Hungarian Song Circle in Alsószel

The Hungarian Singing Circle of Alsószel looks back on a successful past. It has been operating continuously for fifty years now. It gives colour and character to the cultural life of the village with its work. In November 1969, within the framework of the Friends' Club, the idea was born to revive the singing traditions created in the first half of the 20th century in the village, to sing together for the joy of themselves and others, to preserve their traditions and show the way, because in the interwar period, the village had a mixed choir with nearly a hundred members under the leadership of the headmaster Béla Boros. Thus, the women's singing group was formed under the leadership of Gizella Mészáros. Fourteen women and girls, thanks to whom the beginning, the torch-lighting, is due. And the torch, which was lit by the spark of their enthusiasm then, is still burning today, despite the past five decades, fatigue, difficulties, generational change, and financial problems. They sang abroad for the first time in 1985. In Budapest, the Mátyusföld radio program broadcast a segment of their program, and then we had two performances in the capital. Over the decades, they were welcomed in many settlements of the mother country (Nagybajcs, Solymár, Zomba, Tolna, Baja, Szekszárd, Bonyhád). ; Since 1988, they have had regular contact with the Székely Folk Choir of Csátaljai and the two villages have also signed a twinning agreement. Thanks to the Csátaljai connection, in 1996 they participated in the choir's XII Folklore Festival of the Danube Peoples organized in Baja, on the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city (when the first fish soup cooking record was made). ; Since 2004, the Singing Circle has been actively involved in fostering friendly relations between the settlements of Alsószel and Pannonhalma and has also been a guest at the Pannonhalma Generations Meeting festival. So far, eighty-eight girls, women and fifty-six men have actively sung in the singing circle. Some have been singing since 1969, and some continue singing after their grandmothers and mothers. László Szabados has been the professional advisor and leader of the singing circle since 1970.