Позакласний захід з англійської мови "Kvitka Cisik. Ukrainian voice of America."

Літературно-музична композиція

«Kvitka Cisyk. Ukrainian voice of America»

 

Мета заходу:   формувати уявлення учнів про діалог культур, зокрема української та американської; розширити знання учнів про представників української діаспори, а саме про американську співачку українського походження Квітку Цісик; розкрити неоціненне значення творчості співачки для розвитку і поширення української культури у світі; виховувати в учнів  інтерес до надбань українського мистецтва, естетичні смаки, любов до музики, пісні, пошану до митця, патріотизм, бажання творити для своєї землі.

Обладнання: портрет співачки, мультимедійна презентація, аудіо записи пісень.

 

Teacher: According to the parable, God presented Ukrainians with the best land and the most beautiful songs in the world. Hardworking Ukrainians have been working for centuries creating the wealth of their Motherland. It’s a pity but Ukraine has always been a dainty piece for many enemies. Millions of Ukrainians had to fight for freedom in different periods of history and gave their lives for it. Neither wars nor famine could destroy Ukraine, but a lot of its citizens immigrated to other countries of the world. Their sons and daughters, their grandchildren were born abroad. Nevertheless, love to Ukraine lived and continue to live in their hearts. They did and do their best to help Ukrainians gain independence. Kvitka Cisyk was among them. We devote our party to this courageous woman in order to hold her memory.

 

Slide 1

Student 1: A wonderful singing, isn’t it? And let me draw your attention to the board on the screen. It says: “Kacey, you’re winning the world over”. By the way, the woman’s name who you have just seen on the video is Kacey and she really won the world over. The world of American commercials… So, who is this tiny, slender woman?

 

Slide 2

Student 2: This woman is Kacey Cisyk and she achieved her widest success as a singer of the musical jingles used in TV and radio commercials. She was the singing voice of the long-running “Have You Driven a Ford Lately?” advertising campaign. In addition to Ford, Kacey Cisyk sang for automakers General Motors, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Toyota. She recorded commercials for national television networks, for major airlines, Mc Donald’s and Burger King, and the two most popular soft drinks: Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In the demanding world of commercial jingles, she was a star. Her voice became one of the America’s most listened-to voices. But here, in Ukraine, we know Kacey for her two albums of Ukrainian songs. She was an American of Ukrainian ethnicity and her given name was Kvitka.

Slide 3

 (Song – “Стоїть гора високая”)

 

Тоня Білоус (Бельгія) «Я – квітка»:

Я - квітка степова,

Я - всіх і нічия.

Я сонцева коханка,

Я вітру забаганка.

Полин - купіль моя,

Пірнай - і я твоя.

 

Я - квітка лугова,

Гойдаюсь в травах я.

Я у вінку співанка,

Пелюсткова веснянка.

Вуста з нектаром я,

Відпий - і я твоя.

 

Я - квітка польова,

У житі бавлюсь я,

Я - жайворонка любка,

Грайливая голубка.

Купальська врода я,

Милуйся! Я - твоя.

 

Я квітка у гаю,

Царюю як в раю:

В промінні ніжусь я,

Під трелі солов’я.

Жаги оздоба я,

Вдягни - і я твоя.

 

Я - квітка лісова,

Купаюсь в росах я,

Я громова любаска,

Дощу - жадана ласка,

Духмяний килим я,

Ступи - і я твоя.

 

Одне лиш прошу, пам’ятай:

Не рви мене і не ламай.

Землі, життя - оквіта я.

Я - всіх, твоя і нічия.

 

Slide 4

Student 2: Kvitka Cisyk was born in the family of Ukrainian immigrants on the 4^th of April, 1953.

Student 1: Her name is very beautiful and unusual … Flower.

Student 2: You are right. Her parents, Volodymyr and Ivanna, were from the Western Ukraine, where such names for girls as Ruta, Zoriana, Ruzhana are very popular. They called their younger daughter Kvitoslava – Orysia. Their older daughter’s name was Maria. Volodymyr and Ivanna Cisyk kept the traditions of their ancestors and brought up their children in love to Ukraine. At home the girls spoke Ukrainian and attended the Ukrainian school on Saturdays. They were also members of Ukrainian Plast where they were taught to cherish their Ukrainian heritage.

 

Dialogue

•                      Hi!
•                      Hello!
•                      What’s your name?
•                      My name’s Anna. And what’s your name?
•                      My name’s Kvitka.
•                      Oh, you have a very unusual name. How do you spell it?
•                      K-V-I-T-K-A. Kvitka is Ukrainian for “flower”.
•                      Ukrainian? What country are you from?
•                      I am from Ukraine. My father says it is a very beautiful country in Eastern Europe.
•                      Where are you going?
•                      I’m going to the Ukrainian school.
•                      What do you do there?
•                      We learn Ukrainian customs and traditions and sing Ukrainian songs.

