Muzsikas Puts Lively Spin on Bartok

The poignant sound of Marta Sebestyen’s remarkable voice is probably best known from her performance on the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning “The English Patient” and the Grammy-winning Deep Forest recording “Boheme.” But her real musical home for years has been with the Hungarian ensemble Muzsikas, and with good reason.

Sunday night at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, Sebestyen, Muzsikas and two dancers gave a performance that was both exuberantly spirited and fascinatingly educational. A substantial part of the program was devoted to selections from the ensemble’s new CD, “The Bartok Album.” Muzsikas used the auditorium’s sound system to play recordings of folk selections gathered by composer Bela Bartok nearly a century ago, then offered its own interpretations of the material.

One particularly captivating sequence began with a recording of a female duo, proceeded through a Bartok violin duet based on the theme, continued with a dance version by Muzsikas’ two violinists (Laszlo Porteleki and Mikaly Sipos) and concluded with a keening rendering by Sebestyen.

Other selections called for different instrumental combinations--hit-gardon (cello-like instruments played as percussion with sticks), different-sized flutes, recorders and whistles. In sum, it was a delicious Hungarian goulash of music, its informative moments alternating with stirring rhythmic climaxes from the players and spinning, leaping dances by Zoltan Farkas and Ildiko Toth.