BOROS, SÁNDOR – Sanyi: tenor, mouth horn, applause, whistle, ovation
MUKLI, GYULA – Gyula: tenor, mouth piano, throat guitar, tooth cymbal
BATKI, LÁSZLÓ – Laci: baritone, mouth cello, lip saxophone, tongue drum
FRECH’, ZOLTÁN – Zoli: bass, mouth bass, snout tuba, pharynx trombone
HISTORY
Our group, the Four Fathers Quartet was founded in the autumn of 1995. We sing a capella, which means that we perform without the accompaniment of musical instruments. First we started singing for our own and our colleagues’ pleasure. Later, when we realised that people like what we do, we went public.
We all four are educated musicians: Sanyi originally graduated as a bass, Gyula as a violin artist, while Laci as a piano-korrepetitor. Zoli proved himself even as an actor. For years we have been singing in the Honvéd Male Choir, Laci and Zoli are members of this ensemble even today. In 2002 Sanyi and Gyula transferred to the National Choir, where they still work.
REPERTOIRE
Our repertoire consists of our favourites: the American music of the 1920s and 30s, the so called "Barbershop Style," the adaptations of evergreens and Hungarian hits, spirituals.
During the past years we have shared the stage with several excellent Hungarian bands, like the Benkó Dixieland Band, the Tea group, the Storyville Dixieland Band from Szeged, the Miskolc Dixieland Band or the Old Boys with whom we sang together at the concert organised in the memory of Elvis at the Petőfi Concert Hall. We also performed at various clubs in Budapest and the countryside.
Recently we are the guests of the “Flavour Concerts” of Oxygen Club in Fót once a month.
We regularly receive invitations for festivals (Miskolc Dixie Festival, Salgótarján Dixie Festival, Pécs Jazz Festival, Eger Spring Festival, Operetta Gala within the framework of the Budapest Spring Festival in the Madách theatre) and we have also acted in many television programmes (Friderikusz Show, eMeRton Gala, Osztálytalálkozó, Esti Showder, Heti Hetes, Évszakok, NévShowR).
RECORDS
Our first recording was published in 1997 under the title Four Fathers, while our second maxi CD, Merry Christmas! (Boldog Karácsonyt!) came out for the Christmas of 1998 as a nice present for our friends and fans. Our third record was released in December 1999, this was the Barbershop Style. Our next CD, the Song-Record (Hang-Lemez) came out in November 2001, which was followed by a maxi CD, Christmas Notes (Karácsonyi Hangok) in December and First Night (Ősbemutató) in June 2005. On this last CD we recall our “firsts”, our ancestors: the Golden Gate, the Mills Brothers, the Comedian Harmonists. Besides them we included some other songs which became the favourites of our audience during the past years but had never been recorded before.
We also participated on the records of Jimmy Zámbó, Miklós Fenyő and Péter Gerendás.
The rock oratorio, entitled The Sign of Times (Az idők jele) was recorded in December 2000, which was an exciting musical trip for all of us and the members of the group had the opportunity to prove themselves as soloists.
MILESTONES
Some important milestones from our professional life:
On 30 March 2001 we received the eMeRton prize (Prize of the Hungarian National Radio) in the category of “The a capella group of the Year” („Az év énekegyüttese”).
On 25 December 2001 we held a very successful record-presenting concert in the Budapest Congress Center (Budapesti Kongresszusi Központ).
In November 2002 we took part in a children’s tale record entitled Tales of the World I. – Irish Folk Tales (Világok Meséi I. – Ír népmesék).
In the years of 2002 and 2003 we visited towns of Northern-Serbia, Vojvodina (Subotica, Novi Sad, Vrsac), where we made opera galas more colourful with our participation.
Since the spring of 2002 we regularly step up with the Benkó Dixieland Band. Their concert series of the Jazz history is published every year on CD and VHS.
On 19 June 2005 we held the record-presenting concert of our CD, First Night in the Festival Theatre of the Budapest Palace of Arts (Művészetek Palotája) – which was again a great success. On 18 June 2006 we stepped in front of our audience at the same place with a concert Four Fathers – …as never before!… with Péter Gerendás, the ECHO string-quartet and the Budapest Jazz Orchestra. On 17 June 2007 we sang in the Palace of Arts on the occasion of Fathers' Day.