Toronto is a city known for its Hungarian community. And if you were to poll them, I’d wager you’d find that many already know its local Moldvai band, Csángó Unchained. Others in the greater North American diaspora, may not – in which case, they should.
The band has been around for about ten years. Although some musicians have come and gone, three core members remain – Andrea Speck, Andrew Komáromy, and Tibor Papp.
“We started out as just friends playing Moldvai music in the changing room of the Szent Erzsébet Catholic Church. I was teaching Hungarian dance with the Kodály Ensemble, and I think Tibi’s son was in the dance group, so it made sense for us to start meeting up close to that time,” recalls Speck.
From there, the band starting meeting at Péter Horváth’s house (former violinist/occasional guest musician) and worked on expanding its repertoire. As their knowledge grew, they started to play regularly at Kodály’s táncház programs, and collaborated with area groups like the Kosa Kolektiv – a Ukrainian cultural organization.
Although Csángó Unchained plays largely Moldvai music, their music has also expanded into other regions. Thanks to the diversity of Toronto’s world music scene, they have had the opportunity to work with non-Hungarian artists, like Matti Polonen (Finnish stringed music), Jurgita Zvinklyte (Finno-Baltic neofolk), and Janez “Rok” Kovach.
Most recently, the band worked with Kőrösi Csoma Program fellow Anna Dancs (violin) assigned to the Hungarian Canadian Cultural Centre as. Occasionally, her partner Alpár Balázs-Kercsóhas also joined on the drums.
This past year, Csángó Unchained played at various venues including Hungarofest, Drom Taberna, Melanka with the Kosa Kolectiv, Folk Camp and various local táncház programs. In the fall, you can see them at Ontario’s Hungarian Heritage Month and other Kodály and Rozmaring Ensemble events.
“We absolutely love what we do. There is no greater feeling than playing for the crowd at a táncház and sharing what we love about Csángó music, dance and culture,” says Speck.
Photo credit: Bence Eck | Contact the band here.
