Ferenc Kiss etched his name into Hungarian world music history as a founder of the bands Kolinda and Vízöntő (Aquarius), whose popularity extended around the world. After tiring of life on the road, he turned his attention to composition and researching folk music, later going on to found Etnofon, the first independent Hungarian folk music record label. It was from musicians associated with this outfit that he formed his new band, Etnofon Music Company, an ensemble which, in addition to preserving the traditions of Kolinda and Vízöntő, distinguished itself by paying tribute to Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. Their projects Szerelemajtók ("Love's Doors”) and Pávaének ("Peacock Song”), the latter of which might be considered a predecessor to In Praise of Girls, were presented in this spirit.
After Kossuth and Erkel Award-winning choreographer Ferenc "Tata” Novák urged Kiss to write a song cycle for the voices of Szilvia Bognár, Ágnes Herczku and Ági Szalóki, who had also performed on Peacock Song, In Praise of Girls was staged "spiced up with a little dancing” at the 2015 Budapest Spring Festival. Julianna Paár joined the three existing vocalists the following year, and the album version of "Leánydicsérő” was released at the end of 2016.
The backbone of the songs, which are arranged in the ornate style that is typical of Kiss, comes from the poems of Anna Kiss, which the lustrous vocalists sing "in a hundred different” voices, sometimes coyly, sometimes revealingly, other times playfully or dramatically, depending on how a girl, woman or an older lady might react to a given situation - whether part of everyday life, a special occasion or a life-changing event. Since the feminine spirit - whether as a child, woman or mother - vibrates differently from the male, love, mourning, socialising and solitude all have a different tone. Viewers of In Praise of Girls - as witnesses to masterful transformations - can be certain that they will grow closer to the mysteries of the female soul, even if the ultimate secret, naturally, remains hidden...

The première was an event of the Budapest Spring Festival.



Presented by: Müpa Budapest