Help Florin's dream come true! (The campaigne ran from from dec 2019- june 2022)
Codoba Memorial and Folk Music House in Pălatca (Magyarpalatka), Transsylvania
Pălatca (Magyarpalatka) is part of the Transylvanian region Mezőség (Transylvanian Plain). The folk dances of Pălatca and the whole Mezőség region are rich and highly developed, with the accompanying music being a result of many diverse influences. The dance and music of the Transylvanian Baroque and Renaissance periods were preserved and gradually developed into the unique, archaic style of this area. The interweaving of Hungarian, Romanian, Gypsy and Transylvania-German cultures has resulted in raising the dance and music to the highest levels.
Traditionally, the music has been played by village bands and the musical knowledge has been passed down from father to son, while imbued with their individuality. The folk music of Pălatca can thus be compared to a precious stone, which has been polished over generations and is becoming more and more shining over the ages.
Codoba Martin "Florin" (1977- ) has been the first violinist of the Pălatca traditional folk band since 2003. He is the fifth generation member of the Pălatca Gypsy folk musician dynasty.
Right from his birth, he grew into the folk music and dance culture of Pălatca. He got his first violin at the age of four. He learned traditional music from his father, Martin Kodoba (1941-2003), and from his uncle, Béla Kodoba (1944-1999). From the age of nine, he played along with his father at weddings and traditional holidays - until his father's death in 2003, when he took over the leadership of the band.
He highly respects the heritage of the old musicians and he has now become an extremely conscious, archaic performer. He has no aspiration to make his culture better marketable, but he rather aspires for the most authentic presentation possible. He plays in the unique style and dynamism of Pălatca and conveys the confident tension of the dance rhythms.
His goal is to pass on the culture inherited from his father to his children. Her older son, Florinel, performed with success with his band Codobanda on the Hungarian folk talent show "Felszállott a Páva" in 2019.
Florin moved from Pălatca to Cluj-Napoca to provide his children with opportunities for institutional music education and further education which is available in the city. His sons are students of the folk music program of the Kallós Foundation in Cluj-Napoca.
Florin moved to the city, nevertheless his biggest dream is to buy a small house in Pălatca to create a venue for playing local live folk music as well as to set up a memorial house to honor the legacy of the old musicians, the Kodoba, Mácsingó and Radák families: with photos, museum items and the possibility to listen to original collections from them.
Florin lives modestly from what he knows best: (occasional) music playing and teaching folk music - which do not provide him with the financial background to achieve his dream.
Trusting the power of the community, he invites people who respect the folk traditions of Pălatca to support the realization of his dream: a small house in Pălatca, which he can turn into a home of folk music, where he can play regularly, where he can teach his music students and where he can honor the heritage of his family by setting up a memorial room for visitors exhibiting old instruments, photos and other museum items, for the anniversary of 20 years from the death of his uncle Béla.
A smaller house suitable for this purpose can be purchased in Pălatca for €24,000.
