Karai József
Composer
Place of Birth
Budapest
Date of Birth
1927
8 November 1927 Budapest - 7 September 2013
József Karai was born in Budapest on 8 November 1927. He finished his studies in Budapest and Pécs between 1935 and 1946. He began his musical studies relatively late, at the age of 12. At the end of World War II he was enlisted. After the war he worked as an unskilled worker at the Electricity Works of Budapest. Between 1947 and 1954 he studied composition with János Viski and Ferenc Farkas and conducting with János Ferencsik, András Kórodi and László Somogyi at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.
He married Katalin Kertész in 1951. Between 1948 and 1969 he taught and conducted several choruses in Budapest. This occupation strongly influenced his activities: he composed many works for choruses. Since 1969 he has been active as a free-lance composer, he composed numerous instrumental works, songs, cantatas, etc.
Around 90 of his pieces have been published in Hungary, and 40 of them abroad (Darmstadt, Pohlheim, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Moscow, Boston, Helsinki). His works have more than 100 recordings. These works are performed all over the world.
His career can be divided into four periods: following the masters, looking for a unique voice, a special avant-garde style, and a new method based on simplicity.
He was interested in history, history of religion, philosophy, art and technology.
József Karai was born in Budapest on 8 November 1927. He finished his studies in Budapest and Pécs between 1935 and 1946. He began his musical studies relatively late, at the age of 12. At the end of World War II he was enlisted. After the war he worked as an unskilled worker at the Electricity Works of Budapest. Between 1947 and 1954 he studied composition with János Viski and Ferenc Farkas and conducting with János Ferencsik, András Kórodi and László Somogyi at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music.
He married Katalin Kertész in 1951. Between 1948 and 1969 he taught and conducted several choruses in Budapest. This occupation strongly influenced his activities: he composed many works for choruses. Since 1969 he has been active as a free-lance composer, he composed numerous instrumental works, songs, cantatas, etc.
Around 90 of his pieces have been published in Hungary, and 40 of them abroad (Darmstadt, Pohlheim, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Moscow, Boston, Helsinki). His works have more than 100 recordings. These works are performed all over the world.
His career can be divided into four periods: following the masters, looking for a unique voice, a special avant-garde style, and a new method based on simplicity.
He was interested in history, history of religion, philosophy, art and technology.
| Year | Title | Publisher | Code | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 |
Hungarian Folk-Songs for Chorus
(Estéli nótázás) |
Hungaroton | SLPX 12570 | LP |
| 1988 |
Singing Youth
(Éneklő Ifjúság 10) |
Hungaroton | SLPX 31102 | LP |
| 1991 | Magánkiadás | BLKA CD 001 | ||
| 1999 |
Choral Works
(Musica Nostra - Kórusművek) |
Hungaroton | HCD 31840 | |
| 2005 |
O Splendid Mysterious Night - Christmas Songs
(Ó, gyönyörű szép, titokzatos éj - Karácsonyi dalok) |
Hungaroton | HDVD 32404 | DVD |
| Title | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Pieces for Flute and Piano | Chamber Music | 0 |
| A Spring Evening | Mixed choir | 1985 |
| Adeste Fideles | Mixed choir | 1996 |
| Alleluja | Mixed choir | 1981 |
| An Exhibition of Children´s Drawings | Chamber Music | 1998 |
| Astonishment | Mixed choir | 1974 |
| Autumnal Wind | Chamber Music | 1997 |
| Ave Maria I. | Female choir | 1985 |
| Ave Maria II. | Female choir | 1990 |
| Ave Maris Stella | Female choir | 1987 |
| Burlesque - for clarinet and piano | Chamber Music | 1997 |
| Burlesque - for trombone and piano | Chamber Music | 1997 |
| Bye and Bye | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1969 |
| Caution to the Guards | Female choir | 1977 |
| Celestial Railway | Choir with accompaniment | 0 |
| Cheerful Song | Mixed choir | 0 |
| Choir In Memoriam Kodály | Choir a cappella | 0 |
| Clot to Clot | Male choir | 0 |
| Congedo / Ero | Mixed choir | 1987 |
| Consolation | Mixed choir | 1987 |
| Dance Grotesque | Chamber Music | 1967 |
| Dance Grotesque - for clarinet and piano | Chamber Music | 1967 |
| Dance in the Spinnery | Mixed choir | 0 |
| De Profundis (Psalm 130) | Mixed choir | 1980 |
| Der Gondelfahrer | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 1996 |
| Divertimento on English folk songs - for brass quintet | Chamber Music | 1999 |
| Divertimento on English folk songs - for youth string orchesta | String orchestra | 1999 |
