MYKOLA LYSENKO – THE ART SONGS

77 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13769520 Pavlo Hunka (Велика Британія) MYKOLA LYSENKO – THE ART SONGS Abstract Гунька П. Микола Лисенко – Мистецькі пісні. Досліджується сутність української мистецької пісні, її зв‟язок із західноєвропейською культурою, розглядається вплив музики на поезію у мистецькій пісні, розкриваються особливості проекту «Українська мистецька пісня». Микола Лисенко започаткував жанр української мистецької пісні, його 132 мистецькі пісні забезпечили розквіт цього жанру в Україні. Українська мистецька пісня складає одну дванадцяту частину української класичної культури. Проект «Українська мистецька пісня» (UASP) році було засновано у 2004 році, хоча мрія записати й таким чином задокументувати понад 1000 українських мистецьких пісень виникла ще в 1977 році. В 2010 року проект «Українська мистецька пісня» випустив запис 124 мистецьких пісень «Микола Лисенко – Мистецькі пісні». На сьогодні проект «Українська мистецька пісня» (UASP) випустив 78 502 мистецькі пісні України – понад половину із 1000 запланованих записів, організовуються концерти по всьому світу. Ключові слова: М. Лисенко, Проект «Українська мистецька пісня», музичний репертуар, вокальна культура. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. The Path To ‗Mykola Lysenko – The Art Songs‘ 3. The Enrichment Of Poetry Through Art Song 4. What Is An Art Song? 5. The Disappearance Of Ukrainian Art Song From The Ukrainian Classical Repertoire 6. A Link To Western European Culture 7. A Bridge From Ukrainian To Universal Art Song And The Song Cycle 8. The Ukrainian Art Song Project (UASP) And The On-Line Reference Library 9. Lysenko‘s Legacy 10. Appendices 11. Thanks And Acknowledgements 1. Introduction On December 5th 2010, the Ukrainian Art Song Project launched ‘Mykola Lysenko – The Art Songs’, a recording of 124 art songs, six hours of Ukrainian classical music, conceived and crafted by ‗The Father Of Modern Ukrainian Classical Music‘. Until this historic concert at Koerner Hall, Toronto, Canada, little was known about While studying at the Leipzig Music Conservatory in Germany between 1867 and 1869, Mykola Lysenko first made the acquaintance of the poetry of Heinrich Heine and the music of Robert Schumann. In Schumann‘s (and Heine‘s) song cycle Dichterliebe (A Poet‘s Love), he first experienced how music could be elevated to express most compellingly finer emotions of the soul. He also realised that it might be possible to channel the wealth of Ukrainian folk song down a path which could give birth to a new genre of music in Ukraine. As a direct result of his experience in Leipzig, Lysenko singlehandedly gave birth to the Ukrainian art song genre. In 1868, he 79 composed the first Ukrainian art song ‗Oj, Odna Ja, Odna‘ (Solitude). Thereafter, over the next 44 years, he created further 132 art songs which laid the foundations for this new art form to take root and eventually to flourish in Ukraine. ‗Mykola Lysenko – The Art Songs‘ – Launch, Koerner Hall, Toronto – together with artists, left to right: Roman Borys (Cellist), Albert Krywolt (Pianist), Stuart Hamilton (Master Of Ceremony), Krisztina Szabó (Mezzo-Soprano), Russell Braun (Baritone), Pavlo Hunka (Bass-Baritone), Roman Hurko (Producer), Monica Whicher (Soprano) Ukrainian art song constitutes one twelfth of Ukrainian classical culture. It stands together with symphonic and chamber music, opera, liturgical and choral music, ballet, poetry, prose, plays, painting, sculpture, design and architecture. And yet until recently, it has been neglected, even ignored, by conservatories and concert halls in Ukraine and around the world. This is why in 2004 the ‗Ukrainian Art Song Project‘ (UASP) was founded, with three specific aims: • To record over 1,000 unknown Ukrainian art songs; • To build an On-Line Reference Library of Ukrainian art song scores, together with a ‗complete learning tool‘ for all classical music artists; 80 • To popularise Ukrainian art song throughout the world by means of Music Courses, Recitals and Masterclasses. • Lysenko‘s momentous contribution to the Ukrainian art song genre. In 2016, I was invited to perform a solo recital at the Kyiv and Lviv Philharmonic Halls with the programme: Shevchenko & Shakespeare – Dreams, Despair, Desire. It proved to be a revelation to all present. In the words of Luba Kyyanovska, Musicologist at the Lviv Music Academy: ‗…this is the first time that a singer has dared to present an exclusively Ukrainian classical art song programme in Ukraine…‘ (Luba Kyyanovska, review of concert recital at the Lviv Philharmonie, June 9th, 2016). Of all the reviews that UASP concerts have received around the world, this comment alone wholly justifies our work and encourages us to continue to its conclusion. For two centuries, the Ukrainian language has been under threat of extinction by the Russian Tsarist and Soviet Regimes. Yet, still it survives, thanks in great part to its composers and poets etc., who defiantly continued to create great art works and, in so doing, fashioned a nation. They refused to accept the constraints of the Ems Edict of 1876, when Tsar Alexander II decreed that the Ukrainian language should no longer appear in publication or on stage. Lysenko was a leading light in this struggle to rescue and nurture people‘s heritage. The purpose of this account is, at long last, to help place Mykola Lysenko and Ukrainian art song firmly in the consciousness of world culture. It will illustrate how this art form is once again beginning to flourish. To date, the Ukrainian Art Song Project (UASP) has recorded 502 of Ukraine‘s art songs, over half of the 1,000 planned recordings. It organises recitals, concerts and music courses throughout the world. Most notably, the UASP has created a new On-Line Reference Library of Ukrainian Art Song, which reaches out to all artists and 81 classical music aficionados of all nationalities, encouraging them to spread