Tcha Limberger's first CD under his own name.
On this latest Lejazzetal release Tcha Limberger is joined by a group of Budapest Gypsy musicians who share his passion for the little known roots of this style of music, and who share his disappointment at how it is presently percieved and played.

Recorded on tour in the UK in May 2009. Once again, as with the last release Django a la Creole mixed and produced at Dylan Fowlers place - Studio Felin Fach in Abergavenny





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01		galamb szall a hortobagyon
02		mege a gozos lefele
03		azert csillag hogy ragyogjon
04		clarinet solo
05		bura termett ido
06		elet elet sej-haj
07		bucsut int az osz a njarnak
08		vasvari verbunk
09		csillaghullas ejszakajan
10		te nelkuled nincsen tavasz
11		latod edesanyam

Compact
27.01.2010 - Bura Termett Ido (English)
Tcha Limberger grew up in a family of renowned Gypsy musicians. Son of guitarist/singer Vivi Limberger, of Koen de Cauter’s legendary Waso Quartet, he was spoon-fed from an early age the swinging Manouche jazz of Django Reinhardt. Very soon he was attracted by the Gypsy music from Budapest, Magyar nota, with its vigorous accompaniment, fancy harmonies and surprising rhythm changes. He learned Hungarian went to Budapest and studied the violin with Kallai Zsolt and Horvath Bela. On this his first cd at age 30 Tcha is accompanied by some of the leading exponents of the Budapest Gypsy style. Tcha Limberger is primas (concert master), singer and orchestra LEADER, István Ruszó (second violin) supports the primas both actively and passively, István Feher (cimbalom) adds the characteristic hammering, Vilmos Csikós (contrabass) lifts the music up and takes care over the good basis of it, Norbert Olah (bratsch) takes care of the rhythmic contra beat. Károly Szegfü (cello) ensures the harmonic interpretation, Csaba Lukáks (manifold) enrich the melody with tremblers and other decorations. Recorded 'live' (the recording happened on three locations in Great Britain) the public at last, stimulated the musicians because a gypsy band can't play without a public.
This album is full of intensity, virtuosity and pathos. Simply world class.
RENE WARNY

Compact
27.01.2010 - Bura Termett Ido (Dutch)
Tcha Limberger groeide op in een familie van gerenommeerde zi-
geunermuzikanten. Als zoon van gitarist-zanger Vivi Limberger, bekend van Koen De Cauters legendarische Waso Quartet, kreeg hij de manouche swingjazz à la Django Reinhardt met de paplepel binnen. Spoedig werd hij aangetrokken door de zigeunermuziek uit Boedapest, de Magyar Nóta, met haar energieke begeleiding, fraaie harmonieën en verrassende ritmewisselingen. Hij leerde Hongaars en volgde viool bij Kallai Zsolt en Horvath Bela. Op zijn eerste cd wordt de 30-jarige Tcha begeleid door enkele van de beste exponenten van de Budapest gipsystijl. Tcha Limberger is primas (eerste violist), zanger en orkestleider, István Ruszó (tweede viool) ondersteunt de primas actief en passief, István Feher (cimbalon) voegt het karakteristieke getokkel toe, Vilmos Csikós (contrabas) tilt de muziek op en geeft er basis aan, Norbert Olah (bratsch) neemt her en der de ritmische functie over. Károly Szegfü (cello) zorgt voor de harmonische invulling, Csaba Lukáks (klarinet) verrijkt de melodie met trillers en andere versieringen, het publiek (de opname gebeurde op drie locaties in Groot Brittannië, nvdr) ten slotte, stimuleert de muzikanten, want een zigeunerorkest kan niet zonder publiek. Dit album bulkt van de intensiteit, virtuositeit en pathos. Ronduit wereldklasse.
RENE WARNY

