Vivaldi in Ukraine – CC4323

Description

Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most outstanding Italian composers of the Baroque period.

His creative work is full of different operas, cantatas, symphonies and sonatas but it is his concertos that make up the majority of his work, with more than 400 and for many different instruments.

In his compositions there is a distinct difference between tempos and together with the impulsive, passionate and energetic style we realise the full nature of this romantic and beautiful music.

Joseph Benda was a violinist, composer and philosopher. Besides cantatas, symphonies and piano concertos he composed some violin pieces – concertos, trio-sonatas etc. In his music we can feel some features of the early classical period of Czechoslovakian art. His violin pieces are distinguished by a richness and broadness of melody, expressiveness and the use of polyphonic modes, which demonstrate his insight and deep understanding of the violin’s full potential.

Mykola Lysenko was an outstanding and popular Ukrainian composer, and founder of Ukrainian classical music. A famous Czechoslovakian scientist Z. Nayed was impressed by Lysenko’s music, and wrote “Lysenko has done as much for Ukrainian music as Taras Shevchenko has done for Ukrainian poetry”. Lysenko looked at the new forms of national folklore and the roots of Ukrainian music and intergrated them whilst maintaining the stylistic features of Ukrainian music and preserving its national character. His creative work ranges from instrumental, choral, chamber, operatic and symphonic.

He composed many operas and some especially for children. Natalka’s Aria is from the famous Ukrainian opera “Natalka Poltavka” which is as popular as his arrangement for the Ukrainian folk song “Oh moon, don’t shine”.

Mykola Kolessa was a famous Ukrainian composer, known as the People’s Artist of Ukraine, and winner of *The Taras Shevchenko Prize”. For more than half a century his creative and artistic work as composer, conductor, teacher, scientist and art critic was perfectly combined with his active public life. He composed two symphonies, suites and variations for symphony orchestra, seventy choral works and romances, songs, vocal ensembles, music for films and drama. The suite for string orchestra ”Morning in the Mountain” vjbs written in 1972. It has three movements. The second movement is performed as an “Adagio”.

Myroslav Skoryk is a Ukrainian composer who has made a great contribution in musical propaganda, in the 1960’s and 70’s he was noted for his innovation and progressive development of Ukrainian music. His aspiration for classical strict form, laconic modern writing and vivid national precision are all characteristic of his music and is the result of his profound knowledge of modern musical culture.

The study of Prokofiev and Bartók’s folklore pieces with their harmonic and picturesque styles influenced Skoryk, although as a young composer he was stimulated by the work of the impressionist Claude Debussy which had encouraged him to look for new ways of producing sound with a vertical line and to show phonically the features of harmonic structures. Skoryk is a prolific composer with a very creative and rich output as testified by his many symphonic, vocal and chamber works, together with vocal and piano pieces for the theatre and his music for films. ”Melody” is the music to the film “The High Mountain Pass”.

Ukrainian folk music has very soft, exiting and thrilling melodies, whose charms can captivate anyone who hears them. Their melodies transform us back to ancient times when the genius of their composers, instrument makers and musicians produced some immortal melodies. They were performed at ceremonies, feasts and rites. Within the Orchestra are some specialist folk musicians who perform the fantasias, folk melodies and polkas.

A Musical Picture “Holiday in the Carpathians” (arr. by Bohdan Kachmarik) combines Ukrainian national melodies and reproduces the incredibly beautiful colours of the Carpathian’s with traditional dance.

Ukrainian Polka (arr. Serhiy Maximiv) includes melodies of the most popular Ukrainian wedding feasts.

U. Polyoviy “The Necklace”. It is a well known Ukrainian song which forms the basis of this piece.

In this brilliant arrangement for ensemble all the instruments are traditional.

H. Diniku “The Lark” is considered to be the Moldavian composer’s best creation. Its beautiful Moldavian melodies and brilliant virtuosity are the main features of this popular piece.

A. Kos-Anatolsky ”Oh, I know what sins I have” is a very popular Ukrainian song with original Ukrainian tonality. Beautiful melodies and rhythms are the secret to this song’s lasting success.

The Drohobych Chamber Orchestra was originally attached to the College of music in Drohobych, Ukraine. It was founded in 1978 by a graduate from the L’viv Conservatoire, Myroslav Putsentela. For many years students and teachers worked together in an almost laboratory like atmosphere, exploring the orchestral repertoire. Ultimately there was a natural formation of all the best musicians, who gravitated to form the orchestra which soon became very popular and began to give many concerts in the towns and cities of Ukraine. Its reputation soon spread beyond the Ukrainian boarders into Poland, Germany and England. In the National Music Colleges Competitions of Ukraine the orchestra had for the three times successfully won the Laureate prize, while performing 12 different concert programmes. In 1993 the Orchestra became known as “National Orchestra of Ukraine”. The inherent flexibility of these musicians enabled their conductor, Myroslav Putsentela to combine the classical repertoire with more traditional Ukrainian folk music and songs.

Drohobych is a town situated at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains of Western Ukraine.

As far back as the 12th century it was known as a centre of salt mining. By the 15th century Drohobych became a very important cultural centre. In particular, this is testified by the fact that during the 15th and 16th centuries 32 men from Drohobych (quite a big number for those times) received education in Krakow University. One of them was Yuri Kotermak (1450 -1494) who in honour of his native town signed his scientific papers – Yuri Drohobych. He was the first among his country’s famous Doctor’s of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy and rector of the University of Bologna. He was the first Ukrainian author of the printed book “ludicium Prognosticon Anni 1483 Currenties” published in Rome. The people of Drohobych take great pride in the fact that Ivan Franko (1858-1916) the great Ukrainian writer, democrat and public figure had in 1875 been a student at the classic school in Drohobych.

The same school was also attended by two other well known Ukrainian writers – Vasyl’ Stefanyk (1871-1936) and Les’ Martovych (1871-1916). Today, Drohobych is one of the major industrial and an important cultural and educational centres of Pre-Carpathia. © Oksana Hudymy’ak