KODÁLY – Psalmus Hungaricus, Peacock Variations (Antal Doráti / József Simándy)

UPC: LPX 11392

Product Details:

• Composer: Zoltán Kodály
• Works: Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13 and Peacock Variations
• Tenor: József Simándy
• Choruses: Budapest Chorus, Children’s Chorus of the Hungarian Radio and Television
• Orchestra: Hungarian State Orchestra
• Conductor: Antal Doráti
• Label: Hungaroton
• Catalog Number: P 11342
• Format: Vinyl LP
• Language: Hungarian (Psalm text), with commentary in Hungarian, German, French, Russian
• Mono/Stereo: Likely Mono
• Release Period: Circa 1970

Overview

Zoltán Kodály’s oratorio Psalmus Hungaricus and his orchestral Peacock Variations (Variations on a Hungarian Folksong) stand among the composer’s most significant contributions to 20th-century music, blending folk inspiration with profound expressive and spiritual depth. This recording brings together the legendary Hungarian tenor József Simándy, the Budapest Chorus, and the Hungarian State Orchestra under the baton of Antal Doráti, Kodály’s former student.

• Psalmus Hungaricus (1923) was composed for the 50th anniversary of Budapest’s unification. Kodály sets a Hungarian paraphrase of Psalm 55, interweaving lament and hope through pentatonic choruses and powerful solo passages.
• Peacock Variations (1939), written for the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s jubilee, is a masterclass in symphonic variation form, transforming a simple folk melody into a kaleidoscope of moods and orchestral colors.

Product Features

• Rare performance by Antal Doráti, a major interpreter of Kodály’s music and international maestro
• Historic mono recording capturing the postwar Hungarian choral tradition
• Detailed multilingual liner notes by musicologist László Eősze, offering scholarly insight in Hungarian, German, French, and Russian
• Powerful solo by József Simándy, one of Hungary’s most iconic tenors
• Two major Kodály works showcasing his dual mastery of vocal-orchestral and purely instrumental idioms

Track Listing

Side A

1. Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13

   • József Simándy (tenor)
   • Budapest Chorus
   • Children’s Chorus of Hungarian Radio and Television
   • Hungarian State Orchestra

Side B 

2. Peacock Variations (Variations on a Hungarian Folksong)

• Hungarian State Orchestra

Key Credits

• Tenor Soloist: József Simándy
• Conductor: Antal Doráti
• Choral Direction: Budapest Chorus, Children’s Chorus of Hungarian Radio and Television
• Orchestra: Hungarian State Orchestra
• Liner Notes: László Eősze

Box 6

BOX #154