Laudatio Szigetiana

In 1966, the Baranya County Council asked me to write an oratorio based on a text by Károly Vargha to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of Miklós Zrínyi, the legendary defender of the fortress of Szigetvár against the army of Suleiman the Magnificent. I accepted this commission wholeheartedly and with joy, for Hungary’s past has always fascinated me; following my cantatas “Tinódi históriája Eger Vár Viadaláról” (Tinódi’s Account of the Battle for Eger Castle) and “Cantus Pannonicus,” giving musical form to the figure of Zrínyi promised to be a captivating task.

I structured the oratorio into twenty distinct movements, linked by a prose text : orchestral pieces, arias, musical scenes, and choral sections, all forming a melodrama performed by six soloists, a mixed choir, a children’s choir, a narrator, and a large orchestra.

The oratorio is divided into two parts.

First part :

Following the introductory music, the narrator, acting as an eyewitness, sets the events in motion. A mixed chorus rises, singing of the suffering endured by those within the fortress. A horn call announces the arrival of two Turkish envoys, who seek to persuade Zrínyi to surrender. Weary, Zrínyi sits at his table and falls asleep. In his dream, he first sees Katalin (his deceased first wife), then Eva (his second wife). The first part concludes with the mixed chorus singing a call to peaceful slumber.

Part Two:

Following a brief orchestral introduction, a somber morning chorus of soldiers rises, followed by the voices of the fortress’s inhabitants. Zrínyi’s sister expresses her concern about the fate of the women holed up in the fortress. The distant sound of a Hungarian horn stirs a glimmer of hope among the defenders, who are awaiting reinforcements from Zrínyi’s son. But a message, shot in by a Turkish arrow, soon brings dire news: the young man has been taken prisoner. For Zrínyi, all hope is lost.

The Turkish armies advance and attack the fortress (Turkish March). Zrínyi prepares for the ultimate battle. The voices of a mixed choir evoke the fortress being set ablaze; then, in a silence filled with stupor, rises the children’s farewell song.

The soldiers bid farewell to their flag, and then, at Zrínyi’s signal, they throw open the fortress gates and charge at the Turks. A fierce battle ensues, in which Zrínyi meets his death. The final chorus is a fugue that glorifies the eternal example set by the heroes. — Ferenc Farkas