Esti Dal (Evening Song) by Katalin Pócs was written for the Indiana University International Vocal Ensemble and harpist Erzsébet Gaál in January 2000. The composition received its world première conducted by Professor Mary Goetze on April 9, 2000 at IU School of Music, Bloomington, Indiana.

Katalin Pócs is one of the leading members of the young generation of Hungarian composers. Her compositions include orchestral and chamber works that have been performed throughout Europe. She has performed some of her own piano music in Berlin, Gdansk, Moscow, Munich, and Vienna. In addition, Pócs has written electronic works that were performed in Canada, as well as works for harp, for example a Septet called Vibrarions and a solo piece called Ballade which were introduced by Erzsébet Gaál in Hungary and in the United States.

In her setting of the folk song Esti Dal, Pócs employs the sounds of mixed choir, harp, and synthesized music. These three elements blend together to express the song’s text about wandering, weariness, and a plea to God for rest and shelter. This choral work connects the past with the present by incorporating an ancient tonal Hungarian folk song into a modern texture with harp accompaniment. The addition of an electronic sound track that creates new relationships between consonance and dissonance in the music juxtaposes tradition with present 21st century practices.

Mary Goetze is a Professor of Music and Chairperson of the Music in General Studies Department. She founded the International Vocal Ensemble in 1995. The choir specializes in the recreation of music from outside the European and American art traditions. Through the learning process, the choir becomes acquainted not only with the music itself but also with the related aspects of the culture and language. In 1996, Dr. Goetze was awarded a grant from Indiana University for a project entitled "Multicultural Music Education" which allowed her to do research in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Currently she is co-authoring a series of CD ROM's that facilitate the oral transmission of vocal music from diverse sources.

In preparation for the first performance, the International Vocal Ensemble had the privilege to work with composer Pócs on her new composition through a satellite hook-up connection between Budapest, Hungary and Bloomington, Indiana that was made possible by the Center for the Study of Global Change on IU’s campus. A technology called interactive compressed video opened the door for the choir and the composer to work together on Esti Dal notwithstanding a difference of six time zones. In Budapest, Ilona Budai, a prominent folk singer, aided the enterprise while in Bloomington Erzsébet Gaál, a doctoral candidate at Indiana University, accompanied the International Vocal Ensemble on harp and facilitated the USA-Hungary connection.

For all participants, it was an eye-opening experience to be able to communicate with the original sources in Hungary overcoming the separation of time and distance. During the link-up, performers could ask folk singer Budai questions regarding the style of the folk song and could actually sing together with her while learning the proper pronunciation of the words and observing the correct style. In addition, they had the opportunity to discuss with composer Pócs the optimal interpretation of her work.

Video-conferencing technologies in studies such as this can help people to learn more about one another, to understand more about each other’s culture, and to bring them closer together through the world of music.




Copyright 2000, Harpa
Printed originally in the July issue of Harpa.
Used by permission.