On stage and in life alike, he radiates joy, even though he is, at heart, a quiet, inward-looking individual who listens attentively to inner voices. He is tolerant and empathetic, always able to find a kind word or a generous description for others. He is a master of declining an invitation in such a way that it hardly sounds like a refusal at all, or of reformulating proposals that initially seem unacceptable so that, in the end, all parties genuinely embrace the outcome. Throughout his life, he has sought to take others’ interests into account and to identify what points towards the future. It is therefore no coincidence that he was the initiator of what has arguably become the most important foundation of the Muzsikás Ensemble’s long-term operation – a system of veto-based democracy, whereby if any initiative runs counter to the wishes of even a single band member, the others will rather give up on its implementation. And while he explicitly describes himself as a positivist with a scientific outlook, he is equally capable of acknowledging when experience leads to different conclusions.
After completing his university studies, in August 1972, he travelled to Transylvania for the first time with an architect friend, Sándor Kovács, who was researching the distinctive settlement structures of the Kalotaszeg (Țara Călatei) region. One evening they arrived in Méra (Mera), where a wedding was in progress. At the time, he did not know that in the region weddings were not private family occasions but village-wide celebrations, open to anyone as a welcome guest, and so they listened from outside as the band of the good old “Árus” played with astonishing power. It was there that he first met the folk music collector Zoltán Kallós, who told him that, from September onwards, on the recommendation of György Martin, rehearsals and performances of the Bartók Dance Ensemble in Budapest would feature live music for dancing, just like at a village wedding.
Mihály Sipos took the advice and went along to the very first rehearsal. The sight and the music completely captivated him. Béla Halmos, the leader of the band accompanying the dancers, asked whether he had an instrument, and when Sipos nodded, he went up to the Sipos family’s apartment that very evening, asked for a sharp penknife, and without a word cut the bridge of the violin straight. He then declared that from now on it was no longer a violin but a viola, because that was what the band needed. He added that Sipos should learn to play it quickly, as in a month he would have to accompany the ensemble on the main stage of the Operett Színház (Operetta Theatre). This was how Mihály Sipos was thrown in at the deep end of the ‘dance-house’ world [dance house movement is a Hungarian cultural revival, starting in the 1970s in Budapest, that brings traditional folk music and dance from villages into urban settings], where he certainly needed time to find his place in what was otherwise a friendly and supportive environment.
In the history of the dance-house movement, February 1973 marked a decisive turning point: the first Budapest dance house, now open freely to the public, was held at the Fővárosi Művelődési Ház (Capital Cultural Centre). At the monthly Sunday events, the accompanying musicians of the Bartók Ensemble provided the dance music. Two of its members, Dániel Hamar and Sándor Csoóri Jr., decided in May 1973 – together with their friend Csaba Szíjjártó – to enter the competition for the Young Master of Folk Art Award as a trio. Shortly before the audition, however, Szíjjártó unexpectedly withdrew, prompting Hamar and Csoóri to turn for help to an older colleague.
As Mihály Sipos later recalled this historic moment: “They placed me in a serious dilemma. Although I had played the violin since childhood, in the Bartók Ensemble I was playing the viola, so taking on the role of lead violinist was in itself a major challenge. Secondly, I never liked competing in music. Thirdly, I had no ambition whatsoever to become a soloist. So I simply told them that I would be happy to help, but I would not compete. Consequently, I did not submit an application. After our performance, however, the jury – which included such eminent authorities as György Martin, Imre Olsvai, Sándor Timár and perhaps László Maácz – approached us and said that, exceptionally, they would accept a late application. Indirectly, this was a signal that we could not have been entirely inept. At the end of June, the official notification arrived that we had won the award – alongside Ferenc Sebő and Béla Halmos, and among the dancers Gyula Pálfy and Lajos Tóth. This professional recognition made me think and strengthened my ambition. At the same time, I accepted that from then on, I would also play the violin in public.”
