Presentation: 15 January 2019.

Gobe farsang

Director Choreographer: Orza Călin

Music Editors: Hunor Román, Lóránd Szabó

Director, Artistic Director: Mihály András

A review of the performance by Orza Călin, director and choreographer of the show:

"A rich life is lived by those who follow the order of folk traditions. A rich life is one in which people who follow the traditions of the local people have a rich life. Tradition, following closely the order of nature, preserves and sustains: in it, days of celebration with their austere atmosphere, periods of carefully planned work, are combined in proportion with rest, entertainment and celebrations of the replenishment of the soul. The rituals, profane and sacred, constantly shift time into a cycle of seeking balance.

The intimate Advent phase of the winter holiday cycle is replaced by a time of carnival revelry. At this time - after the Water Cross - the world is in a state of tottering, everything and everyone is transfigured or stripped of its self, evoking phenomena worthy of mockery and ridicule. The folk tradition is alive and well, the carnival scenes respond to the events of the recent past, while also exposing the evils of public life.

The Harghita Ensemble's performance of Góbé carnival draws heavily on the winter customs of folk tradition, spicing them up to its own taste, to show that the holidays are an opportunity to purify the soul and lighten the heart.

The colourful carnival cavalcade unfolds in a fierce battle between King Konc and Viscount Cibere, two duels, during which fairground scenes, tavern merrymaking, dancing, singing and a host of strange characters appear. In the hustle and bustle, there are crampuses, roosters, figures in animal masks, the great reaper himself pays his respects, pseudo-priests, cantors and mourners play mock funerals for the fake dead, the bear and the lad play playfully bicker, the masters of the market bargaining woo the beast of burden and drink a generous drink of the bogus, all while being gossiped about by curious goats. A funeral ceremony marks the end of the wild revelry, during which a 100-year-old bass is escorted to its final resting place: the clumsily pieced together, battered and knocked instrument is a false, dissonant sound, unfit for music. So no one is sad at his farewell, and he is jokingly laid in his grave, wishing he would never play it again."