On September 8, Péter Pejtsik’s Budapest Klezmer Mass was presented for the first time under the framework of the French-language mass that took place as part of the International Eucharistic Congress (NEK) in the Church of St. Elizabeth in Rózsák Square.
The Mass led by Archbishop Jérôme Beau of Bourges was concelebrated by Cardinal Péter Erdő and Primate and Rwandan Cardinal Antoine Kambanda, wrote Magyar Kurír.
Péter Pejtsik, conductor at the Hungarian State Opera House and of the VoiceStation Choir composed the Mass (Judit Andrejszki sang the solo and Ádám Kiss-Balbinat played the violin solo). He wrote the following about the work, which was already released on CD.
“Born on the initiative and at the request of Cardinal Péter Erdő, the Budapest Klezmer Mass is based on Jewish melodies, but is spoken in the traditional liturgical languages, Greek and Latin. As I wrote, I sought to embrace the thousand-year tradition of European church music, as well as the rocking melodies and dancing rhythms of Klezmer and Yiddish music, but also to be fresh and relatable to today’s listeners who grew up with symphonic movie scores.”
The first Hungarian Hasidic folk song was released – Neokohn