Musical trip down memory lane: Ой Марічко чічері

One of the things I love (possibly the most!) about hosting Nash Holos is the opportunity to share Ukrainian music I love with listeners of the show.

Here's one I shared this week.



I have the song on a CD I picked up in Ukraine a few weeks ago. It's a compilation of 200 mp3s of tracks recorded back in the day.

There is little IMHO to wax nostalgic over in the soviet era. But if memory serves me, there was more appreciation for Ukrainian folk music. Probably as a result of that appreciation, more of it was being produced in contemporary arrangements like this.

OTOH it could be a global trend in our era away from indigenous folk music towards bland commercial conformity in the music industry, thanks to well-heeled promoters and smart marketers.

Thank goodness for people who market gems like this ... and put them up on YouTube!

******

 

Happy New Year & Merry Christmas!

To some such a greeting on Jan. 6 may seem late and backwards, but Ukrainians will "get" it.

After all, on the Julian calendar this is Christmas Eve, and many Ukrainian Canadians are just beginning their second round of Christmas celebrations... after celebrating it on the Gregorian calendar with the rest of the non-Ukrainian and non-Eastern Orthodox/Christian world.

That is certainly the case for me. My DH (a.k.a. Dear Husband) and I celebrated Christmas with my extended family in Winnipeg last month ... parents, siblings, in-laws, nephews, nieces, and beautiful, charming, delightful, brand-new great-niece. And a good friend or two.

Now I'm ready for Christmas, Round 2, with west-coast cousins, and cousin-by-marriage Sandy Kosolowsky.

Sandy owns and operates Sandy's Ukrainian Kitchen here in Nanaimo and puts on a Ukrainian Christmas dinner in

Spectacular violinist coming to Canadian stages starting in Vancouver

One of the performers traveling across Canada this month with The Talents of Ukraine 2011 show tour is contemporary violinist Innesa Tymochko. Now a New Yorker, Innesa originally hails from Lviv, Ukraine where she studied music and launched a musical career that had her performing on stages throughout Europe.

In a recent interview on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio, she revealed that she was a child prodigy at age 6. While she studied classical violin, she was also enthralled by the beauty and power of traditional Ukrainian folk music. In fact she was so drawn to it that she developed her own "fusion" style of contemporary Ukrainian folk music.

With charming candour, she admits to an abiding love of Ukrainian folk music, the stage, and pleasing audiences with her music. This woman's joy of performing shines through the minute she first pulls the bow across the strings. She'll then take you on a musical journey that is guaranteed to pluck the heartstrings of any Ukrainian folk music lover.

This will be Innesa's first trip to Canada and she is very excited to be part of this tour. It starts out in Vancouver on Tuesday, October 11 at the Vancouver Center for the Performing Arts. After that it's on to Vernon for a Wednesday evening performance, then to other points east, wrapping up in Montréal on October 25.

If you haven't bought your tickets yet, don't wait a minute longer! This will be a show you don't want to miss.

Along with Innesa, you'll be delighted with the performances of two outstanding singers from Ukraine as well as the spectacular Donbas Song and Dance Company of Ukraine. Tickets for the performances in Western Canada can be purchased from Ticketmaster, and elsewhere from the venues where the show is being held. Details at the Boen Arts website and in earlier posts (here and here). 

Innesa has her own website which is www.innesa.com and you can read more about her and order her CDs there.

Meanwhile, I found a few YouTube videos of Innesa performing. They’ll give you an idea of her onstage charisma. But there’s nothing like the real thing! So I hope you'll join me in seeing her perform live on stage in Vancouver... or at a venue close to you.

This is Vivaldi's Storm, which opened the show we chatted on:



This is her performing Podolianka at her own wedding.



...and someone else's wedding (where she puts me in mind of the late Al Czerny):



For those earlybirds amongst us, here she is doing a medley of Ukrainian Christmas tunes:



And one more medley of Ukrainian folk tunes:

See you at the show!