the word still further, that the music of another ancient European culture is alive and can now be enjoyed by all. The unique experience of studying, rehearsing and ultimately recording all the available Lysenko art songs has highlighted the splendour of this genre of music and proved that, since its inception in Ukraine in the 19th century, subsequent composers have conscientiously grown it and nurtured it into an art form of enormous significance. Indeed, only in recent years is the world waking up to the fact that, after Germany, Ukraine is the second most prolific art song nation in the world. I offer this account from the point of view of the artist, the interpreter, who treats the word and the music with equal significance. The melody must never prevail; first comes the word, then the notes, then the music. Otherwise, there is no music in art song. It is for the interpreter to consider first the meaning of the word, the context of the poem or prose, and, only then, how to translate this into song. I sincerely hope that this account is of worth, in particular, to all young artists aspiring to find their place in the world of classical music. 2. The Path To ‘Mykola Lysenko – The Art Songs’ The Ukrainian Art Song Project (UASP), and the dream to record and thereby document over 1,000 Ukrainian art songs, was conceived in 1977 when my father, Wasyl Hunka, gifted to me the complete musical works of Ukrainian composer Kyrylo Stetsenko, a student of Lysenko and the creator of 42 exquisitely crafted art songs. At that time, as a student of Modern Languages and Literature – French and Spanish – I knew little of the Ukrainian art song tradition. Indeed, my curiosity lay in locating the music scores of Stetsenko‘s great choral works, whose mighty Prometej (Prometheus) and reverent, otherworldly Blahoslovy Dushe Moja Hospody (Lord, Bless This Soul) had enraptured me throughout my youth. 82 Mykola Lysenko together with his pupil Kyrylo Stetsenko With Stetsenko‘s choral gems spread out before me, I glanced through the other tomes of his musical works, finally arriving at volume two, where I was astonished to learn that Ukrainian art song was indeed flourishing in what I thought to be a country of folk music and dance. Was Stetsenko the only Ukrainian composer to create art songs? If not, where could I obtain recordings? After much searching, they were nowhere to be found. Indeed, all that I was able to obtain from Soviet Ukraine were folk songs performed by such fine choirs as ‗Verjovka‘ and famous opera singers such as Borys Khmyrja and Dmytro Hnatjuk. Whilst ‗Verjovka‘s‘ rendition of ‗Tsvite Teren‘ (A Thistle Blooms), Khmyrja‘s ‗Stojit‘ Hora Vysokaja‘ (A Mountain Stands Tall) and Hnatjuk‘s ‗Dyvljus‘ Ja Na Nebo‘ (I Gaze To The Sky) are exquisite folk songs, they fall short of the depth and richness of an art song. In all three compositions, the melody is paramount, and the meaning of the words is rarely, if at all, expressed. Further, each verse of the songs is communicated in a similar manner, without much thought of its sense. 83 On further investigation, I discovered that the policy of the Russian Tsarist and Soviet Regimes was to stifle Ukrainian language and, in so doing, its art song. This smothering of a precious Ukrainian classical music tradition originated, as mentioned above, with the Ems Edict of 1876. At that time, if composers wished to present their art songs on stage, they were obliged to have the text translated into Russian or French. Incensed by this wrong, I defiantly and passionately set about finding further examples of Ukrainian art song. This proved to be quite a challenge in 1970s Great Britain. Nevertheless, after months of searching, I was delighted to discover that the 1952 ‗Mystetstvo‘ Publication of the complete works of Mykola Lysenko was to be found in the city of Bradford, in the Ukrainian community‘s library – the only complete collection in the country. In contrast to Stetsenko, of the 23-tome Lysenko publication, four complete volumes consisted exclusively of art songs. This turned out to represent six hours of Ukrainian classical music. And so, as an 18-year-old, I began the journey of studying all the 124 art songs that had come into my possession. At first, it was merely a cursory reading of the notes, but enough to realise that I had stumbled upon some of the most magnificent compositions of ‗music drama in miniature‘ that I had ever heard. No longer was I confronted with charming, simple, strophic folk songs of love, jealousy and hate, but here Lysenko displayed a deeper understanding of the human condition, where ‗I love you‘ could easily mean ‗I hate you‘, ranging from ‗enraged, infuriated, irate, forlorn, unhappy, miserable, gloomy, wretched, dejected, despondent, depressed, desolate, sorrowful, melancholic, woeful, distressed, heart-breaking, poignant… I could continue. ‗…Lysenko set himself the momentous task of embodying in his music the spirit of the Ukrainian people…‘ (Dagmara Turchyn, Musicologist) 3. The Enrichment Of Poetry Through Art Song Inspired by the bard of Ukrainian poetry, Taras Shevchenko, and particularly by the finely nuanced, forward thinking Ivan Franko, 84 Lesja Ukrajinka, Mykola Voronyj, Dn‘iprova Chajka, Oleksandr Oles‘, Yevhen Hrebinka, Oleksandr Konys‘kyj, Volodymyr Oleksandrov, Odarka Romanova, Stepan Rudans‘kyj, Mykhajlo Staryts‘kyj; and equally by Pantelejmon Kul‘ish, Jakiv Shchohol‘iv, Isydor Vorobkevych, Volodymyr Samijlenko, and also embracing audacious European poets like Heine, Semjon Nadson and Adam Mitskjevych, Lysenko succeeded in raising the folk song to the level of European art song. It was Lysenko‘s priority to define in classical song who the Ukrainian people were and where they fitted into European society. He undertook this task by first setting to music the text of 63 poems by Shevchenko. In ballads, epic songs and laments comprising historical and philosophical themes, and in simple through-composed songs