Verbunkos

(Hung.; from Ger. Werbung, recruiting). Hungarian recruiting dance, popular in the later 18th and early 19th centuries. It was performed by a group of hussars led by their sergeant to entice young men to join the army (before involuntary conscription was imposed by the Austrians). The verbunkos essentially consists of a slow (LASSÚ ) and fast (FRISS) section, which alternate as necessary.

Its musical elements are embodied in FRANZ LISZT'S Hungarian Rhapsodies and works by composers from LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN and FRANZ SCHUBERT to ZOLTÁN KODÁLY and BÉLA BARTÓK.