Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Duo for violin and cello, Op. 7 (1914)
Zoltán Kodály was a towering force of music in his native country of Hungary. Composer, ethnomusicologist, teacher and administrator, he helped reinvigorate his nation's musical culture and, particularly through his promotion of community choirs, provided a mechanism of education and enculturation that reached far beyond Hungarian borders. As both he and his compatriot colleague Béla Bartók were deeply involved in extensive research of Hungarian folksong, both composers contributed to the evolution of a modern national art music rooted in authentic folk materials but alloyed with the principles and aesthetics of the ongoing classical tradition. While Kodály's music output is dominated by vocal and stage music, he left a compelling cache of chamber works including two string quartets, the epic sonata for solo cello and the stunning Duo for violin and cello, Op. 7. Todd Sullivan offers a revealing summary of the work:
The Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 models perfectly the cross-pollination of Hungarian folk materials and the formal structures of art music. Its opening pentatonic melody falls into the Dorian mode, while a contrasting theme, alternating melodic phrases and pizzicato accompaniment, sounds Aeolian. Intensely heartfelt lyricism, which occasionally bursts forth in deep torment, courses through the Adagio. The middle section employs a "trio" texture: the cello provides the bowed soprano melody and a plucked bass accompaniment, while the violin spins an active countermelody in the alto range. Kodály's Magyar-styled finale simulates the radical tempo changes of the verbunkos (recruiting dance) style with its exciting alternation of slow (lassu) and rapid (friss) sections.