of nature, love and fate, he enhanced the poet‘s words still further, summoning more acute emotions of horror and ecstasy akin to the Romantic poets Byron, Shelley, Pushkin, Victor Hugo, Goethe and Schiller. Indeed, his music inflames, irritates, incites, yet captivates, enchants and delights the soul. Lysenko‘s ‗Shevchenko‘ art songs encompass a diverse assortment of intense emotions that arouse a manifestly different interpretation each time the song is performed. His music heightens and intensifies Shevchenko, never fearing to confront sensitive themes. ‘Ponad Polem Ide’ (The Reaper) depicts the triumphant devil perversely conquering life, celebrating death and profiteering from it. Lysenko amplifies the perverseness of the scene, evoking revulsion and loathing. And yet, on hearing such a mischievous song, one is left with a sardonic, macabre smile. The interpretation should abound with rapture, elation and delight. ‘Serenada Jaremy’ (Jarema‘s Serenade) summons naturalistic, sexual desires. It is no love song, but a plea for bodily gratification before an impending death on the battlefield. The seemingly seductive melody turns ugly when Jarema‘s carnal needs are in danger of not being fulfilled. Thus, Lysenko is quick to rouse revulsion – in contrast to Mozart‘s Don Giovanni Serenade, which merely attempts to seduce. 85 ‘Jakby Men’i, Mamo, Namysto’ (A Coral Necklace) bemoans the struggle of a young maid, desirous of breaking out into the world in search of life. Lysenko‘s music abounds with naive anticipation, but soon transforms into cold reality. ‗...One hears the struggle of her spirit in the staccato and accented notes sprinkled throughout the song...‘. In contrast to Shevchenko, Lysenko offers the maid one last moment of defiance. ‗…The music contains a vitality to the end, which suggests that she will indeed find love...‘ (Wasyl Sydorenko, Musicologist) ‘Mynajut’ Dn’i’ (The Fleeting Moments Of Youth) fervently entreats the young not to waste their lives wandering aimlessly through time. Lysenko cajoles us with an intimate beginning, then swells the rhapsodic mood in the piano, concluding with an impassioned plea of operatic proportions. ‘U T’ijeji Kateryny’ (Kateryna‘s Deception) juxtaposes the wiles of an unfulfilled woman alongside the cruelty of three deceived suitors. Lysenko‘s ballad portrays the suitors‘ galloping steeds as they hunt for her enslaved ‗brother‘, who turns out to be her lover. The first of the suitors drowns, the second is impaled, but the third returns to avenge her deceit. Lysenko amplifies his outrage with shockingly prickly chords. Thereafter, her slaughter by the lover is unemotional. Thereafter, the suitor and the lover ride off with no remorse. ‘U Ned’ilju Vrants’i Rano’ (The Slave) exposes the cruelty of ignorant humans when faced with revenge. Lysenko creates an operatic scene of heightened drama. The ‗Bandura‘ (a zither or lutetype instrument) plucks its bitter strings in this epic ballad of 16th and 17th century Cossack exploits against the Turk and Tartar marauders. As the hero‘s eyes are gouged out, Lysenko intensifies the agony with harsh, austere sixteenth notes that launch chillingly into the heavens, and then plunge into the depths of despair. Thus, with the indispensable support of Shevchenko, Lysenko begins to characterise the traits of a people. He spends 25 years trying to define this Ukrainian Condition. Thereafter, in 1893, it will be the texts of later poets who will aid him to portray Ukraine as a 92 6. A Link to Western European Culture Having studied Lysenko art songs for more than 35 years, it has become clear that the epithet ‗Father of Modern Ukrainian Classical Music‘ is quite unsatisfactory. His significance is considerably further-reaching than this. He was the first composer to bridge the gap from Ukrainian folk to classical and, with the help of 19 eminent poets, to enhance the more profound, more mysterious and more meaningful sentiments of the soul. As mentioned earlier, Lysenko first utilised the poems of Taras Shevchenko to elevate rudimentary feelings displayed in Ukrainian folk song to a finer, richer array of emotions present in art song. He obliges the artist and the audience to confront these emotions and not to deny them. First, he summons us to create a subtext to his songs, to try to ‗read between the lines‘: • Shevchenko‘s ‘Reve Ta Stohne’ (The Dnieper River Rages) confronts betrayal and ensuing madness. The madness stems from a loss of hope. Here, there is no river, but only turmoil in the mind of a forsaken woman, an abandoned mother with an illegitimate child. The music throbs as she pounds her head in desperation, in search of an escape. Alas, there is only one to be found – death. Lysenko‘s melodies evoke infinitely brighter or darker realities. And so it is quite acceptable to hear cries of despair in the form of ugly tones, yells, screams, barks, bellows and, simultaneously, utterances of delight in the form of laughter, hilarity and elation. • In ‘Oj, Ljul’i, Ljul’i’ (A Lullaby), Lysenko proffers a melody of immense beauty to a text of extreme cruelty. The mother exhorts her child to seek truth and peace in nature, not in people. Her distress and, simultaneously, her hope should be heard in the voice, which can be distorted to express her pain. Nevertheless, the delicacy of the melody must always be present, for she genuinely loves her child. So many lullabies threaten, admonish or reprimand the child for having been born. The mother craves sleep and cries desperately for quiet. And among these admonishments, reprimands and threats are 93 sprinkled sardonic smile. Lysenko rightly suggests that there are no limits to the expression of these emotions. In the introduction, I mentioned that the words ‗I love you‘ could easily mean ‗I hate you‘. They both can summon resentment, bitterness, anger, offense and spite. Simultaneously, they rouse pleasure, thrill, wonder, even bliss. Lysenko allows for these vast contrasts. And so, it would be quite erroneous to believe that there is only one interpretation of the poet‘s text or the composer‘s music. Of the several thousand performances that I have presented, none have repeated. Indeed, as the artist grows, he must change his opinions about the world around him, crushing preconceived ideas as they become outdated and stale. Thus, an art song will inevitably change each time we perform it. • ‘Osinnyu Vije’ (Autumn In The Air). ‗...Both poet (Oleksandr Oles‘) and composer masterfully capture the image of dying nature, evoking feelings of sadness and loneliness.