The Political Religion of Communism in Hungarian Children’s Choir Compositions between 1958–1989

Abstract

Like all cultures, totalitarian regimes develop their own symbols and rituals. As such symbols, music and music making play an important role in expressing values, norms of the community, as well as in providing models for living in it (Geertz, 1973). They are especially valuable tools for educating children. This paper summarizes the result of a pilot study in the lyrics of choral pieces for children, that were distributed along with the state-published methodological journal, Énektanítás [Teaching Singing] and its continuation, Az ének-zene tanítása [Teaching Singing-Music] between 1958–1989. Using political religion (Gentile, 2006) as conceptual framework for content analysis, the study presents: 1) how different characteristics of the communist doctrine appeared in the lyrics of choral pieces and 2) how they changed over time, outlining the life-cycle of the regime itself from militant mass movements to giving place to expressions of individualism and alternative faiths until it would dissolve in the end.