Songlines
06.05.2009 - A heady whiff of a romantic old world
There is a keen musical archaeology at work in this ambitious project, produced by Lejazzetal and recorded live in the UK last May by Belgian Gypsy violinist and composer Tcha Limberger. The title songs means ‘Time Darkened By Sorrow’ and was Limberger’s first exposure to the Magyar Nota Gypsy orchestra tradition of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The music envelopes you with the widescreen, cinematic sweep and sweetness of old movies and vanished empires, the aural equivalent of a grand old perfume unstoppered for the first time in a century, and filling the room with the musky redolence of a vanished order.
Magyar Nota means ‘Hungarian Song’ and though it may still be heard in the pricier tourist restaurants of Budapest, it is not as popular as it was. Limberger sets out to reclaim the music and see it ‘re-appreciated in it’s essential form’, with the musicians behind him picked from the best in Budapest, combining cimbalom, clarinet, brac, double bass and cello.
Much of the repertoire is instrumental – it is not noted for original, poetic or compelling lyrics – and combines ‘rude’ folk traditions with operetta, Viennese waltzes, Russian songs and popular songs of the era. Limberger spent 18 months in Budapest studying Magyar Nota with Gypsy violinist Horvat Bela, and his immersion in the style is total. He leads the orchestra via a structured improvisation that can weave any number of elements together at the tip of a hat. The orchestra follows the lead down to the smallest eddies of melody and rhythm, and the playing is as intoxicating as a vintage dessert wine
Tim Cumming



Moors magazine
06.05.2009 - Bura Termett Ido
Tcha Limberger was born into a family of Belgium Manouche musicians, his father a guitarist, his grandfather a violinist. He started as a guitarist as he was very much touched by flamenco, later to banjo, clarinet and later, after hearing the Hungarian Gypsy music of Toki Horvath, to violin. That's why he went to Budapest, learned Hungarian and took lessons with Bela Horvath for a year and a half. The result is that now there is a CD. One can hear that Limberger passionately searches for tradition but his musical background is clearly present, even though he plays the music he loves in it's purest form. One can hear he also loves jazz and flamenco – not immediately, but the music Limberger makes with this Budapest Gypsy orchestra is impregnated with all his musical experiences. Bura termett ido, is his first album, was live recorded in the UK, with the best Hungarian Gypsy musicians and you can’t possibly imagine the traditional Hungarian Gypsy music played in a more impassioned way. Here, the tradition is given a new birth, the new elements although hardly noticeable always are present. The virtuosity and passion are undeniable facts. Tcha Limberger plays with such love for the tradition one can only sit and listen entirely fascinated. Tcha Limberger is a name one should keep on following.
Holly Moors

Etudes Tsiganes
07.04.2009 - Bura Termett Ido
On a découvert le jeune guitariste-violoniste Tcha Limberger (fils de Vivi Limberger, qui fit partie de Waso) au sein de deux des multiples groupes de Koen de Cauter (Romani et Waso 4t). Pour son premier disque en leader (produit par Dave Kelbie pour son label Jazzetal), le jeune musicien manouche hollandais (il a tout juste 30 ans) est à la tête de l'excellent Budapest Gypsy Orchestra. Né dans une célèbre famille de musiciens manouches hollandais, Tcha a été bercé par les disques de Django, bien sûr, mais aussi par ceux du célèbre violoniste tsigane hongrois Toki Horvath; Entouré de Lucacz Csaba, clarinette, Ruszo Istvan, violon, Szegfu Karoly, violoncelle, Olah Norbert, bratsch, Feher Istavan, cymbalum et Csikos Vilmos, contrebasse, tous exceptionnels instrumentistes à la virtuosité stupéfiante, Tcha est tout à fait convaincant dans ces 11 morceaux du folklore hongrois (dont il signe les arrangements), tant sur les sérénades mélancoliques que dans les czardas endiablées aux subtiles nuances. A l'écoute de cette galette enregistrée en public en Angleterre en 2008 (et là ça ne triche pas!), on a du mal à croire que Tcha ne s'est mis au violon qu'à l'âge de 21 ans, tout d'abord par plaisir; ayant pris le virus ce cette musique hongroise romantique et enivrante, Tcha apprend le hongrois, passe 3 ans en Belgique à étudier le violon avec Kallai Zsolt, avant de suivre l'enseignement d'Horvath Bela à Budapest. Dans les notes de pochette, Tcha précise que cette musique mérite d'être réappréciée dans sa forme essentielle, et que pour cette raison, il n'a pas l'intention de créer un nouveau style immédiatement. On retrouve dans cet enregistrement les caractéristiques de cette musique qui conjugue nostalgie et joie débordante, langueur et bondissement, virtuosité et sentiment. " Le violon parle avec éloquence, frémit, vibre intensément, pleure, rit, passe par tous les climats et nous prend irrésistiblement à témoin de ses joies de ses peines...au second plan, pas à pas, oserais-je dire, les autres cordes suivent, soutiennent avec une gamme tout aussi infinie de nuances...violoncelle et cymbalum sont particulièrement en vedette "; ce texte que Marcel Ondher écrivit dans les années 60 au dos d'une pochette d'un 33 tours de Lajos Boros, s'applique totalement à ce disque de Tcha Limberger et de son Budapest Gypsy Orchestra. Un artiste à suivre de très près donc!
Francis Couvreux