‘ (Wasyl Sydorenko / Dagmara Turchyn). But Autumn could also be a time for reflection and meditation, an occasion to seek contentment and peace. Furthermore, Lysenko allows, even encourages the interpreter to wrestle with his solitude. The musical phrases ascend with naïve expectation, denying that nature will always prevail. Vital to the quintessence of an art song is the role of the pianist. It is essential to avoid the term ‗accompanist‘, for this is only a small part of the role. In all of Lysenko‘s art songs, the pianist stands equal to the poet, composer and singer. He is given his own, distinctive voice, which is sometimes in accord with the singer, but more often in conflict. Frequently, apparent harmony will sound like a conflict between pianist and singer. It is the artists‘ task to confront this disjointed relationship and see how it resolves. • ‘Skhidna Melod’ija’ (Oriental Melody) presents a lover in denial. Love is lost, but the pianist does not yet acknowledge this. He plays a gorgeous melody of unremitting triplets, hypnotising the singer. He then abruptly shocks with frosty chords of reality, unapologetically corrupting the soul. 94 Lysenko creates an Arabic ambiance, sprinkling it with moments of blind hope which cry out and ultimately move on to an inevitable merciless conclusion. Most convincing is the abrupt end to the song, interpreted coldly, as a shock. Whilst the journey was charming, what is left is nothingness; a void. Unlike folk and popular song, art song demands of the pianist to express his own music, and never to assume a secondary role. Thus, he should never wait upon the singer, but forge his own passage to its conclusion, expressing his own unique emotions on the way. • In Jevhen Hrebinka‘s poem ‘Choven’ (The Sailboat), the boredom of safety is juxtaposed with the excitement of danger. Lysenko creates perpetual restlessness in the piano, which cries out for life. ‗...Both poet and composer compare man‘s struggle to a hapless boat that can so easily be broken on the stormy sea of life...‘(Wasyl Sydorenko/ Dagmara Turchyn) The stormy sea is life and to risk all is to have lived. • ‗Ukrajins’ka Melod’ija’ (Ukrainian Melody) is the cruellest of dialogues. A mother arranges her daughter‘s marriage to one whom she does not love. In the piano, Lysenko creates an equally cold dialogue, business-like, juxtaposed with the maid‘s unbridled passion that will never be reciprocated. The only recourse is bitter death. Mourning her daughter, the mother sobs unconsolably, but still denies her guilt. Mykola Voronyj‘s poems deal with betrayal and unrequited love, both harsh realities. • ‘N’ichoho, N’ichoho’ (Nothing, Simply Nothing) – At first reading, this song is a lament, but in the hands of Lysenko, it becomes a brutally sadistic song. In disjointed, shrieking phrases, Lysenko‘s music portrays a poisoned soul devoured by a love unreciprocated. Here, the pianist is by no means merely a companion. The piano unsettles the singer with sudden, atmospheric pauses played violently at first, and then more sensitively when the realities of death begin to loom. Ultimately, for an art song to find its most convincing and moving expression, the presence of an enlightened audience is paramount, one 95 that is informed of the themes and understands the text. The experience will then no longer be mere entertainment, but an engagement of all the senses: hearing, seeing, feeling, even smell and taste. • Ivan Franko‘s poem ‘Bezmezhneje Pole’ (A Boundless Plain) summons us to launch our youthful spirits into the vast world of dreams. ‗…The relentlessly unstoppable sextuplets are reminiscent of Schubert‘s „Der Erlkönig‟, 1815, one of first art songs to define the new genre…‘ (Wasyl Sydorenko). Lysenko rises to the challenge of creating a song that never ends. This stirring, one-minute outburst of jubilation never fails to rouse a standing ovation! 7. A Bridge from Ukrainian to Universal Art Song And The Song Cycle In 19th century Europe, Leipzig was the leading music conservatory to which many illustrious composers flocked in search of further inspiration. Mykola Lysenko was one of these. His two-year course from 1867 to 1869 proved to be life-changing. Leipzig, Heinrich Heine and Robert Schumann helped sow a seed in Lysenko which, some 25 years later in 1893, would blossom into an art song cycle that, single-handedly began to ‗build the bridge‘ between Ukrainian and Western European classical music. Thereafter, albeit with many hindrances obstructing the way and after a century of languishing in obscurity, Ukrainian art song is now beginning to assume a universal presence on the world stage. Having made the acquaintance of Schumann‘s (and Heine‘s) world renowned song cycle Dichterliebe (A Poet‘s Love), Lysenko set about giving birth to a new tradition in Ukraine by composing in 1868 ‗Oj, Odna Ja, Odna‘ (Solitude), widely recognised as the first Ukrainian art song. Why ‗Solitude‘? Perhaps it was recognition of the fact that artists, for all the admirers and aficionados they may attract, remain solitary souls. In 1893, whilst the Ems Edict was still very much in force, the poets Lesja Ukrajinka and Maksym Slavyns‘kyj dared to translate into Ukrainian a sizeable number of poems by Heinrich Heine. Among the translations were works taken from his Ein Dramatisches 96 Intermezzo (A Dramatic