czardas

Czardas, more correctly csárdás, is a traditional Hungarian folk dance and corresponding musical form that emerged in the 19th century. The term is linked to csárda, a Hungarian tavern or inn where dancers and musicians performed; the style became a symbol of Hungarian national music and gained widespread popularity across Central Europe.

A csárdás typically unfolds in two contrasting sections: a slow, lyrical lassú (or lassú) followed by a fast, exuberant friss. The tempo accelerates through the fast section, and the music often features expressive rubato and virtuosic passages. Rhythms are commonly in duple meter (often 2/4 or 2/8) with lively ornamentation. Traditional ensembles include violin, cimbalom, and bass, with accordion or piano accompanying in urban settings.

In classical and popular repertoires, the csárdás appears as a stylized Hungarian dance rather than a strict folk tune. The violin showpiece Czardas by Vittorio Monti, though written by an Italian composer, imitates the Hungarian character and follows the two-part structure, ending with a rapid, technical cadenza. The form also features in Hungarian operettas and stage works, such as Emmerich Kálmán’s Csárdásfürstin, where it evokes dance scenes and national flavor within a theatrical context.

Czardas is sometimes described more broadly as part of the verbunkos tradition, a historical recruiting dance family that influenced Hungarian folk and stage music. The spelling czardas appears in English-language sources alongside csárdás.