An extraordinary present from Zoltán Kocsis to classical music fans
23 December 2010, Bartók Béla National Concert Hall
Fund-raising concert for UNICEF

At Christmastime, we usually put on our serious face to make the holiday more sacred. I thought that Haydn’s Nelson Mass is too short for our usual Christmas concert, and we’d need a second part. And why not have something not-so-serious after the majestically beautiful mass? Christmas is a fun holiday, after all.

 
We celebrate not only the birth of Christ and love, but also the ancient rituals of the winter solstice. I suppose the pre-Christian Hungarians celebrated the solstice just like all the other neighbouring people.

When contemplating Christmas, I thought of the Hungarian song called Kiskarácsony (Little Christmas). It’s sung all around the country, but nobody seems to know where the song came from. (Should you have any knowledge of the origins of the song, feel free to contact me.) The esteemed ethnographer and close friend of Bartók and Kodály, István Volly (who is behind the evergreen song, Száz forintnak ötven a fele) wrote that Kiskarácsony is an original Hungarian song. Kiskarácsony reminded me of Romanian colinde and German ditties as it has a German-ish triple beat to it. Oh, I’ve just given out some of the surprise…

 
There are loads of interesting things about the song, and I’ve tried to explore all its aspects. Kiskarácsony inspires infinite associations, and alliterates with a number of themes and similarly structured songs.

The concert involves a huge amount of instruments, including some extraordinary ones, and gives an insight into various styles. It’s similar to Britten’s Purcell Variations, in a Hungarian context. It is a national affair, after all. However, considering that music is an international language, the song can speak to Australians, the Innuit of Greenland and Pygmies alike.

It’s my wish that the audience will have at least half as much fun as I did working on this song. Here’s to a very entertaining start to the holiday season.
 

Zoltán Kocsis