Interlude), the same book of poetry that Schumann had used to create his Dichterliebe. On hearing of the appearance of the Heine translations on Ukrainian soil, Lysenko instantly set about creating a momentous song cycle, which would finally and unequivocally embrace Western European idioms and styles into the Ukrainian classical tradition. Whilst in Ljubov Poeta (A Poet‘s Love) Lysenko makes musical references to Schumann‘s work, showing how highly he cherished the great composer‘s artistry, he finally started to break free from Ukrainian motifs to present Ukrainian art song as a universal art form. In contrast to Schumann‘s 16 songs for singer and pianist, Lysenko chose to compose his 14 song cycle for two voices, high and low, which allowed him to include two glorious duets. The Song Cycle 1. ‘Koly Nastav Chudovyj Maj’ (Spring Awoke My Heart) – To prove that his muse could compete with the best achievements of European classical music, to begin his cycle, Lysenko chose the same Heine poem that Schumann used to open his Dichterliebe. The music celebrates a shared love with an outburst of delight, rejoicing in the arrival of Spring. 2. ‘Choho Tak Pobl’idly Trojandy Jasn’i?’ (Why Have The Roses Grown Pale) – The poet senses himself abandoned and, together with nature, mourns his loss. This association with the natural world is typical of the European Romantic style. The pianist surges forward in relentless triplets, creating unrest and despair. 3. ‘Z Moho Tyazhkoho Sumu’ (My Deep Sadness) – With only one way of tempering his grief, the poet pours his soul into his songs in the vain hope of winning back his maiden‘s heart. ‗...Lysenko quotes the melodic motif of Schumann‘s ‗Ich will meine Seele tauchen‘ (song no. 5 of his cycle), skilfully interweaving it with elements of Ukrainian lyric song...‘ (Wasyl Sydorenko) 4. ‘Ne Zhal’ Men’i’ (Do Not Regret) – is the focal point of Schumann‘s song cycle. Showing his admiration, Lysenko‘s composition refers overtly to the texture of Schumann‘s masterpiece. This song must and can only be performed with abounding generosity. 97 5. ‘Vs’i Ljudy, Kokhana, Durn’i (The World Is Dull, The World Is Blind) – The poet and composer celebrate passionate love, disparaging the prosaic for scorning its beauty. Lysenko fights their indifference with surging, ascending, frenzied chords, which drive inexorably towards ecstasy. By the end of this song, the singer and pianist should seem breathless with rapture. 6. ‘Na Lychen’ku U Tebe’ (To Thy Cheeks The Fires Of Summer) – ‗...One of the distinctive traits of Lysenko‘s talent was his ability to adopt the styles of different composers, times and countries. This song is composed in the manner of a German Liedertafel, a popular German singing form of the early 19th century...‘ (Wasyl Sydorenko). One interpretation of this song might recall a regimented dance. 7. ‘Koly Rozluchajutsja Dvoje’ (When Two Must Part) (A Duet) – After a cursory reading of this song, the sadness of parting could prevail, particularly if performed at a slow tempo. However, much more convincing and mature would be an understanding that relationships end, sometimes acrimoniously, but often with a sense of contentment and, thus, with a smile. The vocal and pianistic lines are in perfect harmony with each other and all celebrate a moment of love that will endure, albeit apart. 8. ‘V Rozkishn’ij Kras’i Tajemnychij’ (In Luxurious, Mysterious Beauty) – A world of dazzling princesses, valiant knights and terrifying monsters, where the vocal line is ‗mysterious‘ and the piano is ‗luxurious‘. The song soon encounters the depths of despair. The poet deliriously refuses to let go of his love. Here is the turning point. Hope beckons. 9. ‘Na Pivnochi, Na Kruchi’ (In The North, On The Cliff) (A Duet) – What is left is the longing of lonely souls, destined never to meet. An otherworldly, polyphonic setting of two melodic lines that harmonise but for an instant. 10. ‘Tebe, Moja Ljubko Jedyna’ (On The Wings Of Songs) – In search of hope, the poet and the pianist sense the luxuriant, sultry, Indian fairyland in Heine‘s verse, yet more exulted in Lysenko‘s lush, harmonic palette. Approach the text with wonderment, delicately savouring each consonant. 98 11. ‘U Sn’i Ja Plakav’ (In My Dream I Wept) – Once again, both Schumann and Lysenko use the same poem in their respective cycles, but ‗...whilst the German composer sets a heavy, tragic rhythm, Lysenko‘s music is coloured by light, yet airy, melancholic tones...‘ (Wasyl Sydorenko). 99 The poet weeps, but are they tears of sorrow, or joy? The musical phrases ascend relentlessly in splendour, and then descend, not distressingly, but yieldingly, without resistance, searching for peace. 12. ‘U Mene Buv Kokhanyj, Ridnyj Kraj’ (A Dream) – The only poem translated into Ukrainian by Lysenko himself, nostalgically recalling that a beloved native land was but a dream. In 1893, Ukraine was but a dream. This song has gravity and profundity. It could be sung with urgency and purpose to heighten the crisp phrases. 13. ‘D’ivchyno, Rybalon’ko Ljuba’ (Dear Maiden Of The Sea) – A barcarolle on a restless sea. The poet still carries a flame for his love. She is in danger, but the maiden remains undaunted. Perhaps sing this song with both youthful abandon and anxiety. 14. ‘Nache Ta Shcho Z Khvyl’ Vrodylasja’ (She Who Was Born Of The Waves) – Lysenko finishes his cycle with the acceptance of a lost love. It is time to move on to pastures new. But, is this bravado? There appears to be an undertone of throbbing anguish, as if the poet is holding back the flood of tears. Above, I have made some brief, interpretative suggestions: how I would first approach an understanding of Ljubov Poeta, the poetry and music; then how to translate these sentiments into song. It is, however, important to appreciate that these are mere suggestions. 