From the very outset, the trio was joined as a “regular guest” by Péter Éri, who had previously been known as a folk dancer and played with Sebő; in 1978 he officially became a member of the Muzsikás Ensemble. Like Sebő and his colleagues, Mihály Sipos and his companions committed themselves to introducing and disseminating original peasant music, striving to learn authentic performance styles directly from its practitioners – “the village musicians” themselves. In October 1973 they were the first to launch regular dance teaching at the Fővárosi Művelődési Ház (Capital Cultural Centre). Later, they also ran a highly successful and renowned dance house at the Belvárosi Ifjúsági Ház (City Centre Youth House), though their principal base remained the Fővárosi Művelődési Ház (Capital Cultural Centre) throughout. In a club attracting an average of 150 participants, the repertoire of taught dances gradually expanded over the years: an abridged version of the Szék dance cycle (slow dance, foursome [or Hungarian], “csárdás” [a traditional Hungarian folk dance], 1973); Szatmár verbunk and csárdás, and Transdanubian ugrós [Hungarian couples’ jumping dance] (1974); Palatka and Gyimes (1975); Méhkerék (1976); and Maros region dances (1982). Many dance cycles were repeated, and alongside abridged versions, full versions were also introduced (Szék 1976, Transdanubian 1978, Mezőség 1979, Gyimes 1980). Weekly programmes included dance and singing instruction, presentations by village performers, slide shows, free dancing and occasional additional events. It was, in effect, this new “urban form of entertainment” that came to be known as the dance house.
In 1977, the debut album of the Muzsikás Ensemble also launched the Élő népzene (Living Folk Music) record series, the first audio documentation of the dance-house movement, featuring melodies collected from various regions of the Hungarian-speaking world. By the 1980s, Muzsikás had become perhaps the best-known band in its genre, appearing frequently at domestic and European folk festivals, and its members took part in the rock opera István, a király (Stephen, the King). Thanks to Hannibal Records in England, the doors of Western clubs – and later major concert venues – opened to the folk formation, now joined by the singer Márta Sebestyén. On their first American tour, in March–April 1990, they gave twenty-seven concerts, travelling across the United States in a rented minibus they drove themselves, performing in cities including Boston, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
Their true international breakthrough came in 1995, when Hannibal decided it was time to move beyond the club and festival circuit and hired, for one evening, one of London’s most prestigious concert venues, the Queen Elizabeth Hall. The success was phenomenal: hundreds were left outside, and inside the auditorium the audience was reluctant to let Muzsikás leave the stage.
The next undeniable milestone was the long-gestating Bartók album, released in 1998 – by then Sándor Csoóri Jr. had been replaced in the band by László Porteleki – which sought to place Béla Bartók, the folk music collector, at its centre. They explicitly did not wish to create a catalogue-like, academic recording – musicologists had already written volumes on Bartók’s relationship to folk music – but instead approached the material experientially. Their aim was for the power of traditional peasant music to move listeners in the same way it had moved Bartók at the beginning of the twentieth century, and them in the 1970s. Since the Bartók album, Muzsikás has enjoyed a dizzying international career, achieving major successes from America to New Zealand, from Japan to South Africa, and performing in the world’s most renowned concert halls – from the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Royal Festival Hall in London, to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Their concerts and recordings have consistently received acclaim in leading daily newspapers, periodicals and specialist music journals. By the mid-2000s, Muzsikás and their long-time artistic partner Márta Sebestyén gradually went their separate ways. At the same time, the Moldavian-born ceramic artist and singer Mária Petrás became an increasingly frequent guest. On occasion, they also perform with village “informant” musicians and dancers who were born into traditional culture. Alongside major concerts, they place great importance on regular children’s dance houses and combined, unconventional school music lessons (see below).
