New Chansons — Album Launch

The original Hungarian subtitle, ‘Hangos nyelvemlék a kételyek korából’, means ‘A sounding relic of language from an age of doubt.’ The project began in Budapest in the early 2000s, when initiator István Rimóczi asked what a contemporary chanson could be. Twenty poems by contemporary writers were selected, ten actors took on singing roles, and fifteen composers from different corners of Hungarian theatre and music were invited to write the songs under the musical direction of Béla Faragó.

The songs were first presented by the Bárka Theatre in a production directed by József Czajlik, accompanied by a fourteen-member chamber orchestra. A recording of one performance was later completed at Yellow Studio with recording engineer Gábor Balla. An album-length master existed in 2003, but the music remained unpublished for more than two decades.

Judit Varga was one of the participating composers. Her contribution brought together a poem by Krisztina Tóth and the voice of actor and singer Adél Jordán in the original project. Their collaboration is one thread in a collection that connects poetry, theatrical performance and contemporary composition.

The album was finally made available in 2026. Its presentation took place at the Budapest Music Center Library on 25 September at 18:00, with a conversation about the original collaboration, listening, songs and shared singing with participants. The release lets the project be heard beyond the moment of its original stage production.