Description
Ferenc Kölcsey wrote the greatest piece of his patriotic poetry in 1823, entitled ‘Hymnus, a’ Magyar nép Zivataros századaiból’ (Anthem from the stormy centuries of the Hungarian nation). in 1844, the National Theatre announced a public competition to write the musical setting to the romantic poem, with the first stanza repeated at the end in a modified form. Ferenc Erkel, who was the conductor of the Theatre at the time, won the competition. The key to the success of the application bearing the motto ‘Itt az írás, forgassátok/Érett ésszel, józanon’ (Here is the script, utilise it/Wisely and sensibly) was that the elevation of a hymn was nicely combined with a simple musical tone, and the Hungarian and European musical tradition was also integrated into the composition.
Front: On the obverse of the collector coins, a half-body portrait of Ferenc Kölcsey, the poet who wrote the Anthem, is featured. The portrait was inspired by Franz Eybl’s lithography and Anton Einsle’s oil painting. Behind the portrait, parts of the first stanza on the Anthem’s manuscript is shown as a relief in the background, with Kölcsey’s signature at the end. The compulsory design elements of commemorative coins are placed on the obverse: the lettering ‘MAGYARORSZÁG’ and the denominations 20,000 in the upper legend, under it, in the middle, the mint year 2019, and hidden in the composition the mint mark ‘BP.’ are shown.
Back:On the reverse of the collector coins, a half-body portrait of Ferenc Erkel, who composed the musical setting to the Anthem, is featured. The portrait was inspired by József Pataki’s portrait and Ágoston Canzi’s lithography of the composer. In the background of the portrait, to the left a part of the sheet music of the Anthem, including the words, is shown and to the right, Ferenc Erkel’s signature is placed. On the edge of the collector coin, in a legend positioned on the left the lettering ‘A HIMNUSZ MEGZENÉSÍTÉSE · 1844’ (MUSICAL SETTING TO THE ANTHEM, 1844) is shown referring to the year the musical piece was written, and the occasion of the issuance. The master mark of applied artist Gábor Kereszthury, the designer of the coin is placed in the portrait.
Keywords:history, silver, music,
literature, national anthem, coin, 2019
