- country:Hungary
- region:Central Europe
- style(s):Folk
- label:FolkEurópa
- gender:male
- instrumentation:instrumental
- artist posted by:Hangveto
Line up
- Béla Kodoba (violin)
- Ludovik 'Lajos' Mátingó (viola)
- Márton 'Puki' Kovács (double bass)
- Márton Kodoba (violin)
- Mihály Radák (viola)
Links
Steeped in emotion, life and vitality, direct from a village nestling amongst the beautiful and rugged hills of Transylvania, Romania. This wild and dynamic band can make your feet tap or tears well in your eyes.
The music they play is an accumulation of hundreds of years of tears, laughter, celebration and mourning, brought together and shared throughout Palatka and the surrounding villages, by the expression, personality and skills of generation after generation of musicians.
The result of this emotional hotpot, with the many outside musical influences brought by the Turks, Saxons and travelling musicians over the years, is essentially Hungarian, Romanian and Gypsy dance music. Played on violins, violas and double bass it has a power that only strings can produce, filled with intricate ornaments, scales and rhythms that are unique not only to Transylvania, but to their village itself.
In performance they have a full repertoire of emotions, from the fast and exciting dance tunes, to soul stirring laments. It is a sound that carries you away, compelling you to dance and enthralling the aucience.
The band members are all descended from musical families and have been saturated in music and dance sice birth. Through their playing they experss not only their life experiences, losses and joy, but also those of the villagers they now play for, their numerous friends and neighbours, their fathers and mothers and forefaters for hundreds of years. This music is an expression of their life, the villager's life.
Since the opening of the borders in 1990, the band has toured Hungary and Europe on many occasions, both to perform and teach. They also have a constant stream of musicians and musicologists from around the world coming to Palatka to collect and learn the music and dance directly from them. They have also been recorded on many occasions and in many forms over the years.