I am not only passionate about music but also about film, and one of my favorites is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The story is about a man who, after a sudden illness, can communicate only with one eye. Though trapped in his body, his soul still longs to soar freely. After a long struggle and with help, he writes the book of his life, selecting letters with the gaze of his eye.
Why did this come to mind in connection with the first concert of the Könyvespolc band, formed from Kaposvár Group 2? Somehow, I feel that in this digital world, trapped in our bodies, the love for poetry and verse is like a faint, delicate blink of the eye; among the noisy, computer-designed “music” (which many consider mere noise), music that displays true instrumental skill—especially when we hear a poem transformed into melody—is like the butterfly breaking free from the diving bell or puppet, soaring.
It was no small feat on the late afternoon of September 5, at the Rippl-Rónai Festival, to stand quietly in the middle of a small square, hidden in the shade of the huge and beautiful plane trees, in the colorful, bustling city center of Somogy County, and sing musical settings of poems. Our Könyvespolc band undertook this challenge with their first public performance. The festival’s bustling crowd came to a stop as the four young musicians played, and everyone began to “just” listen—and truly hear—them. Along with us, their initially nervous peers, friends, high school teachers, and parents, the atmosphere quickly shifted from anxiety to immense pride, admiration, and respect.
The quiet, text-centered, pure music worked: it revealed something both new and old; it made us listen—to them, to each other, and to ourselves. The band members are musicians from our Foundation and students from the local music school. They love playing together with the Chamber Orchestra and the Csányi Band musicians. They humbly learn from their masters—Andi, Tihamér, Elemér, to name just a few.
“Part of me is in it”—me, as the mentor, because the band’s formation is tied to a Kaposvár poetry festival… though in truth, only a little. The idea, execution, the performance, and the recognition all belong to them: Dorci Gregor, Saci Kovács-Nagy, Enci Sármány, Levus Sipos. From a single musicalized poem performed at a poetry festival two years ago, they have now built a full one-hour repertoire. This is what we experienced at the weekend’s major events in Kaposvár and Toponár.
I know this text comes from a highly biased fan—their mentor—but I hope there will be opportunities for them to present themselves to you, their peers, fellow mentors, the Foundation’s founders and operators—in other words, to us together… and that their extraordinary music will continue to take flight there, too, then and there.
Angéla V. Sárközi, mentor