Márta Sebestyén (; born 19 August 1957) is a Hungarian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

vocalist, composer and actress.

Early life

Sebestyén was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary. Her mother is a composer, and was a music student of

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music edu ...

. Her father was an economist and author. When Sebestyén was seven years old, her father, returning from a trip to the U.S. as a visiting professor (under a grant from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

), brought home a large collection of ethnic music recordings from the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. Sebestyén was educated at

Miklós Radnóti Miklós Radnóti (born Miklós Glatter; 5 May 1909 – November 1944) was a Hungarian poet and teacher. He was murdered in the Holocaust. Biography Miklós Glatter was the son of a vendor of the textile business company Brück & Grosz in Bu ...

Grammar School,

Career

Sebestyén is a founding member of Hungarian folk group

Muzsikás Muzsikás is a Hungarian musical group playing mainly folk music of Hungary and other countries and peoples of the region. Established in 1973, it has also played works by classical composers, especially Béla Bartók, who himself collected folk ...

. She is known for adaptations of Somogy and Erdély folk songs, some of which appear in

Deep Forest Deep Forest is a French musical group originally consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Éric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance b ...

's '' Boheme'' album, which received the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Best World Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Global Music Album is an honor presented to recording artists for influential music from around the globe at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

in 1995. She has also adapted

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

, Serbian, Bulgarian, Slovak folk songs into traditional Hungarian style. She sang in and contributed material to the album ''

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

'' by Towering Inferno ( Richard Wolfson and Andy Saunders, 1993). She also sang "Rivers" on the multiple artist album '' Big Blue Ball'' released in 2008. Sebestyén's song "Szerelem, szerelem", performed with Muzsikás, featured in the movie ''

The English Patient ''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burn ...

'' (1996). Three more songs she recorded with Muzsikás appeared in the Japanese

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

film '' Only Yesterday'' (1991) by

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and h ...

: "Teremtés" ("Creation"), "Hajnali nóta" ("Morning Song"), and "Fuvom az énekem" ("I Sing My Song"). Costa-Gavras' 1989 film ''

Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'' ...

'' featured the opening half of Sebestyén's song "Mária altatója". On 1 June 2010, Sebestyén was awarded the UNESCO Artist for Peace title.

Influence

Ivor Cutler Ivor Cutler (born Isadore Cutler, 15 January 1923 – 3 March 2006) was a Scottish poet, singer, musician, songwriter, artist and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions record ...

was a fan of Sebestyén, citing her influence on several occasions, most notably in an article for ''The Guardian'' newspaper in January 2004. Cutler selected two of her songs for a CD (''Cute, eh?'') released in 1999 containing his favourite musical tracks. Cutler also chose songs by Sebestyén for his 1991 BBC Radio series, ''Cutler the Lax''.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b03vczgx

Selected discography

As primary artist

* ''Márta Sebestyén and Muzsikás'' ( Hannibal, 1987) * ''Apocrypha'' (Hannibal, 1992) * '' Kismet'' (Hannibal, 1996)

With Andy Irvine and Davy Spillane

* ''

EastWind ''EastWind'' is an album by Andy Irvine and Davy Spillane, showcasing a fusion of Irish folk music with traditional Bulgarian and Macedonian music. Produced by Irvine and Bill Whelan, who also contributed keyboards and piano, it was widely reg ...

'' ( Tara, 1992)

With various artists

* ''

The Rough Guide to the Music of Eastern Europe ''The Rough Guide to the Music of Eastern Europe'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1998. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the album gives broad coverage to the music of Central Europe and the music ...

'' (

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competit ...

, 1999) * '' Big Blue Ball'' ( Real World,

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

, 2008)

References

External links

Márta Sebestyén official website (Hungarian)

Márta Sebestyén official website (English)

''Deep Forest'' official website (archived)

''Muzsikás'' official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sebestyen, Marta 1957 births Living people 20th-century Hungarian women singers Musicians from Budapest Hungarian folk musicians Hungarian world music musicians Hungarian folk rock musicians