Music of Ukraine

I chose to learn about Ukrainian music because my uncle loves Ukraine and has told my family many stories about their culture, and I think it is very nice that their culture and traditions, including folk music, is still very important to them. Ukraine is a country in eastern Europe bordering the Black Sea. Ukrainian is the official language, but many Ukrainians speak Russian. With over 2/3 of the people identifying as Christian (mostly Orthodox), Christianity is the predominant religion. Islam and Judaism make up less than 1% of the country's 44,429,471 population.

Traditional Ukrainian folk music tells stories of the history, the community and country, and the values and beliefs of its people. Ukrainians have many ritual songs that are performed at special events, such as weddings and funerals or before harvest. Folk music also uses a plethora of instruments, many of which are unique to Ukraine. The bandura is a uniquely Ukrainian string instument that is kind of a cross between a lute and a harp. It is plucked and has no frets. The sopilka is a flute-like wind instrument with 6-10 holes. The tsymbaly is the Ukrainian hammered dulcimer. The schalejka is a single-reed, wooden folk clarinet with a bell. Bagpipes, pan pipes, violins, cellos, and accordians are also commonly played.

This video is of a folk song called "Bandura" sung by the Kuban Cossack Chorus and featuring Iliya Meleshenko. Ukrainian folk music is most often heterophonic. As in this video, a leading voice begins the melody by him/herself, and the other voices come in later, singing the same melody. Heterophony allows the lead singer to add his/her own embelishments to the piece. I find this particular piece fascinating because I do not know many pieces that center around the bass vocal part, and this singer probably has the deepest voice I have ever heard.

Dance is also an important aspect of Ukrainian instrumental music. There are many different dances that each imitate characteristics of day-to-day life. This video is an example of one of the most common dances called Hopak. With themes of prowess, manliness, and heroism, this dance showcases several solos and incorporates acrobatics. The accompanying music may or may not include singing.

The following video is of a song called "Doroga" by the Ukrainian band Mandry. It is a deviation from the traditional. They use mostly modern Western instruments, such as the electric guitar and the drum set. However, they occasionally use instruments such as accordians and some percussion instruments that are common in the traditional folk music.

References:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/up.html

http://www.face-music.ch/instrum/ukraine_instrumen.html

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