Updated info on Talents of Ukraine tour

The itinerary and other details of the Honored Academic Song and Dance Company of Ukraine "Donbas" 2011 Canadian tour are now available at the Boen Performing Arts website.

You can find an overview of the group and a video in

Talents of Ukraine – 2011 Canadian Tour

Boen Performing Arts is bringing another fabulous Ukrainian act to Canada this fall.

Just got word of it and waiting to get details from Ken Kachmar of Boen Arts ... this story is so new it it wasn't even posted on their website the last time I checked!

Here's what is known so far:

The show tour, dedicated to the 120th anniversary of Ukrainians in Canada, will feature The Honored Academic Song and Dance Company of Ukraine "Donbas."

The group began its creative activity in 1937 in the city of Donetsk, Ukraine and since then has enchanted audiences with the bright spectacle of the song and dance of their native land.

Many well known choreographers  have worked in this Dance Company, including Pavlo Virsky, Oleksiy Homon, and Valentyn Mykhailow.

Donbas has performed in Poland, Romania, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Portugal and other European venues. During the last decade, under the direction of Valentyn Kichik and artistic direction of Oleksander Prokopenko, they performed in the USA, China, Syria and three times in Brazil.

I couldn't find a website for them but did come across this delightful YouTube video of a group by that name. If it's the same group then Canadian audiences are in for a real treat!



Featured soloists are violinist Innesa Tymochko and singers Svitlana Sasu and Yevhen Vaskin.

Innesa Tymochko has performed at concerts, banquets, festivals, on television, radio, and in theaters throughout Europe, including Belgium, Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Russia and Chernohirja. In 2005 she was a featured performer at the internationally acclaimed Eurovision Awards, Europe's answer to America's Grammy Awards, held in Kyiv.

Yevhen Vaskin has a charming tenor voice and a varied repertoire ranging from folk songs to contemporary arrangements of original compositions. He has performed extensively on the international scene and has won several all-Ukrainian vocal competitions.

Svitlana Sasu is a Ukrainian actress and singer, originally from Moldova, who currently lives and works in Kyiv. She has won many awards, including the International vocal competition "Baltic Trembita" in Tallin, Estonia (2005), the International competition "Perlyna" (Pearl) in Tyraspil, Moldova (2007), an international competition of Ukrainian songs "Hilka Kalyny" (Rasberry branch) in Rome, Italy (2010, and in 2011, she was the winner of the International singing competition of Ukrainian Romance in Lviv, Ukraine, honouring the beloved Ukrainian American singer, the late Kvitka Cisyk.

So far this is where The Talents of Ukraine 2011 Canadian Tour is booked to perform:

Vancouver on Tuesday, October 11 at The Centre For Performing Arts, 777 Homer St. (Tickets)

Vernon on Wednesday, October 12 at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre (Tickets)
 
Edmonton on  Friday, October 14 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, 11455 — 87 Avenue (Tickets)

More details as I get them. Stay tuned!

New York Ukrainian Polka band Hrim releases new album

Hrim is a Ukrainian band based out of New York City which just released their self-titled debut album in May 2011.

Since its inception in 2005, Hrim has performed at festivals, weddings, zabavas, and other functions throughout North America in cities including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Buffalo, Washington D.C., Toronto, Montreal, and many more.

The band recently performed at the Hopak in the Park festival in Melbourne, Australia along with a sold-out zabava there.

The band continues to perform non-stop and hopes to explore other areas of the Ukrainian diaspora with their music.

Their sound is a mix of traditional music styles – polkas, tangos, and waltzes fused with more modern rock, ska, and punk styles. It is a distinctly Ukrainian sound, yet absolutely unique to the group.

Hrim consists of Roman Palylyk (bass and vocals), Peter Drobenko (accordion), Will Wyatt (guitar), Peter Kolinsky (vocals), and John Drobenko (drums).

The band was fortunate to collaborate with other talented musicians on the album including Slau Halatyn (backing vocals and guitar), Andrij Stasiw (piano and composer), and Olenka Dolak (cello).

