Introduction
Tamás Kobzos Kiss is an extremely versatile creator and performer, who has made a significant contribution as a teacher and school principal, but has also been involved in collecting folk music. After receiving the Kossuth Prize [the most prestigious cultural award in Hungary] he told the MTI (The National News Agency): “I can't separate the balladeer, the teacher and the folk music researcher in myself. I consider myself a singer first and foremost, and the special instruments help me perform these songs.” [1] As a singer and instrumental performer, he is mainly active in the fields of Hungarian early music, European medieval vocal music, the music of the Turkish singers (âşık or ashik), Hungarian folk music and, to a lesser extent, contemporary music (works by György Szabados, [Hungarian jazz pianist 1939-2011]). He is often mentioned as a balladeer. He is also one of the most outstanding performers of medieval Provençal troubadour songs in Europe. He has revived the Hungarian song repertoire of the 16th century (songs and poems of Tinódi [Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos, Hungarian lyricist, epic poet, 1510-1556], Balassi [Bálint Balassi, Hungarian poet, 1554-1594] and Protestant psalms, historic ballads). As a result of his research, he published songs by Csokonai [Mihály Csokonai Vitéz, Hungarian poet, 1773-1805]. His work of setting poetry in music is also significant, focusing on mostly 20th century Hungarian poems. He writes, that "As a musician, I have always been interested in the pairing of verse and song, and even today I am still fascinated by text and melody.” [2] As a singer, he accompanies himself with various instruments, mainly with lute, koboz [i.e. Transilvanian lute], saz (i.e. Turkish lute) and the hurdy-gurdy [a medieval string instrument], depending on the specific type of song.
Performing as a soloist
As a soloist, he often performed on the University Stage [a small studio theatre in Budapest], in record clubs and in churches from the mid-1970s. Since 1979, he has given hundreds of concerts in Hungary, in Hungarian-populated towns and villages in neighbouring countries, in almost every country in Europe, as well as in Japan (1982, 1985, 1989, 1995), China (1999) and the United States of America (1989). Between 1974 and 1985, he was a musical contributor to several Hungarian exhibitions abroad (Ghent, Graz, Munich, Osaka, Tokyo), and in the late 1990s he performed at the Lisbon Expo and the EUROPALIA in Brussels. In the first half of the 1980s, he performed at the recitals of Mónika Szentpál and György Erdélyi. Between 1983 and 1985, he appeared about 150 times at the Radnóti Theatre, performing Toldi, the narrative poem of János Arany [Hungarian poet, 1817-1882], with Gábor Koncz and then mainly with Attila Nagy. Since 1992, he has performed every year at the Csíkszeredai Régizene Fesztivál (Early Music Festival of Miercurea-Ciuc), mainly as a soloist. He performed four times at the Hungarian Institute in Paris [now: Liszt Institute Hungarian Cultural Centre Paris], with a programme commemorating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (2002, 2009, 2013), and with a programme of Balassi’s poetry (2004). He also performed with a Balassi programme in 2012 at the Hungarian Institute in Bucharest [now: Liszt Institute Hungarian Cultural Centre București].
He received very favourable reviews early on in his career. In 1980, the music historian János Malina wrote of his talent: "His quite characteristic, somewhat 'throaty' singing voice, filtered through folk music yet uniquely contemporary, could easily become mannered if it weren't for his suggestive personality and extraordinary ‘empathy,’ which allows him to adapt to the nuances of the lyrics. He identifies with the role of the balladeer in a completely spontaneous, instinctive way; yet we never feel that what he is doing is a sham, because his performance is powerful and captivating. Unfortunately, today it is no longer possible to reconstruct the exact performance style of Tinódi or András Farkas; but we are always happy to believe that Tamás Kiss can bring them to life authentically." [3]
Performing as a member of various ensembles and as a partner of other musicians
During his university years, he was a member of the Főnix theatre group and the Délibáb folk music ensemble. From the end of 1974 he was a member of the Kaláka ensemble for a short time, and from 1976 he played in the ensemble of András L. Kecskés for ten years. (This ensemble carried different names: Bakfart Bálint Lant Trió (lute trio) and Kecskés Ensemble.)
