Hungary

The Hallel of the Hungarian Jews is divided into two parts: the first six sections are in recitative style, the next five sections are metrical, and the 12th section is again recitative. The recitatives are derived from the maqam principle, but the metrical tunes may be considered folk songs, and are influenced by other cultures.

Also in: Musicological Studies 3 (1980): 139-58. Interviews made during field work in Hungary and Czechoslovakia illustrate the emic concepts about musical composition in Ashkenazic Jewish music. The concepts differ considerably with regard to various styles within the tradition. Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that Hassidic nigumim are original inventions of composers from Hassidic courts.

Collection title: Cahiers de musiques traditionnelles. XII (1999): Noter la musique Analyzes in detail two examples of transcription of monophonic music with complex rhythmic strata that interact in subtle and fluid ways: , a partially improvised Hungarian traditional song of the genre practiced chiefly in Transylvania, and the benediction section of the , an Ashkenazi prayer celebrating the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt.

Red ritual: Ritual music and Communism Summarizes the problems that hindered the practice of Jewish ritual music in Hungary during the Communist period. The music for the traditional Jewish service is described, as are the characteristics that made this music difficult for the modern middle class to accept. It is suggested that the specific character of Jewish ritual music contributed to its marginal position before and after World War II.

Appeared also in Hungarian Liturgical Music II (1994-1995), 59-71.

Maramures (formerly Maramaros, in Hungarian) was a Jewish community in Transylvania that, prior to World War II, had a rich musical heritage. After the Shoah, not a single one of the area's musicians returned from concentration camps.