Traditional Csángó Hungarian melodies from Moldavia

“I would like to present and pass on songs and atmosphere from the old Csángó world, as a colorful little spark for the soul. Our MUSIC is nourished from the pure source of our ANCESTRAL HERITAGE. We are proud of the eastern roots and faith that has sustained our culture amongst Hungarians for more than a thousand years.” (Petrás Mária)
Petrás Mária’s songs bring us the message of the Moldavian Csángó Hungarians who have accepted and lived their difficult fate for centuries. Mária’s native village Diószén/Gioseni, is a Hungarian Csángó village on the far side of the Szeret/Siret River. She spent her childhood there in a world full of difficult sometimes painful worries, where comfort came through singing and praying together.
Petrás Mária takes on her faith and God with everything that goes along with it: goodness, purity, beauty, life itself. This album is a sincere creed of Petrás Mária from a world in which the saints meant safety for the soul.

The record’s title “Napkelettől Napnyugatig” [from sunrise to sunset/East to West] suggests that the world of melodies presented covers a huge arc in space and time. A ballad about a kidnapped girl evokes ancient Turkish elements in our mother tongue. An early medieval religious hymn that begins by praising Saint Stephen has been preserved by Moldavian Hungarians in their own language despite the fact that they could only sing in the Romanian language in churches for a long time. The old prayer texts known as “sziszegős” [literally: singing/hissing] preserve remnants of the Hungarian language from before the period of language renewal. The final track on the album recalls the abundant ritual world of the Moldavian Csángó Hungarians. Instrumentation on the record fits in with the traditional music culture of the region beyond the Carpathians.

Moldavian Hungarian tradition gains new meaning in the performance of Petrás Mária. The prayers and supplications help purify the soul of the listener and elevate us to more noble and pure world.
1. Karácsonytól újesztendőig :10.13
2. Kövecses víz közepibe :6:06
3. Régi imás Szent István (sziszegős) :6:42
4. Tavasz hangok : 13:56
5. A keservestől a menyegzőig (törökös) :11:24
6. Veres az ég tovafelé :3:18

PETRÁS MÁRIA
ének, dob/ voice, drum

Zenészek / musicians:
Benke, Félix – tokáló, doromb, dob /Moldavian txalaparta, Jew’s harp, drum
Kerényi Róbert – kaval, furulya, tilinkó /kaval, wooden flute, tilinko
Kiss Krisztián – koboz/coboz
Nyíri László – hegedü/violin
Pánczél Kristóf – orgona/organ
Petrás Alina – ének /voice
Szokolay Dongó Balázs – duda, furulya, kaval /bagpipe, wooden flute, kaval

Hangmérnök /engineer: Mazán Attila,
Zenei Őrző Angyal/ guardian angel of the music: Éri Péter
Szöveg/text: Péterbencze Anikó