He gave regular concerts with the Jánosi Ensemble from 1985 onwards. One of their outstanding joint productions was a programme of Béla Bartók’s folk music collections and his art music, which was performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London (1988) and at the Lincoln Center in New York (1991). They explored, processed and recorded the music of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. They presented the folk roots of Franz Liszt's music, from which a recording was also made.
Since 1993, when the soundtrack of the cassette Protestáns Énekmondók (Protestant Balladeers) was recorded, he has often performed with the Musica Historica Ensemble, of which two members, István Rumen Csörsz, the leader of the ensemble, and Balázs Sudár, were his former students. In 2008, they performed together at the Kaláka Festival in Diósgyőr, and they performed at the Early Music Festival of Miercurea Cius several times (of which, incidentally, Tamás Kobzos Kiss has been a regular performer since 1992).
Since 1998, they have had several joint programs with singer Éva Ferencz, for example in connection with the Christmas and Easter festivities and St. Stephen's Day. (The material of the programs was also released on CDs.)
In the early 2010s, he gave joint concerts in Budapest, in Partium and in Vilnius with the Transylvanian born lute artist Endre Deák.
Since January 1981, he has performed hundreds of times as a member of the Austrian Clemencic Consort, directed by René Clemencic. They performed together at the Brahms Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, in the Musica Antiqua series (1981, 1983, 1985, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2008, 2013); they gave Christmas concerts in the halls of Belvedere and Albertina, and performed in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland and in Transylvania at the Early Music Festival of Miercurea-Ciuc.
In the late 1990s he performed several times in Austria and Germany (Tage Alter Musik Herne 2000, and in 2000 in Seville, at the Alcazar, with the Armonico Tributo Ensemble led by Lorenz Duftschmid, as part of the Charles V Memorial Year.
As a singer with Accentus Austria, also based in Vienna and led by Thomas Wimmer, he gave numerous concerts in Austria, Germany (e.g. Bamberg), Switzerland, France (XXVI Festival de l'Abbaye de Saint-Michel en Tierache), in Citta di Castello in Italy and in Jerusalem (Jerusalem Festival 2012).
Between 1982 and 2000, together with the Provençal musician, Michel Montanaro he gave numerous joint concerts of folk and early music in Provence, Italy, Switzerland and Hungary. In 1985 they performed at the lute festival of Saint Chartier and in 1993 at the Kaláka Festival in Diósgyőr. In 2012 they performed together at the Early Music Festival of Miercurea-Ciuc and in 2014 they gave a concert together again in Budapest, at the Óbuda Cultural Salon.
In 1991, he met Turkish singer Erdal Şalikoğlu, with whom he has maintained a close personal and professional relationship ever since, and with whom he has given numerous concerts, including in Istanbul, also at the Early Music Festival of Miercurea-Ciuc (where they performed seven times), at the Kaláka Festival (in Diósgyőr and Eger), and in Budapest, at the Yunus Emre Institute [The Turkish Cultural Center] and at the Mesterségek Ünnepe (Folk Art Festival) in Buda Castle. "I am probably most proud of my first Turkish album, Szívetekben őrizzetek" (lit. Keep Me in Your Hearts)," he told MTI after receiving his Kossuth Prize in 2014.
Tamás Kobzos Kiss considers pianist and composer György Szabados, the Hungarian pioneer of "free music", to be his master and role model. He performed the vocal part in several of Szabados' works: Szertartászene (lit. Ceremonial Music) (1983), Az események titkos története (The Secret History of Events) (1985), A kormányzó halála (The Death of the Governour) (1989). The Death of the Governour was performed twenty times in various cities, for example five times in Paris at the Théâtre de la Ville in 1990, but it was also performed at the festivals of Avignon, Hamburg, and Salzburg during the same year.
[2014]
[1] 14 March 2014
[2] Tamás Kobzos Kiss: „Muzsikámmal legyek az emberek örömhozója" (lit. “With My Music, May I Be a Bringer of Joy to People.”). In: Gábor Oláh, Pál Bolberitz: HangosKönyv. (lit. AudioBook) edited by Ágota Bajor, Tamás Csányi, Anna Dobai, Beatrix F. Romhányi, Gábor Martin, Éva Staszny. Budapest: Szentimrevárosi Egyesület, 2012, pp 101–104.
[3] János Malina: „Esztergomi históriák." (lit. “Histories of Esztergom.”) Muzsika, vol. XXIV, no. 10, October 1981, pp. 34–36, quote on p. 35.