These recordings were made by László Aranyos in Saint Stephen of Hungary Church and Paprikash Restaurant in Chicago, USA on June 12, 1998. The Százcsávás Band with the six members heard on this record made three hugely successful performing tours in the USA giving thousands of people the opportunity to enjoy their fantastic music. The most important aspect of these tours was that it was the first time for North American audiences to see and hear a complete band of traditional musicians (as opposed to folk music revival musicians) from a tiny remote Transylvanian village. Though Béla Bartók’s compositions gave the American public some inkling of what Transylvanian music was like, for America the original form existed only on recordings. Without exaggerating, we can say that the band’s nearly 200 performances were an overwhelming success.

“Dumnezu”- violin (1-5, 7-9, 12, 14-17), voice (8, 9, 14)
Mezei Ferenc “Csángáló” - viola (1-5, 8-10, 12, 14-17), primkontra (7)
“mouth kontra” (11), dance (12, 15)
Csányi Mátyás “Mutis” - double bass (1-10, 12-17), “mouth bass” (11), dance (12, 15)
Mezei Levente “Leves” - violin (1-6, 8-9, 12-17), “mouth fiddle” (11), dance (12, 15)
Csányi Sándor “Cilika” - violin (1-6, 8-10, 12, 14-17), “mouth bass” (11)
Jámbor Ferenc “Tocsila” - viola (1-6, 8-9, 12-17), “mouth kontra” (11), dance (12, 15)

Mastering: László Aranyos, Z. Ágoston Bartha; Photos: Zoltán Szánthó, Frank de Jong (portraits), Kálmán Magyar; Design: Dóra Kiss; Producer: Zoltán Szánthó; Executive producer: László Horváth + © 2016 Fonó Budai Zeneház; Fonó Music Hall H-1116 Budapest, Sztregova utca 3. s Tel/fax: +36 1 206 53 00 fono@fono.hu ω www.fono.hu

The Fonó has released a new series from recordings of the Százcsávás Band. Three of four CDs in the series are re-releases: "Szászcsávás - Transylvanian Folk Music"; "Szászcsávás 3" from 1998; and "Live in Chicago" which was released in 2001 but recorded during the band’s 1998 tour. The fourth CD, "Szászcsávás 1990" contains recordings made on location in Százcsávás in 1990, released here for the first time. What makes these special is that the band members who later became world-famous play here, along with one who died young in the meantime and an elderly lead fiddler. The 1990 recordings show the band with a more raw and vigorous sound (than on later recordings after their international performances). Until then they had played mostly for weddings and traditional events without amplification. The CD series has been released with new covers and more photos. The Fonó plans to continue the series releasing more archive recordings of the Százcsávás Band.