K duchovným piesňam v ústnom repertoári slovenskej minority v Maďarsku. (Predbežné výsledky výskumov na prelome tisícročia)

The essay is a probe into the material acquired within a wider research of songs related to folk religiosity in the regions with Catholic inhabitants. The research is implemented in a bilingual environment with the members of Slovakian langure islands in Hungary (1991–2011) and with the Slovaks living in Slovakia. The author draws upon the materials acquired during her own field research of song repertoire in Slovakian language with the members of Slovakian diaspora in Hungary that features its hybrid character. The spiritual songs were recorded as orally interpreted by their direct bearers and local contemporaries, or in the form of written texts used for the song interpretation. The contribution follows the following aspects: a) difficulties concerning the connection of the orally interpreted spiritual songs with the pilgrim songs; b) the portion of Marian songs within the acquired fund; c) frequented themes of spiritual songs and their contextual relations.