Napfonat (Hungary)
Napfonat, whose name means “sun-braid,” is a Hungarian a cappella group of five women: Kriszti Farkas, Heni Szalay, Anita Szarka, Eszter Tóth, and Orsi Tóth. Drawing on their varied cultural backgrounds, they sing in close polyphony backed by hand percussion, moving between traditional songs from Mexico to Poland and original pieces that fuse Hungarian folk melodies with hypnotic chants. Their debut album, Szól a világ (2021), was short-listed for Hungary’s Fonogram Award for folk and world music, and its follow-up, Harmatcseppben él avilág bennem (2023), built around the four elements, reached the World Music Charts Europe. They have performed across Hungary and Central Europe.
Featured Song:
“Carol of the Bells” began as “Shchedryk,” a Ukrainian New Year’s folk chant in which a swallow flies into a household to promise a prosperous year. Mykola Leontovych arranged it for choir in 1914, and the Ukrainian National Chorus carried it abroad, reaching Carnegie Hall in 1922. In 1936, choral director Peter J. Wilhousky wrote new English words, turning the swallow’s song into ringing Christmas bells. Napfonat recorded it for their 2023 album Égből, fényből, passing the four-note motif between their voices: “Christmas is here, bringing good cheer / To young and old, meek and the bold.”
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