In Hungary it is said that you can always tell if a tale is true — even a musical tale — if the storyteller begins with a sneeze. And so, if the tale of Hary Janos as told by Zoltan Kodaly at first blush appears just too fantastic to believe, remember, Hary Janos did not blush in the telling, but rather, sneezed.
So it must be true that the Empress of Austria did indeed fall in love with that charming Hungarian peasant, and that Hary Janos did single-handedly defeat the Emperor Napoleon and sent him scurrying back to France with his tail between his legs.
Zoltan Kodaly's musical history of Hungary's greatest hero makes for great theater in its entirety, and hits all the high points in the orchestral suite.
MUSIC: Kodaly: Hary Janos Suite, Telarc 80413
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