The least known area of Bartók’s musical legacy is his choral works, including the six male choruses. He wrote the first when he was 22 and the last when he was 54: these compositions run almost throughout his composing career – from the youthful post-Romantic blooming, through his folksong arrangements based on experiences gained on field trips, which influenced his whole life and outlook, to one of the greatest works ever written for male choir: a chorus suite entitled From Olden Times.

Between Bartók’s works we hear authentic folk music and an extension of it, which gives an insight into the sources, the musical and psycho- logical experiences that may have touched the composer on his field trips: these are played by Balázs Szokolay Dongó on the bagpipes.