Music in Ukraine

Over the centuries the Ukrainian people have created a singular art of music, rooted deep in the misty pre-Christian times. Folk tradi­tions have preserved to this day original ritual songs, dances and games dedicated to tillers' holidays, such as " Kolyada" (Christmas carols), " Vesna" (Spring) and " Kupalo" (St. John's Eve). The flour­ishing of Kyiv Rus' in the 10th—11th centuries was the fertile ground on which heroic epos grew and matured (ballads performed to the accompaniment of the " husli" psaltery, " skomorokhy" minstrels, and military music). Musicians are among the fresco images perpetuated on the walls of St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv, evidence of the role music played in the life of Rus' princes. Chronicles dating from the 15th-17th centuries contain records of ballads and historical songs lauding the Cossacks' heroic struggle against foreign intruders. The Ukrainian folk vocal heritage boasts a multitude of lyrical, humor­ous, patriotic, satirical, drinking and children's songs and romances. " Kobza, " " bandura, " " sopilka" (pipe, flute), " basolya" (primitive double bass), " bubett" (tambourine), " tsymbaly" (dulcimer), violin, " kolisna lira" (wheel lyre) and " koza" (Ukrainian folk version of the bagpipe) became truly national musical instruments. In Gogol's words, songs are for Ukraine " poetry, history and one's father's grave".

Beginning in the 14th century, Ukrainian songs and dances ap­peared in print in Western European collections and in books of music for the lyre. Eventually, they found their way into the music of Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Weber, Liszt, Chopin, Dvorak — in the West, and in the East, into that of Dargomyzhski, Musorgski, Rim­ski-Korsakov, Spendiarov, Taneev and Stravinski. They were studied by the Russian Serov, the Pole Zalesski, the Czech Kuba, the Hun­garian Bartok, the Finn Kron, and others.

Professional musical culture appeared and developed following the introduction of Eastern Orthodox Christianity by Prince Volodymyr. At present, Ukraine has 6 opera houses, 3 operettas, 10 state philarmonic societies, dozens of folk choirs and song-and-dance groups, 5 higher music schools and 25 Regional Philarmonic So­cieties.

Among the Ukrainian professional performers are winners of pres­tigious international contests, Ukrainian operatic and ballet compa­nies, symphony orchestras, choirs and solo performers often appear on tours in Europe, Asia and the USA.

Speaking about Ukrainian composers we must mention K, Shy-manovski, I. Stravinski, R. Hliyer, S. Prokofiev, O. Spendiarov, and others, who were born in Ukraine, destined to make a tangible con­tribution to the cultural heritage of many countries and peoples. The key figure of the Ukrainian musical renaissance was Mykola Lysenko (1842—1912), pianist, composer, conductor and folklorist who left behind an enviable creative heritage extending to almost every gentre, including 10 operas (among them the well-known " Taras Bulba and Natalka Poltavka"). In Halychyna it was his contempo­rary, A. Vakhnyanyn (1841—1908), author of the opera " Kupalo" (''St. John's Eve, " 1891), founder of the " Boyan Choral Society" (1891) and the Higher Institute of Music in Lviv (1903).

Nowadays general popularity marks such performing groups as the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, " Dymka" zad " Trem-bita" Choral Capellas, Hrigoriy Veryovka Folk Choir, Bandurist Capella, Ukrainian Folk Instrumental Orchestra, Cherkasy and Zakarpattya Folk Choirs, Bukovynian and Hutsul Song and Dance Ensembles.

Ukraine's first jazz orchestra, directed by Y. Meitus, appeared in Kharkiv (1924—1926). The first jazz club opened in Kyiv in 1962.

The recorded pop music genre is worthily represented by O. Berest, L. Bondar, T. Povahy. Creative search in national rock music started at the turn of the 1970s (Kyiv's groups " Kobza" and " Enei"). Among the groups combining the " general rock" style with the Ukrainian folk song-and-dance tradition, reflecting by means of rock the acute problems of the national present were the Brothers Hadyukin and the " Krok" (hard rock), Sister Vika (punk rock), the " BB» (folk rock).

The first venue of the national song poetry genre was Lviv's Va­riety Theatre " Ne Zhurys" (" Don't worry").

Pop singers like Sophia Rotaru, Nina Matviyenko, Vasyl Zinkevych, Ivan Popovych, Iryna Bilyk, Nadiya Shestak, Olexandr Ponomaryov, Oksana Bilozir, Mykola Mozgovyi, Alla Kudlai, etc. are known throughout Ukraine and far outside.

Music by young composers like Karmela Tsepkolenko and Volodymyr Runchak makes confident appearances on international con­cert stages.

3. Be ready with projects “Cultural life in Ukraine”