Pál Pista (or Pista Pal) kind of Transdanubian folk fulte

A few days ago I wrote about the open-ended six hole folk flutes. In hungarian folk music, these flutes are called Transdanubian folk flutes. But who is „Pál Pista”?

Today, people usually learn folk music in school. The Liszt Academy of Music has a Folk Music Department and there are excellent „free-lance” teachers. There are many places you can learn at very high levels of folk music but this is not the same as liveing folk music. It is another thing to learn about Béla Bartók or talk to him. This is a silly example, but perhaps a sense of the difference.

So there are still a handful of musicians who have learned to play folk music from their parents, never went to music school and do not know what a pentatonic scale is. They played the music that scientists are exploring. These guys are iconic figures of the Hungarian folk music - because these people play the real folk music.

Pál Pista is one of them. He was born in 1919 and his occupation was shepherd. But he is one of the most famous bagpiper and folk flute player. And of course, he also make musical instruments. His instruments are used as a model for today's instrument makers. The sound and the sizing of his flutes are a kind of standard. A piece our past.

This is one of his flutes. Completely undamaged with nice voice. The keynote is E flat. Basically ideal for solo play. But the most important: this is his own handmade ornament. It's just like a signature. This of course does not affect the sound - but so beautiful…

Slovakian folk flute

Three main types are of six-hole flutes in the Carpathian Basin. The open-ended, the narrowed -ended and the back hole flute.  Now I will show you one kind of the open-ended flute.

The open-ended flutes traditionally used in Western Hungary and Slovakia. The figering is very simple, in practice the sounds are coming one after the other and the instrument plays a major. If you have to play minor, you simply start to play on the second note.

This is probably the easiest flute. Very similar to the Irish Whistle only the sound less bright, rather matte.

Which makes this particular flute to Slovakian flute is the ornament. The brown patterns in the instrument that is not the color of the wood and it is not painted. The ornament etched with formic acid into the wood. This type of decoration is very popular in the Slovak instruments. The decoration of fujara is the same.

In the photos you can see two flutes – a „G” and a „C”. This means that if you close all the holes and blow the flute you will hear a „G” or a „C”. The „G” flute is a little bit longer.

Horn-violin or Trumpet-violin

The horn-violin (or trumpet-viloin) is a wierd old instrument. Best of my knowledge this is an american instrument but there are some who believe that is a British invention. Maybe both statements are true.

It is certain that the instrument is as old as the gramophone. As shown in the picture, there is no body of this violin - a gramophone membrane generates the sound. You play on this violin as a normal violin. The difference is that the horn-violins sound is not pure but "crepitate." As if you were listening to a gamophone.

So at this violin not the instrument maker's skill or expertise is the important thing, but the membrane. If the membran is an original gramophone membrane, it sounds good. If you have any other membrane, the sound is miserable.

The horn-violin's (or trumpet-violin’s) price basically depends of the type of the membrane.

My horn-violin is a new instrument with an old gramophone membrane. A young master created it with meticulous care for his examinations. You can see this in the scroll and the neck

and the quality of accessories. The end button is my favorite.

I have ordered a hard case for the instrument but it looked like a baby's coffin. It was safe but it was morbid to use - it is no longer in my possession. Until there is a better idea, it will hang on the wall.

Nazareno Landi

I don’t know too much about this guy. A friend of mine told me that he was a priest in Fiume (Rijeka) and builded only a few violins. But I could not confirm this information yet.  Although I have only just started the research about instrument.

The label says: „Nazareno Landi 1889”  - and I can’t read the name of the city… „San Maria Para”? but it is in Brazil…

This is an old oil varnish violin, and there are no damage on the instrument. The violin is a very nice work. The shape of the body is narrowing, even though only half a millimeter is the deviation from normal. The upper part of the body is 16.5 cm (rather than 17cm), and the lower part is the usual 21 cm.

I like the ornamentation of the peg box. Tasteful work - spectacular but not distractions if you watch the scroll.

 The maker has inserted in a unique way up the neck to the ribs. There is not a sharp boundary between the rib and the saddle, they are

„merge into” with each other.

The violin’s voice is balanced it sounds equally above and below . It is an ideal instrument for classical music. But as you can see, the most impressive part of the instrument is the purfling.

Intruduction

Dear Guest,

I have a musical instrument shop in Hungary. Basically I ’m dealing with folk isntruments but there are also classical instruments - and I try to arrange the collection of the most beautiful pieces.

I created this blog in order to illustrate my collection. For questions or comments please write. I hope you also will get as pleasant moments, like me.