UKRAINE (Country and People)

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Ukrainian musical culture has its roots in ancient Slavic music. As a result, most

Ukrainian music and dance is associated with the folk calendar, harvest, and life-cycle

events.

Ukrainians possess a remarkable repertoire of folk songs, and singing is an important

part of their culture. In the 17th century they developed an innovative form of choral singing

a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment).

Important composers of church music in the late 18th century included Maksym

Berezovskyi, Dmytro Bortnianskyi, and Artem Vedel. In the 19th century, Semen Hulak-

Artemovskyi wrote a popular comic opera based on folk themes, Zaporozhets za Dunaiem

(Zaporozhian Beyond the Danube, 1863). A high point in musical creativity came in the

early 20th century when Mykola Lysenko established a school of music that drew heavily

on folk songs for inspiration.

Many of the dynamic and colourful folk dances of Ukraine reflect a rural or Cossack

lifestyle. The oldest dances are the khorovody, agricultural dance games associated

with the cult of the sun. Originally, folk dances were either accompanied by songs or by

instruments.