| English Folk Song | Chamber Music | 1997 |
| Evening | Chamber Music | 1972 |
| Evening Prayer | Female choir | 1996 |
| Evening Singing | Choir with accompaniment | 1956 |
| Evening Waterfall | Female choir | 1987 |
| Ev´ry Time I Feel the Spirit | Mixed choir | 1969 |
| Freedom, Come to Us! | Choir a cappella | 0 |
| Good Night | Male choir | 1998 |
| Good Night Pal | Choir with accompaniment | 0 |
| Hodie Christus Natus Est | Female choir | 1989 |
| Hodie Christus Natus Est | Male choir | 1998 |
| How the Rain Falls | Female choir | 1987 |
| Hungarian Christmas Carols | Female choir | 1994 |
| Hymn on the Universe | Solo voice(s), choir & orchestra | 1992 |
| I Bless You with Dolor and Gaiety | Female choir | 0 |
| I Want to Go to Heaven | Mixed choir | 1976 |
| I Will Give My Love an Apple - for female choir and piano | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 1985 |
| I Will Give My Love an Apple - for mixed choir | Mixed choir | 1970 |
| If I Were a Fairy... | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 1974 |
| In Dulci Jubilo | Female choir | 1996 |
| In Dulci Jubilo - for mixed choir | Mixed choir | 1997 |
| Jumping Dance | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 1977 |
| Kodály´s Words (Forword from the Bicinia Hungarica) | Children's choir | 0 |
| Lamentation for Flowers | Female choir | 0 |
| Laudate Dominum (Psalm 150) | Mixed choir | 1993 |
| Little David | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1976 |
| Little Folksong Suite | Children's choir | 1958 |
| Love | Mixed choir | 1985 |
| Magic Chant | Female choir | 1978 |
| March | Female choir | 1987 |
| Minstrel Song | Female choir | 1981 |
| Missa Brevis | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 1999 |
| Musical Wakening | Children's choir | 0 |
| My Lord, What a Morning | Mixed choir | 1969 |
| New Minstrel Song | Female choir | 0 |
| Night | Female choir | 1976 |
| October Song | Male choir | 1989 |
| Oh! I Know I Have Another Buildin´ | Mixed choir | 1969 |
| Old Ark´s a-Movering | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1976 |
| Pater Noster | Mixed choir | 1988 |
| Personent Hodie | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1996 |
| Psalmus 23 | Female choir | 2001 |
| Ramblers - A Day in a Child´s Life | Children's choir | 1963 |
| Recruiting Song from Kecskemét | Choir with accompaniment | 0 |
| Resonemus Laudibus | Mixed choir | 1996 |
| Rhytmus e Mariali | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1998 |
| Rise Up, Shepherd | Mixed choir | 1969 |
| Seashore | Male choir | 1986 |
| Singing in the Evening - for mixed choir and piano | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 1956 |
| Sinner, You Know | Mixed choir | 1976 |
| Sleigh Bells | Children's choir | 1956 |
| Sometimes I Feel | Mixed choir | 1969 |
| Sometimes I Feel | Mixed choir | 0 |
| Song Without Text | Chamber Music | 1997 |
| Spring Rejocing | Choir with accompaniment | 1982 |
| Spring Song | Choir a cappella | 0 |
| Stabat Mater | Mixed choir | 1983 |
| Surrexit Christus Hodie | Mixed choir | 1987 |
| Swing Low, Sweet Chariot | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1976 |
| The Birds´ Songs - for solo voices, children´s choir and organ | Solo voice(s), choir & solo instrument(s) | 1999 |
| The Birds´ Songs - for tenor solo and mixed choir | Mixed choir | 1995 |
| The Blackbird | Mixed choir | 1974 |
| The Carter´s Health | Mixed choir | 1970 |
| The clown and the Lady - for brass quintet | Chamber Music | 1990 |
| The clown and the Lady - for percussion instruments | Ensemble | 1990 |
| The clown and the Lady - for wind symphony orchestra | Wind orchestra | 1995 |
| The Distance Calls | Children's choir | 0 |
| The games of winter | Chamber Music | 1997 |
| The Little Brother | Children's choir | 0 |
| The Old Fox | Mixed choir | 1970 |
| The Shortest Tales of the World | Mixed choir | 1994 |
| The Song of Goodness | Mixed choir | 1983 |
| The Spring Wind´s Salutation | Female choir | 1964 |
| The Truth from Above | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1996 |
| The Truth from Above - for solo voices and mixed choir | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1996 |
| Three Blues | Female choir | 1978 |
| Three English Folk Songs | Solo voice(s) with solo instrument(s) | 1993 |
| To a Blossoming Cherry Tree | Female choir | 0 |
| Tündérsíp | Choir and solo instrument(s) | 1976 |
| Twelve Spirituals | Mixed choir | 0 |
| Two Children´s Choruses | Children's choir | 1957 |
| Two Humorous Sketches | Chamber Music | 1997 |
| Wade in the Water | Choir with solo voice(s) | 1976 |
| Wild Rose | Children's choir | 1956 |
| Winter Landscape | Choir a cappella | 0 |