Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7

Kodály wrote this Duo in 1914, soon after the folk-song collecting expeditions he undertook with Bartók across rural Hungary. Its three movements draw on folk scales and rhythms without quoting any actual tune. The two instruments alternate between imitation and a division of labour — melody over pizzicato accompaniment — so that the pair often sounds like a small ensemble. The dance episodes of the finale are the work's most extrovert music.