Ukrainian Choral Music & The Soul Of A Nation

Description
Dating back over one thousand years, it is said that Ukrainian choral music embodies a cultural identity and is truly a reflection of the soul of a nation. Join me, Steven Hobé, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
With ever-changing borders and territories, Ukraine became a truly independent state only in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yet choral art in the Ukrainian lands stretches back for over 1,000 years. The so-called “Znamenny Chant” stood at the core of Eastern Byzantium church music and rites, but a good number of the early sources have not been fully deciphered to date. Eventually, responding to Western European developments, notation was reformed by the Kyiv square notation.

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

Transcript

Ukrainian Choral music spans more than a thousand years, with its origins reaching back to the end of the tenth century. 

Over the centuries it has included medieval monody; Baroque polychoral; Classical choral; folk songs; cantatas, oratorios and operas; up to modern contemporary compositions. 

The most famous Ukrainian composer in the 17th century was the music theorist and composer, Mykola Dyletsky. He wrote “A Musical Grammar,” which explains the fundamental theory of music, counterpoint, and general rules for composition. As a composer, he is considered a master of polyphonic and polychoral music. 

In fact, the Ukrainian Baroque polychoral concerto occupies a significant place in European musical history, representing a significant step at the time toward the formation of a new European musical culture.

When Ukraine became an independent state in 1991, Ukrainian choral culture was finally able to step out from its imperial shadows. It marked a turning point, as it flourished with modern originality and a sense of renewed self-identification.