SÁNDOR BALASSA (b.1935): Civis Town of Debrecen, Op. 91, Journeys in Bihar County, Op. 93, Praise of Knightly Virtues, Op. 100.

Description: The small core of collectors who realize that they have a real prize in this Hungarian composer will be delighted to find 74 minutes of brand-new music from him in this new release - not being released in the U.S. Practically devoid of any avant-garde influences in his late maturity, these three works from 2005 and 2007 are based on the melodic, tonal and rhythmic patterns of Hungarian folk music without ever employing actual folk song. Journeys is a four-movement meditation on his childhood home region ("Bound for Várad", "On My Mother's Native Land", "The World of Scattered Farms" - a marvelously still and rapt nocturne - and "Fair at Szalonta"); Civis Town is a tribute to the historical culture of the city of Debrecen and may have the most folk-derived music of the three pieces; Praise adopts a lofty, legendary tone in its hearking back to royal Hungarian times. MR Symphony Orchestra; Ádám Medveczky.