in its homeland, the spreading plains of north-eastern Croatia and north-western Serbia. Although it can be played as a solo instrument, it comes in various sizes and is most often played in small orchestras, like the band on this recording. The Eredics family, who make up its core, are from Hungary, from an area that was settled by both Croats and Serbs during the time of Austria-Hungary, but here they play music from much of the former Yugoslavia, from Bosnia to Macedonia and all points in between. It’s an interesting idea, re-examining the Turkish-influenced music of the south through the cooler lens of the north, and the freshness of approach is especially rewarding in the dance melody ‘Cigancica’.

Technically it’s a quite splendid recording, capturing the crystalline glitter of the melody instruments while giving full weight to the dark, woody tones of the bass, and beautifully tracking the melodies and counter-melodies as they emerge and sink back into the tapestry of sound. Most tracks are instrumental, occasionally featuring fife, accordion and clarinet, while the gossamer delicacy of the playing and the light touch of the musicians transform, for example, the rather ambiguous celebration of the classic ‘Opa Cupa’ into a light-hearted and sunny confection, cheerily sung by guest Kátya Tompos. All in all, it’s a joyous sound that hearkens back to the more innocent days of the 1950s and 60s. Aficionados will love the nostalgia, and newcomers will find much to enjoy.

Kim Burton - SONGLINES


"Söndörgo: Tamburising – Lost Music of the Balkans – review"

The music of the Balkans has been popularised by bands who make use of violins, accordion or brass, but Söndörgo aim to add the tambura to that list. It's a fretted instrument played with a plectrum and it exists in several different forms, from the small version used for lead work through to the far larger bass. Tambura bands were once popular across the region, and these Hungarian Serbs from north of Budapest hope to re-establish the instrument with their often rapid-fire playing, showing its potential with dance songs and brooding instrumentals. There are some fine performances here – especially when the band are joined by the virtuoso József Kovács for Serbian Gypsy songs – but the best tracks are those where the light, rippling tambura is matched against voices, accordion or brass. There are two almost painfully passionate contributions from Gypsy singer Antal Kovács, and a couple of magnificent and dramatic songs from the Hungarian actor Kátya Tompos, who is joined on the exquisite Zajdi Zajdi by flute and clarinet. When she sings, Söndörgo sound like a world-class band. They are playing in London tomorrow. - the guardian


Discography

2001 Oj stari
2005 Oj Javore
2008 In Concert - With Ferus Mustafov -
2011 Tamburising - Lost Music of the Balkans - World Village UK

July 2014 Tamburocket - Hungarian Fireworks - World Music Network

Photos

Bio

Among world music groups in Hungary, Sondorgo is one of those playing most briskly, most vigorously. Their aim is to foster and preserve ample Southern Slavic traditions. In Hungary, Southern Slavs live in groups rather isolated from each other, thus ethnic heritage treasured and maintained by them is quite multicolored.
The group was founded in 1995 in a small Hungarian town near Budapest called Szentendre. Eredics brothers got acquainted, and started to play music together with Attila Buzas during their high-school years. Partly because of family motives (Eredics brothers father is a foundator of the Vujicsics ensemble), all group members are profoundly touched by, and drawn towards Southern Slavic folk music, which they consider it their mission to arrange in style, and perform on stage. Now the members of the group are the followings: Attila Buzas, Aron Eredics, Benjamin Eredics, David Eredics and Salamon Eredics.
As opposed to most groups playing Balkan music, Sondorgo does not follow the brass-instrumented tradition it is a typical tamburitza band. Their sound is based on the instruments of the tamburitza family, completed occasionally by wind instruments and accordion. Sondorgos genuine repertoire is compiled out of the material gathered by Bela Bartok, and Tihamer Vujicsics.
Southern Slav folk music has developed an extraordinary treasure of melodies as a result of an interaction with various music traditions. This applies to Serbian and Croatian folk music in Hungary more than it does to folk music in the Balkans. All along, the Southern Slav ethnicities living in Hungary have been particularly isolated from each other. Consequently, the traditions that they treasure and maintain display a wide variety of differences, which is demonstrated by the use of a wealth of musical instrument types and forms.The first written record of the Southern Slav tambur dates from 1551, this instrument being of Iranian and Turkish origin, used in a variety of forms in the Balkan peninsula. Originally, the tambur was a solo instrument with a small resonance volume and a long neck.
Nowadays Sndrg is a constant performer of festivals in Hungary and Europe and they repeatedly have worked together with the famous Macedonian saxophonist, Ferus Mustafov fruit of this collaboration is their joint 2009 album, In concert. Their last album Lost Music of the Balkans a collaboration with the last prim tamburitza of Mohacs ensemble, and two singers, came out in the spring 2011 in the UK with World Village/Harmonia Mundi, and was selected top 10 album of the year by Songlines magazine.

After a beautiful debut on the international scene with this album, this atypical Hungarian band will charm and thrill the audience with a new album coming out in 2014: "Tamburocket" an UFO between archaism and modernity, on the steps of Bartok and Vujicsics.

Instrumentation:

-           Aron Eredics : lead tambura, tambura samica, derbuka, vocals, alto tambura

-          Benjamin Eredics : kontra tambura, trumpet, vocals

-          David Eredics : clarinet, saxophone, kaval,  tambura, alto tambura, vocals

-          Salamon Eredics : accordion, shepherd flute, hulusi, alto tambura, cello tambura

-          Attila Buzas: tambura bass, cello tambura, tapan, vocals

 



Band Members