Best Kodaly
Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13, is a large-scale work for tenor soloist, mixed chorus, children's chorus, and orchestra by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly. Composed in 1923 for the 50th anniversary of the unification of Buda, Pest, and Obuda, it sets a 16th-century Hungarian paraphrase of Psalm 55 by M...
Why this score?
Major Hungarian choral-orchestral work, nationally significant and admired, less internationally central.
Scoring methodology
Missa Brevis is Zoltán Kodály's setting of the Latin Mass Ordinary, developed from an organ mass and completed during the siege of Budapest in 1944-1945. Scored in versions involving soloists, chorus, organ, and orchestra, it combines compact liturgical movements with dense choral writing and promin...
Why this score?
Respected Kodály sacred work with wartime context, admired by choirs, moderate wider reputation.
Scoring methodology
Zoltán Kodály's Variations on the Hungarian Folksong 'The Peacock' (1939) was composed for the 50th anniversary of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and is a landmark of Hungarian orchestral writing.
Why this score?
Kodály orchestral variations are respected, choral relevance limited and reputation moderate.
Scoring methodology
Háry János is a Hungarian singspiel by composer Zoltán Kodály, first performed in Budapest in 1926. Its spoken dialogue and musical numbers frame the extravagant stories told by Háry, a veteran soldier who claims to have defeated Napoleon and won the admiration of Empress Marie Louise. Kodály later...
