Egressy, Béni [Galambos, Benjámin]

(b Sajókazinc [now Kazincbarcika], 21 April 1814; d Pest, 17 July 1851). Hungarian composer, librettist, dramatist, translator and actor. He began his career as a schoolteacher and in 1834 became an actor in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca, Romania) and Kassa (now Košice, Czech Republic). From 1837 he worked in the newly opened Hungarian Theatre in Pest (renamed the National Theatre in 1840). In 1838 he went on foot to Milan to study singing. About 1840 he returned to Hungary and continued his work in the National Theatre in Pest. He wrote the libretto for Ferenc Erkel's first opera Bátori Mária (1840) and also for Erkel's chief works Hunyadi László (1844) and Bánk bán (1861); while working for the theatre, he translated more than 50 French plays and 19 Italian and French opera librettos into Hungarian.

As a composer Egressy was self-taught, learning the rules of musical notation and harmony through practice. From 1842 to 1851 he wrote comedies and popular plays with songs and dances for the National Theatre. These works are distinguished by melodic invention and excellent powers of dramatic description; the music is rooted in the spiritual and secular song traditions of the reformed college of Hungary, the German lied and the Hungarian instrumental verbunkos. From these traditions he tried to create small forms in a unified national popular style. With his songs and dances for the theatre in particular, he soon found wide popularity throughout the country and came to be regarded as a pioneer of the Hungarian national popular song and csárdás.

In 1843 Egressy won first prize in a composition competition with his setting of Vörösmarty's poem Szózat (‘The Appeal’). This work is recognized as a second Hungarian national anthem and was later arranged or used as a quotation by Liszt, Mosonyi, Erkel, Volkmann, Dohnányi, Kodály and Járdányi. Egressy was also the first who set to music poems by the most important Hungarian poet of his time, Sándor Petőfi.

In 1846, when Liszt visited Pest, he was greeted by Egressy's csárdás Fogadj isten (‘Welcome!’), published that year with a dedication to the celebrated virtuoso. Liszt used this music in his Hungarian Rhapsody no.10, dedicated to Egressy. Another melody, Hej, haj, magyar ember, was used in Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody no.12 as well as in Brahms's Hungarian Dance no.15.

Egressy took part in the war of Hungarian independence in 1848–9 and was wounded there. In 1849 he was appointed field music director in the fortress at Komárom, where he composed the march Komáromi utóhangok (‘Epilogue in Komárom’).

WORKS

stage

all first performed at National Theatre, Pest

other works

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ZL

G. Egressy: ‘Egressi Benjámin’, Értesítő [Pest] (3 April 1852)

I. Bartalus: ‘Egressy Béni dalai’ [The songs of Béni Egressy], Budapesti hirlap (3–6 May 1859)

K. Isoz: Egressy Béni első dalmű-szövegkönyvéről [On Egressy’s first opera libretto] (Budapest, 1911)

E. Major: A népies magyar műzene és a népzene kapcsolatai [The relationship of Hungarian popular music to folk music] (Budapest, 1930)

K. Isoz: ‘Egressy Béni’, A zene (1 Aug 1932)

I. Kecskeméti: Egressy Béni eredeti hangjegykéziratai [Egressy's original music MSS] (Budapest, 1969), 191–200 [with Ger. and Eng. summaries]

Z. Csorba: Egressy Béni (Miskolc, 1974)

B.G. Bérczessi: Hazádnak rendületlenül [Unswervingly for the fatherland] (Budapest, 1981)

I. Mona: Magyar zeneműkiadók és tevékenységük 1774–1867 [Hungarian music publishers and their activity, 1774–1867] (Budapest, 1989)

FERENC BÓNIS