Autumn Rose National Competition for Hungarian Folk Singers

ŐSZIRÓZSA, a national competition for Hungarian folk singers; ; The Hungarian folk song is above all linked to Hungarianness. Not only as an adjective, that it is Hungarian, but also in terms of its essence. The moment of the birth of the folk song coincided with the revival of the ideal of the nation. The signs indicating belonging were emphasized as national symbols by all those who declared themselves to belong to the Hungarian nation. The verbunkos music that was born and the Hungarian folk song that largely grew out of it are themselves such symbols. Symbol. This music “helped the people of the last century to become Hungarian, helped them to remain Hungarian, helped them to stand out in Europe” – as Bence Szabolcsi writes. That is why Hungarian music, especially its singable branch, the Hungarian folk song, became a national affair. ; In addition to folk folklore, the preservation of traditions and other diverse cultural activities, our regional committee also wanted to bring the popularization and cultivation of Hungarian song singing to the public consciousness. The aim of the competition is to develop singing culture, embrace talents, create good entertainment opportunities, and strengthen national unity. Song has always had the power to preserve the community, and it still does today. If we neglect it, our entire culture and national characteristics are in danger; if we embrace it, we will shape the taste of Hungarian youth and the audience not with foreign, but with Hungarian songs, songs, and poems. Through music and singing, people can forget their daily worries and worries, they provide inspiration and hope for good mood-creating creations, and they are a good opportunity to develop taste, to cultivate human relationships and traditions, and to pass them on. We believe that as long as Hungarian songs do not run out, there will be Hungarian people in our regions. ; Based on the above considerations, the Nagykürtös Regional Committee of the Csemadok has been organizing the amateur Hungarian folk singers' competition under the title Őszirózsa since 2000. On behalf of the National Council of the Csemadok, our regional committee announced the ŐSZIRÓZSA national competition of Hungarian folk singers for the twentieth time in 2019. The condition for entry is that the contestant must be 16 years of age, there is no upper age limit. Performers who feel talented in themselves can apply with two Hungarian folk songs – student and csárdás. The call was published in the Hungarian media (TV, radio, newspapers, internet). Application forms can be obtained from the regional committees of the Csemadok, from the Csemadok website, and we will also send them to competitors registered in previous years by post or electronically. The primary goal of our event is to preserve and cultivate folk art. We wanted to address those who are lovers of Hungarian songs and nóta and enjoy singing not only for themselves, but also in front of an audience, in order to introduce and make Hungarian songs more popular to as many people as possible. ; Our nóta competition has undergone a visible development over the years and is becoming increasingly popular. The performers represent almost all areas of the country, but there is also increasing interest in it from across the border. Since 2006, the competitors have been qualified (gold, silver, bronze). One of the significant benefits of the qualification competition is that the singers who win the gold wreath can even perform as professional performers in the future (at least this is how it works in Hungary), and it encourages the others to obtain the best qualification. The professional jury, who evaluate the competitors' performances, are experts in various segments of singing and music. ; In the previous rounds, 491 performers from the Highlands and 191 from other countries have performed, which means a total of 682 performers. The jury awarded a total of 374 medals and certificates to them (105 gold, 126 silver, 143 bronze). An average of 34 singers have made it to the finals each year. ; The performers are accompanied by a gypsy band. At the beginning, we tried several bands, then Béla Balogh and his gypsy band played for ten years in a row, until his death in 2017. In the last three years, Zsolt Mezei and his gypsy band have accompanied the performers. ; The jury consists of five members, initially the chairman of the jury was István Tóth Nógrádi, a Budapest-based singer and president of the Hungarian Songwriters and Singers National Association, and since 2006 this position has been held by the singer László Kiss Tarnai, editor-in-chief of Dankó radio, and presenter. ; In recent years, more and more qualified competitors have applied for the song competition and are preparing for the next year based on the jury's evaluation. A decade or two ago, it seemed that the Hungarian song had fallen out of favor in the music world, but recently it has been resurrected, becoming a Hungarian Hungaricum, and has been alive and well ever since, with a new young talent emerging every year. ; As a result of the trials and tribulations of the past twenty years and our persistent organizational work, we feel that our song competition is fully fulfilling its mission, with which we have also contributed to the resurgence of this branch of our national treasure.