          Would you like to go with me?

•                      Yes, I’d love to very much.

(Song – “При ватрі”)

Slide 5

Student 1: Everybody in the family was well-educated. Volodymyr Cisyk graduated from Lviv Conservatory and was a talented violinist. He wasn’t lost in the USA. The musician founded the Ukrainian musical institute, where his daughters were taught later. Maria became a famous pianist. She ran the conservatory in San-Francisco. Kvitka loved music a lot too. Her father started to teach the little daughter to play the violin when she was only 4 years old. She was fond of singing and sang at home, at school and at the summer camp of the Ukrainian Plast.

 

Song – Rolling the chords on

Rolling the chords on

This old piano

Helps me get through the night.

Then on guitar licks

I’ll do just one more mix

And everything will turn out right.

 

Down on my backroads of Hollywood

Where life speaks of another time

I spend my nights recording my songs

And watching the world pass

Through rose-colored wine.

 

A steel guitar can

Make me feel happy

Every time I hear it play.

A country fiddle,

A harp in the middle

Is bound to brighten up my day.

 

Down on my backroads of Hollywood

Where life speaks of another time

I spend my nights recording my songs

And watching the world pass

Through rose-colored wine.

And all my tomorrows

Are gonna be fine.

 

Slide 6

Student 2: Volodymyr Cisyk's original goal was to see Kvitka as an opera singer, but his death left the family without a source of income. Needing to earn money immediately, Kvitka pursued a career as a session singer in popular music. Kvitka was only 17 years old when she began singing in clubs, while submitting audition tapes to producers and advertising agencies. But for a long time after she had circulated her tapes she heard nothing. So Kvitka started a career as a background singer in popular music. Miss Cisyk worked as a backup singer for Carly Simon and Michael Franks and for artists produced by Quincy Jones. In the musical world of America she became known as Kacey Cisyk. Kvitka drew her professional name from her first and last initials K. C.

 

Slide 7

(Song – “It’s the morning of my life”)

Slide 8

Student 1: Kacey Cisyk achieved her widest success as a singer of the musical jingles used in TV and radio commercials. Her recording of the slogan “Have you driven a Ford lately?” was used in Ford commercials from 1981 to 1998. In 1989 Ford executives estimated that Cisyk’s recording of that phrase had been heard by 20 billion people.

 

Slide 9

(Jingle – “Have you driven a Ford lately?”)

Slide 10

Student 2: Cisyk’s work in commercials brought her to the attention of Joe Brooks, who worked as a composer and arranger of jingles. Brooks chose Cisyk to dub the singing voice of actress Didi Conn for the movie “You Light Up My Life”. The Oscar-winning title song “You Light Up My Life” was dubbed perfectly. However, Kacey was not even listed as the performing artist in the final credits of the film.

 

Slide 11

(Song – “You Light Up My Life”)

Slide 12

Student 1: Of course, Kacey didn’t like everything in the sphere of advertising jingles. As the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, she was raised with Ukrainian music and her soul was eager to do something very important for the Ukrainian people. She decided to record folk songs and songs of some Ukrainian composers. Moreover, according to Cisyk, her colleagues often asked her to” show them something Ukrainian, but there were no records worthy of being shown”.

In 1980 she recorded her first album “Kvitka, Songs of Ukraine”, which won top honors in the 1988 Ukrainian Music Awards. Her second album “Kvitka, Two Colors” was released in 1989. It was dedicated to “the spirit of the Ukrainian soul, whose wings can never be broken”.

Both albums were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

 

Student 2: Both albums, “Songs of Ukraine” and “Two Colors” were family projects. Cisyk’s second husband, Ed Rakovicz, a recording engineer, produced them; her first husband, Jack Cortner, arranged and conducted them. Her sister, Maria Cisyk, a concert pianist and teacher, performed the solo piano selections on the record, and her mother, Ivanna, made sure Kvitka’s Ukrainian pronunciation was perfect. 40 musicians from New York were involved in recording and Kvitka translated all the songs into English for them. She wanted the musicians to understand and feel the music they would play. The family spent 200 000 dollars for the project. According to Ed Rakovicz “Kvitka’s albums were a project of love to Ukraine.”

 

Slide 13

 (Song –“Два кольори”)

Slide 14

Student 1: Kvitka’s albums were wildly popular among the Ukrainian expatriates but they were unknown in Soviet Ukraine. Thanks to Victor Mishalov, an Australian of Ukrainian ethnicity, her songs were spread in Ukraine and became very popular. The woman who worked in the backwaters of American show business was regarded as a leading performer in Ukraine and became very much a household name.