8. The Ukrainian Art Song Project (UASP) And The On-Line Reference Library The idea of recording Ukrainian art songs was conceived long back in 1977, but it was not until 2004 that the Recording Project found sufficient support to translate a dream into reality. That dream came to fruition first in Canada and latterly in Ukraine. In the interim twenty-seven year period, whilst forging an international operatic career which has taken us countless times around the globe, my wife Larysa and I have amassed over 1,400 art songs on the way, many of which were thought to be lost to posterity. A greater part was discovered in the most unusual, and sometimes, most peculiar places, in private libraries and Summer Camps in Great Britain, in Museums and Libraries in Paris and Munich, in the 100 Kyiv Opera House, and in composers‘ homes in New York, Philadelphia, Melbourne and Toronto. Parade Of Art Song Composers Astonishingly, one Sunday in 2008, after the liturgy at the Church of St. Nicholas, Toronto, the Cantor presented me with a large brown package. Not knowing what treasures he was about to bestow, he asked innocently: ‗Would these books be of interest to you?‘ Delicately untying the knot, I still had no hint of what was about to appear before me. My initial shock turned promptly to delight: The Complete Works Of Jakiv Stepovyj! I had been searching for Stepovyj for over 30 years. I knew that he was scarcely known in Ukraine or anywhere in the West, that he had spent most of his life in St. Petersburg and elsewhere in the Russian Empire, finally returning home to Kyiv in 1917 to assume a professorship at the Kyiv Academy of Music. My sincerest thanks, Mr. Djakovskyj! It was the Canadian Ukrainians who first fully appreciated the worth of Ukrainian art song in the world of classical music, and set about finding the funds to start us on our journey to recording over 1,000 art songs by 30 of Ukraine‘s most prestigious composers. 101 Number of Art Songs by Ukrainian Composers: Recorded To Date 1. Kyrylo Stetsenko 42 8. Ostap Nyzhankivs‘kyj 17 2. Mykola Lysenko 124 9. Nestor Nyzhankivs‘kyj 11 3. Jakiv Stepovyj 55 10. Jaroslav Lopatyns‘kyj 55 4. Denys S‘ichyns‘kyj 16 11. Myroslav Volyns‘kyj 52 5. Stan‘islav Ljudkevych 28 12. Ihor Sonevyts‘kyj 34 6. Vasyl‘ Barvins‘kyj 17 13. Ant‘in Rudnyts‘kyj 8 7. Stefan‘ija Turkevych 20 14. Oleksandr Kozarenko 23 Total: 502 To Be Recorded: 15. Jaroslav Lopatyns‘kyj 6 25. Vital‘ij Kyrejko 17 16. Ihor Sonevyts‘kyj 8 26. Mykola Dremljuha 21 17. Ant‘in Rudnyts‘kyj 36 27. Fed‘ir Nadenenko 16 18. Borys Ljatoshyns‘kyj 63 28. Volodymyr Sokal‘s‘kyj 25 19. Julij Mejtus 52 29. Ostap Bobykevych 29 20. Fed‘ir Jakymenko 23 30. Ihor Shamo 10 21. Oleksandr Jacovchuk 37 31. Pavlo Senytsja 54 22. Dmytro Klebanov 73 32. Myhajlo Zherbin 60 23. Heorhij Majboroda 15 33. Lesja Dychko 74 24. Petro Hajdamaka 18 Total: 637 Grand Total: 1,139 We invited a cast of star singers, pianists and other instrumentalists, producers, sound engineers, musicologists, journalists, photographers and designers to the Glenn Gould Recording Studios at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto. And thus began our journey of discovery. We chose to start, not with Mykola Lysenko, but with ‗Kyrylo Stetsenko – The Art Songs‘. Stetsenko‘s 42 compositions were a means of gently introducing our artists and supporters to the Ukrainian Art Song Project, before we launched into the monumental recording of Lysenko‘s treasures – 124 art songs – six hours of classical music on six compact discs. This was an undertaking three times the size of Stetsenko, which eventually took three summers to complete. 108 that Ukrainian art song is now being sung in China, South Korea, Germany, the U.K., France, Poland, North and South America and Australia by artists who have no Ukrainian roots at all. The Ukrainian Art Song Project continues its work on the third branch of the Project: the Dissemination of Ukrainian art songs to Conservatories and young artists around the world. 2022 marked the 4th Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute in Toronto, Canada, where accomplished musicians once again helped young artists to discover the beauty of Ukrainian art song. For some years in concert halls all over the world, I have been presenting a recital programme of Robert Schumann‘s Dichterliebe together with Lysenko‘s Ljubov Poeta (A Poet‘s Love). Exhibiting two contrasting song cycles in the same programme proves to be quite a charming experience for the audience. 2019 hailed the first Ukrainian Art Song Summer Institute at the Lviv Opera House in Ukraine. It was a welcome revelation to see young Ukrainian artists embrace new ideas of interpretation. By the end of the week‘s course, all eleven had opened their minds to a new reading of Ukrainian art song and their unfettered imagination quickly began to flourish. UASP – First Summer Institute, Royal Conservatory Of Music, Toronto, 2017 109 UASP – First Summer Institute, Hall Of Mirrors, National Opera House, Lviv, Ukraine, 2019 It was a delight to spend time with these young artists who enthusiastically welcomed, although at times with a wry smile, some provocative suggestions; a ‗wry smile‘, because their teachers were often reluctant to entertain such iconoclastic ideas. These young artists are the first generation of Ukrainians brought up in a free land, where they were no longer told what to think. Indeed, it is these same artists who we have invited to join us on future art song recordings. The second Institute will follow as soon as practicably possible. To date, the Canadian Ukrainians in Toronto and Edmonton have helped the Ukrainian Art Song Project to record 383 art songs and disseminate them throughout the world. They have also organised four major launches: ‗Kyrylo Stetsenko – The Art Songs‘, ‗Mykola Lysenko – The Art Songs‘, ‗Jakiv Stepovyj – The Art Songs‘ and ‗Galicians I‘, which includes the complete works of Denys Sichyns‘kyj, Vasyl‘ Barvins‘kyj, Stan‘islav Ljudkevych and Stefan‘ija Turkevych. Our friends in Canada are continuing to 110 present countless