A feast of authentic kobzar music

Taras Kompanichenko and Jurij Fedynskyj, two musicians who are at the forefront of the kobzar (itinerant bard) tradition, recently treated audiences in western Canada and Toronto to a sumptuous banquet of largely medieval and early modern repertoire from Ukraine's forgotten, destroyed and nearly lost musical heritage. The two kobzars appeared in concert and other venues in Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg and Toronto from February 1 to15, where they sang and played for the most part previously unheard religious, historical and lyrical songs before enraptured audiences.

The performances of the two kobzars were truly memorable. Not only was the repertoire new and interesting, but its presentation was masterfully performed on instruments rarely seen or heard in North America. For the most part, Taras played on the Veresai twelve string kobza (a traditional Ukrainian stringed instrument of the lute family) and on occasion the kolisna lira (hurdy-gurdy). Jurij played on the kobzar bandura, Veresai kobza, drum, and bassola, mainly in accompanying roles. Many of the songs sung were performed as duets, with Kompanichenko singing the lead and Fedynskyj the harmony. In their duets, Taras's voice was pleasing to the ear and strong, while Jurij's added harmony, balance and depth to the sound.

While most in the Ukrainian diaspora are familiar with the bandura and its sounds, and the way songs are sung by our bandura ensembles and individual performers, those who had a chance to hear Taras and Jurij sing and play on the kobza are struck by some notable differences. The major ones are that in style and sound the performances of Taras and Jurij have much in common with minstrel-like singing and playing in the European early-modern tradition. Their performances were also more intimate, and at times I felt as if I were not in an audience but in a small group or circle of friends. I also felt going back in time to a world of minstrels performing in castles, church squares and fairs before groups of churchmen, knights, Cossack noblemen and military leaders.

The repertoire that the two performed before Canadian audiences consisted largely of religious psalms and chants, some dating back to Rus'-Ukraine, and historical ballads and epic songs, mostly from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Particularly noteworthy was the fact that the lyrics to some of the songs were written by leading church figures and notables of the early modern period. Of the many elegant and striking numbers, especially memorable were "S namy Boh" (God is with us), a monody from medieval times; the duma on the period of the Ruin, which is attributed to Hetman Ivan Mazepa; "Oi na hori vohon" horyt'" (A fire burns on the hill), a suite dedicated to Ukraine's fallen heroes; and "Pyite brattia, popyite" (Drink, my brothers, drink) a seventeenth century banquet song. Eleven of the songs sung by the two kobzari, including those mentioned above, are to appear on a soon-to-be released CD in Ukraine of the six-man ensemble "Chorea kozacky" (Cossack Dance), to which both Taras and Jurij belong.

[...]

This was Taras Kompanichenko's and Jurij Fedynskyj's first North American appearance together. Both Taras and Jurij perform regularly throughout Ukraine, in solo appearances, playing together, and in the "Chorea Kozacky." Taras was a student of Mykola Budnyk and Heorhii Tkachenko, the fathers of the Ukrainian traditional instrument revival. He researches and performs the full kobzar repertoire of epic songs and has studied Ukraine's music history, focusing on the traditions of the early church, post-Renaissance culture, including the Cossack Baroque, as well as Romanticism and the early twentieth-century. Many of the lyrics to the songs performed by the two kobzars were identified by Taras in archives and old collections, which are not widely known. Music to some of the lyrics was well known or reconstructed. However, Taras has also written music to some of the texts, interpreting the spirit of the times when they were authored. His works have appeared on many CDs released in Ukraine, most on compilation CDs. A solo disk titled "Kobzars'ko-lirnyts'ka tradytsiia" (The kobza- and hurdy-gurdy-playing tradition), containing a selection of traditional kobzar repertoire performed by Kompanichenko, was issued in 2002.

Jurij Fedynskyj was born in the United States and studied bandura initially under Julian Kytasty, who plays and researches traditional Ukrainian music in the US. For the past eight years he has lived in Kyiv, studying the traditions of the kobzari. In Ukraine, he was involved in the creation of ethno-music projects such as the group "Karpatyany," who study the music of the Carpathian region, and is a member of the early music ensemble "Chorea kozacky". Jurij also documents museum collections of Ukrainian folk and elite instruments and makes reconstructions of these instruments. His early performances on the bandura, along with those of Julian Kytasty and Michael Andrec, can be found on the CD "Experimental Bandura Trio," issued in 2000. His performances as a member of the group Karpatiany can be found on three compilation CDs released in Ukraine. Earlier this year he released the solo CD "Try braty ridnen'ki" (Three dear brothers).

Taras Kompanichenko and Jurij Fedynskyj have done much through their study and research to reconstruct and recreate the largely forgotten, lost and partially destroyed repertoire of Ukraine's kobzari. Through their activities, especially through their performances, they are part of a group of musicians who preserve and transmit this tradition to contemporaries and future generations. Both belong to the "Kyivs'kyi kobzars'kyi tsekh" (Kyiv Kobzar Guild), information on which can be obtained at the Website: http://www.ceh.ua/.

The visit of the two kobzars to Canada was organized by the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) at the University of Alberta with the financial support of two units within the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies: the Ukrainian Culture, Language and Literature Program, and the Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore. CIUS also received financial support from the Folkways Alive/Ethnomusicology Centre and the University of Alberta International's Global Education Program. Community support was received from the Alberta Foundation for Ukrainian Education Society and the Ukrainian Canadian Benevolent Society of Edmonton.

Author: Bohdan Klid
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
University of Alberta

Photo #1: Taras Kompanichenko

Photo #2: Jurij Fedynskyj

Source: e-POSHTA/e-Пошта March 9 березня 2009 -- Vol.10 No. 6