Musk.— From the earliest stages of his known existence the Magyar appears to have had a special love for music and dancing, which found their place in every ceremonial, whether it was religion, war, rejoicings, sacrifices or funerals. Accompanying themselves on the lute, their minstrels sang the heroic deeds of fallen warriors. The Hun minstrels before them both sang and fought in battle. Chroni clers of the 10th century mention Hungarian hymns, dirges and martial songs. From this period, too, dates the well-known slow-moving national dance, called the °Hun step.° From very ancient times, lutes, violins, pipes, horns and tambourines were used by the Magyars. None of the melodies of those days survive. The first priests being Italians, they taught Latin songs; later, when natives (Magyars) be came ordained, they composed hymns in their own tongue — subject to approval by the Holy Synod. Early in the 12th century Andreas Visarhelyi wrote a song to the Virgin as Patroness of Hungary. Two Hungarian master singers of European fame were Andreas Klinsor, who took part in the competition held at the Wartburg, near Eisenach, in 1208, and George Szlatkoni, a minor bishop at Saint Stephen's in Vienna and choirmaster to the Emperor Maximilian I. Foreign musicians — instrumentalists, singers, tutors and composers were attached to the Hungarian court under most of the kings. Church organs existed in Hungary in the days of Hunyadi. But the true missionaries of Magyar music were the wandering gipsies, first heard of —as musicians — in the 14th century. It was they who spread those weird, melancholy yet wild melodies over Europe just as their descendants may be found performing them (or something like them) all over Hungary at the present day. They en livened humble peasants on .the village green and the haughty nobles in their castles. Michael Barna, the °Hungarian Orpheus," and Czinka Parma were distinguished musicians of the 18th century, while John Bihary composed those three fine dances, ((Coronation? °Palatine° and "Primate." He had the honor of counting Beethoven in his audience, and his orchestra frequently played at the court balls in Vienna. They were all Hungarian gypsies, of the type that is now well known in London, Paris and New York as in their own country. A promi nent part of the national music is the great collection of war songs, the composers of which can be numbered by the hundred. With the spread of the Reformation in Hungary the national music received a powerful impetus both sacred and secular. Huguenot hymns by Gaudimel (17th century) became naturalized on Hungarian soil. The lives of Tholcoly and RalcOczy represent the most brilliant period of Magyar folk-songs, the so-called Kurutz songs, of exquisite rhythm, from which nearly all the later songs, dances and melodies originated. Handel and Bach were babes when the Kurutz were sung and played. The great Liszt himself a Hungarian — has placed it on record that "there is no other music from which European musicians can learn so much rhythmic originality as the Hungarian." In ad dition to the innumerable thallgate magyar" melodies, mainly played in public performances, Hungarian music includes a number of pretty dances, for the ballroom and the cottage, the former called the Palace Dance and Slow Hun garian, and the latter the Dumping tune and Dance tune. The Verbunkos is a recruiting dance, said to be unique. Other varieties are the Wedding Dance, Coquettish, Drum Dance, Arm Dance, Tent Dance, Round Dance, Wreath Dance and the celebrated Csdrdcis (char'dash) or Tavern Dance. Three prominent dance com posers of the 19th century are John Lavota, Anton Csermiik and Mark Rozsavolgyi. An early opera composer was Sigismund Cousser (d. 1730) ; his works include Erindo' (1693), 'Pon& (1694), and Thisbe' (1694), in Africa.' He was choirmaster in Dublin Cathedral for some years. Special men tion must 'be made of John Francisci (b. 1691) as a brilliant organist.
A new era opened for music in Hungary at the dawn of the 19th century when the old clavichord developed into the forerunner of the modern pianoforte. Hungarian noblemen in stalled these instruments in their homes, with the result that many famous pianists settled in Hungary to engage in teaching. As former pupils of Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart, these tutors introduced the works of their great mas ters to the Hungarian aristocrats, among whom, it may be presumed, were some excellent play ers, for Beethoven dedicated several of his sonatas to Hungarian ladies. With the spread
of music several Hungarian textbooks on piano instruction were issued, and a Hungarian (Stephen Gadi) wrote the first (School for the Piano> (Buda 1809), followed by others. Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) left over 100 compositions. The greatest genius of Hun garian music was Franz Liszt (q.v.), the great est pianist of the century, the creator of the Rhapsody and the Symphonic Poem. His contemporary, Franz Erkel (1810-60) was the creator of the Hungarian Opera, who reintro duced into his works long-forgotten native in struments with striking originality. Charles Goldmark (b. 1832) stands high as a composer of symphonies and operas: Queen of Sheba (1873), Sakuntala (1860) and other dramatic works.
In more recent years the Hungarian school of music and musicians has spread throughout the artistic world. Not only in composition of grand and light opera, ballet and chamber music and in prominent vocalists, but also in the domain of instrumentalists — on the violin, such masters as Joachim, and the large num ber of piano virtuosi who attract large audiences in American and European cities, has the Hun garian nation attained a position second to none. In 1819 and 1833 the first Hungarian conservatoires were founded at Kolozsvar and Arad; another in Budapest, followed by more in Debreczen, Kassa, Szeged and Szabadka. The National Hungarian Academy of Music (1875) had Liszt and Erkel as it first directors. Musical and choral societies are spread through out the country, and historical concerts of the highest merit are periodically given in the academy of Science.
History.— The nations which occupied parts of Hungary before its conquest by the Magyars were the Dacians, Bastarnm, Illyrians, Pan nonians, Samatians, Vandals, Bulgarians, Jazyges, Alans, Huns, Marcomanni, Longo bards, etc. The Romans held the southwest part of the country under the name of Paa nonia, while the southeast belonged to their province of Dacia. Various Slavic tribes, to gether with Wallachians, Bulgarians and Ger mans were the chief occupants at the time of the Magyar invasion. The Magyars, called Hungari by the Latin writers, a warlike people of Turanian race, had made various migra tions and long dwelt in the vicinity of the Caucasian Mpuntains, and afterward in the region between the Don and the Dniester, be fore they approached and crossed the Car pathians (about 887) under the lead of Almos, one of their seven chiefs (vezer), and elected head (fejedelem) or duke. Arpad, the son of Almos, conquered the whole of Hungary and Transylvania, organized the government, and also made various expeditions beyond the limits of these countries. These incursions were extended under his son Zoltin (907-46) and grandson Taksony (946-72), as far as the Ger man Ocean, the south of France and Italy, and the Black Sea. These formidable enemies were first defeated by Henry I the German cm= peror, at Merseburg in 933; they then invaded Franconia in 937, and Saxony in 938, were de feated at Stederburg, and also on the river Ohre. Their last incursion into Bavaria (954 and 955) terminated with their complete over throw on the Lech, where Otho I, king of the Germans, conquered them. They gradually learned from the Slavonians and Germans whom they conquered, and from the prisoners whom they had taken in their incursions, the arts of peace, agriculture and manufactures. The hospitality of Geysa (972-97), and the religious zeal of Sarolta his wife, did much to attract strangers from different countries and of all classes into Hungary. The Hungarians violently opposed the introduction of Chris tianity and Geysa was obliged to leave the ex tension of it to his son Stephen (997-1038), who finally prevailed by the assistance of Latin monks and German knights. King Stephen granted a constitution, the principal features of which were never lost, but the unsettled state of the succession to the crown, and the conse quent interference of neighboring princes and of the Roman court in the domestic concerns of Hungary, long retarded the prosperity of the country. The religious zeal and bravery of Saint Ladislaus (1077-95), and the energy and prudence of Coloman (1095-1114), shine amid the darkness of this period.