art song soirées, maintaining awareness and forever reminding us of the exquisite beauty of this intimate genre. In 2020, we decided to continue our recordings in Ukraine, first with the young artists from the Lviv Art Song Institute of 2019, then with further young artists from other major Ukrainian cities. They now total 39 in number, ranging from singers, pianists, producers, designers, webmasters, music transcribers, musicologists, sound engineers, even piano tuners. The youngest is 22, the oldest 38! In 2021, a further 103 art songs were recorded at the Philharmonic Concert Hall in Ternopil‘, near Lviv, bringing the running total to 486. In August of 2022, notwithstanding the unrest in Ukraine, the young artists who have remained at home, have recorded yet another 16 art songs, defiantly determined to continue the work of the Ukrainian Art Song Project. And so, with 502 art songs, we are fast approaching the halfway mark in our recording endeavours. In addition to the composers mentioned above, we have now recorded the art songs of Jaroslav Lopatyns‘kyj, Ant‘in Rudnyts‘kyj, Myroslav Volyns‘kyj, Ostap and Nestor Nyzhankivs‘kyj, Ihor Sonevyts‘kyj and Oleksandr Kozarenko. In total, the recording of 14 of the 30 composers‘ art songs has been completed. www.ukrainianartsong.ca is the website address where much of the Ukrainian Art Song Project‘s work is already documented. The scores of 1,139 art songs and the 502 recordings all appear on our new Ukrainian Art Song Project On-Line Reference Library Website: www.ukrainianartsong.art. This website was launched on Ukrainian Christmas Eve, 6th January, 2023. The Music World and Media have been most kind in their reviews of the Ukrainian Art Song Project recordings: • ―German Lied, French Mélodie and English Art Song are one of the treasures of musical culture. And now, at last, the incredible riches of Ukrainian art song, as oppose to popular folk song, are being made available on-line by the inspiring Ukrainian Art Song Project. The singing of the young artists is entrancing, and the quality of the music, headed by the superb songs of Mykola Lysenko, quite overwhelming.‖ (Classical Music Daily) 111 • ―One of the most significant recordings in recent times,‖ – Richard Bradshaw, late Artistic Director of the Canadian Opera Company • ―Art song sung in Ukrainian is staggering. Lysenko is surely Ukraine‘s Schumann. His work is of superlative merit. It is buoyant, joyous, moving, fresh and enriching. One is left with an acute awareness of Lysenko‘s masterly exploration of the poetry, one of the special features of this recording.‖ (Roderic Dunnett of ‗Opera Now‟ and ‗The Singer‟) • ―Impressive Stetsenko CD set… Hunka uses his lush operatic voice with great subtlety…Albert Krywolt accompanies beautifully on the piano…these easy listening disks are a treat in all respects.‖ – John Terauds, Toronto Star • ―I was astonished at the range and by the variation of emotions that are expressed in these Lysenko songs.‖ – Stuart Hamilton, Broadcaster, founder „Opera in Concert‟ • ―Hunka is in demand as an opera singer all over the world, but his approach to the more intimate form is splendid. Even without knowing Ukrainian ..., you are drawn into the sentiment of the text through his gift for musical storytelling.‖ – Bill Rankin, Edmonton Journal • ―We are witnessing the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Association once again embark on an exciting new musical project – promoting the Ukrainian Art Song – which follows the association‘s tradition of presenting Ukrainian music at the highest level of professionalism and artistic excellence.‖ – Roksolana Roslak, Juno award-winning opera singer and vocal teacher at the Glenn Gould Studio. • ―The album is a milestone of performance practice and the beginning of a new chapter in Ukrainian musicology. For the first time, classical music lovers, students of Ukrainian music history, and performers around the world can appreciate the creative genius of Mykola Lysenko. Thank you, Pavlo, for your vision and your determination to see this stage of the UASP through to 112 completion. Bravo and encore! – Wasyl‟ Sydorenko, musicologist and composer/ • ―The soloists who, with the exception of Pavlo Hunka, were nonUkrainian speaking, succeeded in presenting all the imaginable nuances required to show Mykola Lysenko and Ukrainian art song in its most dazzling light. Bravo! We hunger for more concerts of classical music on this stratospheric level!‖ – Andriy Dmytrovych, symphonic and choral conductor, Ukraine. The Ukrainian Art Song Project invited 14 of Canada‘s foremost musicians to appear on the recording of ‗Mykola Lysenko – The Art Songs‘: Albert Krywolt, Russell Braun, Benjamin Butterfield, Roman Borys, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Allyson McHardy, Monica Whicher, Krisztina Szabó, Elizabeth Turnbull, Michael Colvin, Robert Gleadow, Doug Stewart, Serouj Kradjian and Mia Bach. We are so grateful to them for wholeheartedly embracing and enriching the entire recording process. Finally United With The Maestro! 