In recognition of their work, in 1999 – jointly with Márta Sebestyén – they received the Kossuth Prize. In 2000 they were awarded the Hungarian Heritage Award and the Hungarian Art Award, and in 2008 they became recipients of the Prima Primissima Prize in their category. On 2 November 2008, at a festive concert accompanied by an international press conference in Seville, they received the Womex Award, the most significant international distinction in folk and world music. The importance of this honour was further enhanced by the fact that they were the first European ensemble ever to receive it.
In the early period of the Muzsikás Ensemble, the lead violinist Mihály Sipos also had to take care of numerous tasks that later proved to be better suited to others. For the dance teaching conducted in the Muzsikás club, he transcribed key melodies from archival recordings and, in consultation with the others, compiled the semester’s material. Although it ran counter to his temperament, in the first years he also undertook stage announcements, as well as correspondence and coordination with provincial clubs, simply because there was no alternative. Over time, however, these functions naturally began to separate and differentiate, spreading organically within the ensemble. It was Sándor Csoóri Jr. who introduced an ever-expanding range of instruments into Muzsikás’s practice, and who first played the viola, hurdy-gurdy and bagpipes in a manner faithful to village masters. It later became clear that Dániel Hamar had greater ambition for – and was more effective at – addressing audiences, and that foreign concert organisation tasks, primarily in English, also suited him better. From that point on, Mihály Sipos could focus, beyond his role as lead violinist, on shaping the programmes of Muzsikás concerts.
In parallel, his initiating role within the ensemble’s various musical projects also evolved. During the first two decades of Muzsikás’s career, its musical direction was clearly defined by the ideas, visions and aspirations of Sándor Csoóri Jr. – and partly Péter Éri. In the preparation of the album Szól a kakas már (The Rooster Is Already Crowing), released in 1993 and dedicated to Transylvanian Jewish folk music, however, Mihály Sipos played a far more active role. It was he who, through János Kőbányai, became acquainted with Zoltán Simon, who, on the advice of Zoltán Kodály, travelled across Hungary in 1946 as a student of the Liszt Academy, notating, among other things, Jewish and Transylvanian Jewish melodies. Mihály Sipos studied the surviving manuscripts, and with regionally appropriate accompaniment they fashioned a programme from them. This marked the beginning of the process that eventually led to Szól a kakas már.
The initiative for the 1998 Bartók album can be attributed unequivocally to Mihály Sipos. From this point onwards, an affinity for, and engagement with, classical values became increasingly prominent in Muzsikás’s career. A return to Bartók’s “pure sources” was, of course, almost self-evident, since folk music forms the foundation of twentieth-century Hungarian art music, with Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály as its key figures.
All this, however, was scarcely reflected in classical music practice itself. Relatively few classical performers felt compelled to engage deeply with folk music, particularly instrumental folk music. Village musicians’ performance styles are often regarded – from a narrowly professional standpoint not without justification – as fundamentally flawed or “impure”: the playing may squeak at times, the tone production lacks polish, unfamiliar intervals and harmonies are perceived as out of tune, and the rhythm does not necessarily pulse like a metronome. For them, the melody notes played without vibrato, yet richly ornamented with embellishments, are unusual, as are the “hairy” bowing technique that emphasises the rhythm, the archaic approach to harmonisation, and the gut-strung instruments, often dusted with rosin powder.
From the other side, the attitude is scarcely more positive. Among folk musicians, it is also relatively rare to attend classical concerts, or even to listen to such recordings at home. Performances of folk-inspired works are sometimes felt to be overly sterile, contrived, excessively perfectionist. What they miss are precisely those subtle fluctuations, small yet vital imperfections and rhythmic shifts that, in their view, give music its flavour.
