The publication is the first of a ?draft? of the Slovak folksongs on which Bartók worked during his years in the United States.
István Käfer, the editor of the volume and a member of the staff of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences? Music Studies Institute, said the Slovak folksongs are largely unknown to the general public.
Bartók presented a handwritten manuscript of the songs to the Slovak academy in 1923, and three volumes were published on the basis of the manuscript.
But Bartók had another copy of the songs in Budapest that he continued to work, taking the draft to America with him.
Käfer said he thought Bartók was probably dissatisfied with the material that had been published in Slovakia and decided to put together his own collection based on the draft.
This ?draft? is what Gerhardus has now published, he added.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