113 9. Lysenko’s Legacy For centuries, Ukrainian folk song has flourished first among tribes, then in all villages across the Ukrainian Steppes as far west as the Carpathian Mountains. No-one knows their exact origin. Someone somewhere fashioned the words and others imagined the melodies. At that time, none were written down, but merely passed on to future generations. It was Mykola Lysenko who first ventured out into the villages with the aim of transcribing many of these songs and then arranging them for soloists and choirs across Ukraine. He was followed in this endeavour by his students and subsequent celebrated composers. Thus, Ukrainian folk song provided proof of the existence of another vibrant nation on the European continent. The themes of these folk songs were often love, hate, jealousy, dreams, despair, freedom, historical, hope and fate. The sentiment was natural and down-to-earth, which uplifted the spirit. However, it remained plain and simple, never delving into a deeper understanding of the human condition. It was Lysenko who appreciated that the more nuanced words of great poets could reveal more subtle emotions that could be further enhanced by fine music, revealing depths as yet undiscovered. Of all the genres of music that Lysenko represented, the art song has contributed immensely in opening the doors of Ukraine to Western Europe. His prolific compositions exhibit a level of sophistication not yet witnessed in Ukrainian music and, most gratifyingly, his art songs remain a consummate delight. They merely ask us to open our hearts and souls to a boundless breadth of emotions that exists between ‗love‘ and ‗hate‘. From 1893, Lysenko began to discard overt references to folk music and unambiguously embraced the ideals of the Romantic, Realist, Impressionist, Expressionist, Modernist and Post-Modernist Movements prevalent throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. He positioned himself among Schumann, Schubert and Wolf, Debussy, Duparc and Ravel. Thus, he and his illustrious successors called on Western Europeans to welcome Ukrainian art song into the mainstream. 114 Lysenko has inspired generations of composers to continue nurturing the Ukrainian art song genre, advancing the art form in numerous directions. ‗...Stefan’ija Turkevych, a student of Arnold Schönberg and Paul Hindemith, displays in her music the Impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, and the Modernism of the Second Vienna School of Schönberg and Berg...‘ (Stefan‟ija Pavlyshyn, Musicologist, Lviv, Ukraine) Ant’in Rudnyts’kyj, ‗...a student of Franz Schreker and Schnabel in Berlin, was initially a Modernist but gradually became more Impressionistic and Romantic. (Vasyl‟ Vytvyts‟kyj, „Ukrainian Encyclopaedia‟) In his art song compositions, Lysenko offers time and space for the poetry of his chosen poets to be expressed in an abundance of passionate sentiments. Unlike a folk song, a different subtext can be uncovered each time we meet the art song, thus displaying countless shades of colour. In these dramatic, miniature art forms, Lysenko could be most true to his artistic soul and express his deepest, sincerest thoughts and feelings. For this reason alone, these songs express an original and unique Ukrainian identity. Without witnessing and understanding these artistic gems, we cannot fully appreciate the greatness of his contribution to Ukrainian classical culture. Mykola Lysenko is a Giant of Ukrainian classical music. He understood that an art song exhibits a precious moment, not just in Ukrainian life, but in the whole world around him. And so, thanks to Lysenko, to his students, and to the publication of the ‗Mystetstvo‘ scores, the Ukrainian Art Song Project strives to make its modest contribution to the regeneration of Ukrainian classical music. Our work, already well-advanced, will continue throughout the next decade and, slowly but surely, the greatest Ukrainian composers will begin to receive the international accolades that they truly deserve. Not before time! 115 10. Appendices: 1. Poetic Translation Of A Song Text – ‘Porvalysja Struny’ (Broken Harp Strings) Broken Harp Strings Oleksandr Oles‟ Translation: Maxim Tarnawsky and Uliana Pasicznyk The strings on the harp have broken And the silenced harp mourns, Eliciting tears in others And weeping itself. Laughing, joking, singing, I don‘t bemoan my fate, As I pluck the broken strings Of my heart. Порвалися струни Олександр Олесь Порвалися струни на арфі… І арфа сумує німа, В других виклика вона сльози І плаче сама. Сміюсь я, жартую, співаю, Не скаржусь на долю зовсім І б‘ю по розірваних струнах На серці моїм. 2. Literal Translation Of A Song Text – ‘Porvalysja Struny’ (Broken Harp Strings) Порвалися Porvalysja Tore Струни struny the strings на na on арфі... arfi… the harp… І I And the Арфа arfa harp сумує sumuje mourns німа, n‘ima, mute, В V In Других druhykh others виклика vyklyka evokes Вона vona it сльози sl‘ozy tears І I And Плаче plache weeps сама. sama. itself. 116 Сміюсь, Smijus‘, I laugh, жартую, zhartuju, joke, співаю, spivaju, sing, Не Ne I do not скаржусь skarzhus‘ curse на na at Долю dolju fate зовсім zovs‘im at all І I And б‘ю bju pluck по po on the розірваних roz‘irvanykh torn струнах strunakh strings На Na On Серці serts‘i heart моїм. mojim. my. 3. UASP Transliteration & Pronunciation Chart Ukrainian Language Imagine pronouncing all consonants as in Italian, ie. less aspiration. All vowels are pure, similar to Italian. No diphthongs. Transcription and Pronunciation Chart Examples taken from Italian or English languages UKRAINIAN TRANSLITERATION А a (as in ‗caro‘) Б B В V Г h (as in ‗house‘) Ґ g (as in ‗garden‘) Д D Е e (as in ‗mezzo‘) Є je (as in ‗yes‘) Ж Zh (a voiced ‗sh‘, eg. ‗vision‘ З Z И y (as in ‗sit‘) I, i i (as in ‗sheet‘) Ï ji (as in ‗yeast‘) 117 Й j (as in ‗yet‘) K k (unaspirated – as in Italian ‗caro‘ Л L, l (see below) M M Н N O o (as in ‗oro‘) П p (unaspirated – as in ‗posso‘) Р r (rolled, like a double ‗r‘) C S T t (not aspirated as in ‗tempo‘) У u (as in ‗puro‘) Ф f (as in (first‘) Х kh (as in Scottish ‗Loch‘) Ц ts (as in ‗nets‘) Ч Ch Ш Sh Щ shch (as in ‗moisture‘) ie. ‗sh‘ plus ‗ch‘ Ю ju (‗j‘ as in ‗yes‘ plus ‗u‘ in ‗puro‘) Я ja (as in ‗alleluja‘) Ь ‗ = soft sign (see below) In addition, we apply the following rules: 1. j and the apostrophe’ have similar pronunciations: • ‗j‘ is pronounced as the ‗Y‘ in ‗YES‘, e.g. jabluko, haj, junyj – a harder, more intense sound. • when ‗j‘ follows a consonant, eg. ljublju, vyshnja – it is a gentler j. This happens almost automatically. • when the ‘ appears after a consonant, add a gentle ‗j‘ immediately after, eg. horyt‘, n‘i, d‘ido, t‘i, s‘im, l‘ito, z‘irka, ts‘i. 2. z.h compared with zh: (i) z.h = ‗z‘ + ‗h‘ – 2 separate letters (ii) zh = voiced ‗sh‘ as in vision 3. Ukrainian ‘L’ 2 ways of pronouncing ‗L‘ in Ukrainian