Napot Holdat Csillagot

Pál is a new voice on the traditional Hungarian music scene, endorsed by the Hagyományok Hása (Hungarian Heritage House), the centre for folk culture in Budapest where this was recorded. Pál was born in the Hungarian community in Visk in Ukraine, but now lives in Budapest.

This recording is like a extravagant calling card. She sings songs from several regions of Transylvania, Slovakia and Hungary, backed by fine traditional musicians. There's a lovely song, ‘ Édesapámmal Ruszinul’, in Rusyn, a Ukrainian dialect from the Carpathians, which she probably learned back in Visk. The record ends with the title-track (meaning ‘Suns, Moons and Stars’), a Hungarian number with rippling cimbalom from the village of Velyka Dobron (known as Nagydobronyi in Hungarian) in western Ukraine. As this is an album reaffirming the tradition, most tracks are made up of two or three songs – just as they might be performed at a party or wedding.

There are beautiful photos, but ultimately the package still feels cold and uninvolving. There's little personality or warmth coming through. However authentic the music might be, an artist needs to communicate and Eszter Pál isn’t yet doing that.