Classical performers and folk musicians thus inhabited two largely separate musical universes. This is why Muzsikás’s Bartók project in 1998 was so innovative. It was no accident that the idea was proposed by Mihály Sipos, whose position was unique in this respect: by upbringing and inclination, he was well acquainted with both musical worlds, able to communicate equally with classical musicians and village players alike. Since then, Muzsikás has realised the presentation of twentieth-century Hungarian art music and traditional folk music on a single recording and a single stage. They have collaborated with renowned soloists (including Alexander Balanescu, Roel Dieltiens, Jenő Jandó, Levente Kende and András Keller), chamber ensembles (the Takács, Keller and Bartók String Quartets), choirs and symphony orchestras (Danubia Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta), both in Hungary and abroad.
In 2007–2008, Mihály Sipos also initiated a twelve-concert series in which Muzsikás performed together with Hungarian – primarily adult – amateur choirs. He was curious to see how strongly Kodály’s legacy was present in the everyday practice of these ensembles. Contrary to his expectations, Kodály’s works appeared only sporadically in their repertoires. Consequently, he consulted individually with conductors when compiling programmes and, where necessary, encouraged them to prepare additional Kodály pieces. This resulted in a concert series in which choral works familiar to the choirs and the underlying folk-song collections were presented side by side, mutually reinforcing one another.
One of the sensations of the 2012 Budapest Folk Fest was the joint concert by Muzsikás and the choir of Szászcsávás (Ceuaș), likewise initiated by Mihály Sipos. In addition to authentic instrumental folk music and folk songs, the singers of Szászcsávás excel in the performance of polyphonic Calvinist psalms and hymns, thanks to the village’s school headteachers and ministers who served there for over eighty years. This polyphony even appeared at times in traditional folk songs, lending a distinctive quality to the joint programmes.
Mihály Sipos also championed the experiential, free school concerts and unconventional music lessons that Muzsikás has been giving since 2004 – initially in primary schools and later in secondary schools as well. The nationwide programme, first undertaken voluntarily and later supported by MOL Rt., aims primarily to present Hungarian folk music in an engaging, experience-based manner. Through storytelling, communal singing, call-and-response shouts, and instrumental demonstrations – featuring not only string instruments but also traditional ones such as the long flute, the ütőgardon and the tambura – children are given a direct musical experience, many of whom have never attended a concert before, let alone one featuring folk instruments. In those forty-five minutes, they share an experience that can open their eyes, for throughout history human communities have been bound together by three essential commonalities: faith, language and music. Without these, there can be no community, and it is difficult to become a healthy, harmonious human being.
Throughout his career, it has been important to Mihály Sipos to share the aspects of tradition that he loves and knows, so that others may incorporate them into their own lives. For tradition brings joy, develops skills and fosters human relationships. This mission underpinned the aforementioned Kodály concert series, the unconventional music lessons and his collaborations with classical musicians, and it also informs his most recent initiatives: the still experimental “Master and Apprentice” development methodology and the “Singing Schools” project. He speaks about these as follows:
“As former pupils of the Lórántffy School, when we gather even today, we still sing – it is an emotional necessity for us. For me, the Cantemus choral workshop in Nyíregyháza, led by Dénes Szabó, embodies the Kodály ideal. He forms extraordinary choirs from primary school children who achieve success not only locally or regionally, but also in the United States, Japan and Canada. In every artistic field there are Masters like Dénes Szabó, and there are excellent teachers – ‘apprentices’ – who wish to develop themselves further, in the form of postgraduate training. I am trying to help facilitate this.
My other passion is the Singing Schools programme, whose essence is that every educational institution should devote five minutes each day to joyful singing. A fine example has been realised in Budapest at the Ádám Jenő Primary School, where children sing together in the morning at the start of the school day. From Monday to Thursday, they learn the songs – usually folk songs – in their classes, and on Fridays all lower-grade pupils perform together in one of the stairwells. During these five minutes, teachers do not discipline; they simply give instructions such as slower, faster, softly or loudly. It has emerged that even within a month, striking results can be achieved with this method. In joyful singing, fear, inhibition and the dread of humiliation simply disappear from children. It is a fine example of how simple methods can be used to develop singing culture in our schools.”
[2016]