Mária Petrás "From sunrise to sunset"

Concert by Mária Petrás – “From sunrise to sunset” – traditional songs of the Moldavian Csángós

14th October, Friday, 20:00-21:30

Mária Petrás /HU – singing, drum

Curators of the concert: Joanna Mieszkowicz, Gergely Sámsondi Kiss

I will present traditional melodies of the Moldavian Csangós (Hungarian: Csángó), coming from a pure source from our ancestors. I want to convey sounds and moods from the old world of the Csángós full of love and peace,” describes the Artist.

We will be taken on a beautiful journey through time and space by the best and most famous artist of the Csángós people, Mária Petrás. Mária is a folk singer, ceramicist, winner of the prestigious Prima Primissima Award and the Hungarian Heritage Award, and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA). One could venture to say that she is the Hungarian equivalent of Cesaria Evora or Maria Siwiec.

While learning her mother tongue as a child, Mária Petrás simultaneously absorbed ancient Moldavian Hungarian songs, ballads and Gregorian chants with an authentic way of presentation. Her way of singing is in keeping with the richly colourful style of the region’s best country singers, which has been admired by many folklorists and musicians such as Béla Bartók.

She was born in 1957 in the village of Diószén in Moldova, a region within the borders of Romania. This is an area inhabited by the Csángós, an ethnic minority of Hungarian origin. The Csángós arrived in the area of historical Moldova at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries and speak a dialect of the Hungarian language. For many years, the Csángós were not allowed to cultivate their own culture. Unlike the Orthodox majority of Romanians, they are Catholics and, since the time of their settlement in Moldova, it is the faith that has played an important and cohesive role.

Maria expresses her respect for different cultures, especially Christian nations such as Poland. Her most remote exhibition took place under the Southern Stars in Australia, in 2015. During this series of exhibitions, one of the events was organized by the Polish Consulate in Sydney.

Maria always feels honoured to visit Poland and share her rich heritage in art and humanity with others.

The artist will perform solo as well as accompanied by musicians, including Farkas Gyulai, Gergely Sámsondi Kiss – violin, koboz, Róbert Kerényi – flutes.

For more information about the Artist:

https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petr%C3%A1s_M%C3%A1ria

https://www.mma-tv.hu/mma-tv/-/person/1297579/

Singing by Mária Petrás: