Albert Gergei's beautiful love story in verse about the heavenly and earthly adventures of Ilona Fairy and Prince Argyélus as they steadfastly search for traces of each other is one of the most cherished, if not the single most cherished, pieces of humanist literature in the Hungarian language. The original text, which itself met an adventurous fate, is actually well known even by those who have never read it: the fictional story is one of the most important sources of inspiration for Mihály Vörösmarty's dramatic poem Csongor and Tünde, compulsory reading in Hungarian schools. A special feature of the extremely rich reception it enjoyed is that it was not only writers that the work inspired: it generated an entire series of kuruc ‘nóta' songs and love stories devised by everyday people. Melinda Balogh and Tamás Jean-Pierre Bősze's first joint album, released in November 2022, revives this rich tradition and fills it with fresh energy. Although the story and lyrics were written by the creators themselves, no one should be surprised to recognise verses by Endre Ady and Sándor Weöres quoted in the audio material. While the richly layered music played by the seven-member band is basically drawn from melodies from Moldavia and the Gyimes, Gyergyo and Kalotaszeg regions, the rich and unique orchestration and use of harmony opens doors in the musical love story that have not been revealed to us until now.

Age: 3-8 year
Presented by: Müpa Budapest