Project Summary
The Sounds of the Silk Road
"Sounds of the Silk Road" is a large-scale, international music and documentary film project, part of the artistic and cultural mission of Bálint Bársony and the Magyar Rhapsody Project (MRP). Its goal is to build a bridge between the ancient musical traditions of the Carpathian Basin and the musical world of Eurasian cultures of nomadic origin—traveling along the Silk Road, from east to west, all the way to the Chinese Plain.
The project consists of two main elements:
The Sounds of the Silk Road
Musical Material and Music Video Series The MRP is producing a contemporary world music album that reworks ancient Hungarian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and later Mongolian and Chinese folk music motifs. They present the traditional melodies with modern instrumentation, accompanied by spectacular music videos, created jointly with performers from the respective countries. The goal is to create a popular, still deeply rooted musical body of work that can appeal to a wide audience on an international level.
In progress:
Uzbek, Kyrgyz collaborations, followed by Mongolian and Chinese.
Documentary Film At the conclusion of the project, a comprehensive, multi-lingual (8–10 languages) documentary film will be produced, what will not only show the musical journey, but also explore the connections between Hungarian and Eastern peoples from a musicological, anthropological, and cultural perspective. The film will feature interviews with Hungarian and international music researchers, ethnographers, historians, musicians, and other experts.
Musical Material and Music Video Series The MRP is producing a contemporary world music album that reworks ancient Hungarian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and later Mongolian and Chinese folk music motifs. They present the traditional melodies with modern instrumentation, accompanied by spectacular music videos, created jointly with performers from the respective countries. The goal is to create a popular, still deeply rooted musical body of work that can appeal to a wide audience on an international level.
In progress:
Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz collaborations, followed by Mongolian and Chinese.
Documentary Film At the conclusion of the project, a comprehensive, multi-lingual (8–10 languages) documentary film will be produced, what will not only show the musical journey, but also explore the connections between Hungarian and Eastern peoples from a musicological, anthropological, and cultural perspective. The film will feature interviews with Hungarian and international music researchers, ethnographers, historians, musicians, and other experts.
Proposed Additional Countries for Inclusion
The Sounds of the Silk Road
The project can be further enriched if the following countries also appear, either in the form of short musical etudes or significant collaborations:
• Georgia – ancient vocal tradition, polyphonic singing
• Iran / Persia – rich musical and mystical culture, a Silk Road hub
• Afghanistan – Central Asian roots, pentatonic scales, rabab instruments