Singing in a choir means you’re a part of a subculture. One, that’s proud enough of its diversity to step out and conquer Budapest for a whole night. 24th of May is a perfect opportunity to become a part of it, if only for a night.
Thanks partly to education, partly to movies, singing in a choir seems a little eccentric for a lot of us. Even though singing is good for everyone – it is a form of art everyone’s capable of doing, and it’s one of the ancient ways of expressing our emotions. Much depends on your first experience about choirs – you’ll either love the feeling of singing together or get intimidated by the force that keeps the choir together. I’ll never forget how much we waited the annual Christmass concerts at grammar school, because the choir from the school right next to ours came to visit and sang all the greatest Christmass hits, while we were glued to traditional songs.
Hopefully on this Saturday, everyone who visits the Palace District (Palotanegyed) gets a hint of its charm. The one night event has been organised for the second time this year – after last year’s success it offers more programs, takes place in more venues and you can get to know twice as many choirs. It’s a unique initiative: Night of Choirs is organised by a group of enthusiasts volunteering their spare time to get the choir festival done. The idea came from Halastó Nonprofit Cultural Association. In close cooperation with Budapest Municipality of Józsefváros, they’ve created a night of wonders, when you can never know what happens next.
They’d like to break down the boundaries between choirs and listeners and show the diversity of the human singing voice and the joy and power of singing together, so in addition to traditional choir concerts, there will be singers leaning out of windows, singing flash mobs in the streets and on public transportation, as well as Hungarian and foreign choirs filling the staircases and courtyards of buildings.The motto of the event is „Give voice to the space” (Hangot a térnek) – one thing is guaranteed: from Kálvin square to the hidden gardens of the district, the part of town will be crowded with music this night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14BW3MC3gZg&feature=youtu.be
It’s a perfect opportunity not only to getting closer to vocal music, but also to get to know the city better. Concerts take place at various locations including venues like the garden of the Szabó Ervin Library Music Collection, the courtyard of the Pázmány University Faculty of Law, and the Mária street church, just to name a few. This part of the city has a lot of hidden treasures – with the festival map in your hand, now you can discover these beautiful places with music in the background. With a song composed especially for the night, you can become a member and sing together with all participating choirs, at the ending of the program.
Some say real culture exists where people create something magnificent without central support. Night of Choirs is the perfect example to approve that. Make sure not to miss it, purchase your tickets online, or simply show up on the 24th, the happening starts at 6 pm.
For more information about Night of Choirs, the list of participating choirs and programs, visit their web-site here.