thejazzmann.com
03.04.2009 - Unique Gypsy music. A significant musical document
This latest release from Dave Kelbie’s Lejazzetal label is significantly different to most of the previous albums on the label. Although still concerned with Romany culture “Bura Termett Ido” (“Times Darkened By Sorrow”) does not take the music of Django Reinhardt as it’s starting point although he was an indirect influence. Indeed there are no guitars at all on the record and just for once Kelbie himself doesn’t get to play on it.

Tcha Limberger is a blind gypsy violinist and his Orchestra explores the musical style of “Magyar Nota”, literally “Hungarian Song”. Most of this music was composed in the early 19th Century and although incorporating folkloristic elements it was played in the homes of noblemen by hired gypsy musicians. In it’s heyday the music was enormously popular.

Limberger’s Orchestra blends traditional methods with a more contemporary approach. The resultant music is a sound unfamiliar to Western European ears but repeated listening brings out the hidden complexities and beauties of the music.

Many of these tunes were written as dances and the informative liner notes include a glossary of the various terms used with regard to the music. The instrumentation comprises of Limberger and Ruszo Istvan (violins), Lukas Csaba (clarinet), Olah Norbert (viola), Szegfu Karoly (cello), Csikos Vilmos (double bass) and Feher Istvan (cimbalom). In this context the viola is referred to as “bracs” from the Italian word “braccio” meaning arm. The instrument is used as a rhythmic component, working in tandem with the double bass, the latter normally being played with the bow.. The viola is held in a vertical position and the player’s arm is always working! The cimbalom is a descendent of the Persian santour and is a rigid case filled with resonant strings that are struck by hammers. In this respect it shares characteristics similar to both the piano and the dulcimer. Like the piano it can be used as either a solo or accompanying instrument and both these qualities are revealed on this recording.

The Orchestra play with a passion and intensity that recalls the best Argentinian tango even though the sound is radically different. The eleven tracks are comprised of sets of tunes in the folk tradition with brooding slow passages juxtaposed with almost impossibly fast instrumental breaks often in the course of a single set. The ensemble sound is initially unfamiliar to Western European ears but gradually draws the novice listener in. The main solo instruments are the violin of band leader (or “primas”) Limberger and the remarkable clarinet of Csaba. The latter’s extraordinary lines often echo the part taken by the accordion in other forms of folk music and the technical ability of the two lead players is astonishing, especially on the “friss” or fast passages. Istvan’s cimbalom, sometimes sounding like a wonky piano adds colour as both an ensemble and solo instrument. It’s highly effective and one can imagine Tom Waits adapting it’s somewhat arcane sound to fit into his work.

The rhythm players offer sympathetic, disciplined support using both the 4/4 “esztam” rhythm and “fel (or broken) esztam”.

Some of the tunes feature impassioned vocals that mix operatic influences with Romany traditions.

I can’t comment on the lyrical content, other than that of the title track which is reproduced in the CD booklet. I think it’s safe to say that it’s not exactly jolly, but it is full of raw emotion. The voice is used sparingly over the course of the album but where it appears it is dramatic, haunting and effective.

“Bura Termett Ido” is very different to anything I’ve heard before and is significantly different to other Eastern European folk music that has come to my attention. It’s certainly not a jazz record and if music this unique can be pigeon-holed I guess it would fall into the world/folk category. This is the sort of music that can take a few listens to appreciate despite it’s dance origins but the inquisitive listener should find plenty to enjoy here.

I remember visiting Budapest in the 90’s and being pestered morning noon and night by itinerant and frankly incompetent violinists chasing the tourist dollar. We got so fed up with it that we actually paid these fellows to go away. If somebody as good as Mr Limberger or his colleagues had happened along I’d have been rather more inclined to listen.

Recorded live in various locations and in front of appreciative audiences on the Orchestra’s most recent UK tour “Bura Termett Ido” is, as Kelbie states, a significant musical document.
Ian Mann

© Dave Kelbie of Lejazzetal
davekelbie@lejazzetal.com
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