 

Slide 15

(‘Це мій дарунок Україні” – інтерв’ю)

Slide 16

Student 2: We have spoken much about creative work of Kvitka. It is interesting to know about her personality. What kind of person was she? What did she like?

 

Student 1: Kvitka’s relatives and friends remember her as a very lively, kind, frank, warmhearted, merry woman. She was responsible and reliable. The famous singer loved art, ballet, horse-riding and cars. Tender and modest she had a big loving heart. Kvitka was a wonderful mother. When her son Edward was little, she called him a little pumpkin. Kvitka spoke Ukrainian to her son and sang him Ukrainian lullabies.

 

Slide 17

(Song – “Ой ходить сон коло вікон”)

Slide 18

Student 2: Kvitka Cisyk dreamt to record an album of Ukrainian lullabies. It’s a pity but the singer’s dreams didn’t come true. She died from breast cancer on March, 29, 1998, six days before her 45^th birthday.

This terrible news struck America. Many people couldn’t believe in her death. The courageous woman had been fighting against the disease for seven years. But even after her cancer was diagnosed in 1992 and she began the long, painful ordeal of therapy, Kvitka Cisyk continued to work, singing her last professional jingle just a few months before her death.

Ukrainians from all over the world spoke their love and pity to this courageous woman:

“You rekindled in us true love of our Ukrainian song.

 You brought us joy, sadness, memories of our childhood and your love for Ukraine.

 You touched the hearts and souls of Ukrainians throughout the world.”

 

Slide 19

(Song – “Журавлі”)

 

Тетяна Чорновіл «Пісня весняної Квітки»:

Весною сповнене життя

Минає швидко,

Пішла з весни у небуття

Прекрасна Квітка.

Росла, цвіла в чужім краю,

Свій рід шукала,

Та Батьківщину все свою,

В думках плекала.

Слова квітучі, чарівні

Світ полонили,

Лиш в Україні ті пісні

Заборонили.

До мрій своїх в весняний день

Пішла за снами,

Красу заквітчаних пісень

Лишила з нами.  

                                     

Student 1: Kvitka’s songs go on living. We can’t help admiring her unique voice that touches our souls. Kvitka had a unique voice (coloratura soprano) and could sing in four different musical genres: popular music, classical opera, Ukrainian folk music and commercial jingles for radio and TV advertisements. Her manner of performing folk songs with so-called “white voice” can be heard in the Carpathian villages. Living in the USA she had done more for the revival of spirit and dignity of Ukrainians than it had been done by a lot of politicians. Her song “I will go to the distant hills” was like a manifest of freedom that overcomes fear. Not in vain Kvitka Cisyk was considered to be the best performer of Volodymyr Ivasiuk’s songs.

 

Slide 20

(Song - “Я піду в далекі гори”)

Student 2: Nowadays Ukrainian singers honour the memory of Kvitka performing her songs. Among them Oksana Muha, Dzhamala, Tonia Matvienko, Oleksandr Ponomariov, an American singer of Ukrainian ethnicity Bria Blessing and others.

 

Slide 21 (Інтерв’ю – укр. співаки)

Slide 22 (Брія Блесінг – “Голос країни”)

 

Slide 23

Student 1: Due to Kvitka Cisyk’s contribution to Ukrainian music an annual music festival is held in Ukraine. The American of Ukrainian ethnicity, Aleks Gutmaher, founded a charity project “Unforgettable Kvitka” which raises money to help people who have a cancer disease.

(Фрагмент благодійного концерту “Незабутня Квітка”)

 

Slide 24

Student 2: A museum was founded and a street was named in Kvitka Cisyk’s honour in Lviv, Ukraine.

 

Slide 25

For the singer’s 60^th birthday anniversary Ukrainian Inter TV channel made a documentary film "Kvitka. Single copy voice”. The film authors have investigated the phenomenon of the singer with the help of her relatives and close friends: husband Ed Rakowicz, son Eddie, family from Lviv and the United States, workmates and fans. The film was released on Inter TV channel on April 5, 2013.

 

Slide 26

On April 5, 2016, Ukrainians from all over the world will celebrate the 63^rd birthday anniversary of Kvitka Cisyk. She was the most recognized voice of America but she had a Ukrainian soul.

 

                Притихло сонце, небо обірвалось

                І заридало жалібним дощем.

                Нестало Квітки. Лиш пісні зостались.

                І огортає душу слізний щем.

                Ще стільки справ і мрій, що не здійснились!

                І скільки недоспіваних пісень!

                Ще вчора – в очі синові дивилась –

                А вже настав новий без тебе день…

                Та ти жива! І в пісні будеш жити

                Від покоління в покоління сотні літ!

                Пишатись буде Україна й дорожити,

                Пісні твої співатиме весь світ!

                                 (Марія Демків)

Slide 27

(Song – “Черемшина”)

Slide 28