You can find out more about Hrim at their MySpace page.You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook. To purchase the album, visit their CD Baby page where you can either download mp3s or buy a physical CD. Hrim will be releasing the album on iTunes as well.

You’ll be able to hear Hrim on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, here’s a sneak preview from a couple of years ago at the Toronto Ukrainian Festival.

Enjoy!

See Veselka Ukrainian Dancers at Victoria Multicultural Festival

Victoria`s Heritage DanceFest will be celebrating its 5th anniversay, in no small part thanks to Veselka Ukrainian Dancers.

In the wake of the cancellation of the hugely popular FolkFest, Veselka (which means `rainbow`) realized that the city`s diverse ethnic cultural ensembles were in dire need of a public venue to strut their stuff.

So they spearheaded the now equally popular Heritage DanceFest which this year takes place Saturday, June 18, 2011 at Cameron Bandshell, Beacon Hill Park.

Take in continuous dance performances by dancers from the Chinese, Norwegian, Punjabi, Ukrainian, Irish communities, and more. Welcome Ceremony at 12 noon features a First Nations blessing, VIP speakers, and a traditional Welcome dance by the Veselka Ukrainian Dancers.


The best part is that admission to this fabulous family event is absolutely free!

If you haven`t yet seen Veselka perform, or didn`t catch this video on YouTube or my earlier post on Veselka, here`s a delightful little sneak preview for you:

Baritone Michael Minsky's Ukrainian recordings: A historical treasure

Michael Minsky was a brilliant opera star who sang in virtually every major concert hall in the United States.



Michael Minsky. Photo/portrait from CD cover:
Bandura: Michael Minsky, songs of a Don Cossack

Born in Russia in 1918, Minsky studied music at the University of Kazan and the Moscow conservatory. When WWII broke out, however, he was drafted into the Red Army and was soon captured by the Nazis.

He ended up in a slave labour camp and then in several “displaced persons” (refugee) camps after the war.

Although ethnically Russian, in the camps he was surrounded by Ukrainians and soon fell in love with the people, the music and the culture.

He joined several choirs, including the Don Cossack Choir and the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus. From 1948 to 1984 Minsky sang with such Ukrainian musical luminaries as Ivan Zadorozny, Volodymyr Bozyk and Hryhory Kytasty.

In 1949 Minsky and the Bandurist Chorus traveled to America, where they were received at the White House and performed many concerts.

In 1950 Minsky made his first recording and  went on to record another 20 with various Ukrainian artists, including songs of the Ukrainian Legion of World War I and the Ukrainian Underground Army. In 1953 he was granted American citizenship.

Minsky was very active in the Ukrainian community in the United States and Canada. In 1971 the Ukrainian community in Minneapolis honoured Minsky with a gala concert. Later that year he went on a concert tour to Ukrainian centers in Great Britain, then in 1972 to Australia. On his return to Europe he produced a series of records with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

By the mid 1960s, Minsky was spending most of his time in Europe. In 1978, he settled permanently in Zwolle, the Netherlands. Holland was where, in 1967, Minsky met his wife, Irina Jacoba.

Irina had no inkling of the prolific extent of her husband’s Ukrainian musical career ... until after his death in 1988. Astounded at the size of his repertoire, and realizing its historic significance, she took upon herself the gargantuan task of compiling and restoring the entire collection.
Somehow I ended up on Irina's bulk email list, and kept getting emails from her asking for help with the project.

Intrigued, I emailed her back a few times and finally connected with her by skype to get some details on the project and her progress so far.

What an incredible experience to encounter the fierce determination of this fascinating Dutch woman! Equally incredible was the story about her project and the love and devotion of her Russian husband for Ukrainian culture. (Interview on the this past Sunday's Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. It will air again on the international edition this weekend on PCJ Radio. Archives on the Nash Holos and PCJ websites.)

Working with volunteers, Irina has almost achieved her goal of compiling and restoring all of Michael Minsky's Ukrainian recordings. However, she is still missing these items:

ARKA 405a
Гей, пластуни! Пісня закарпатських пластунів. Слова: С. Черкасенко. Музика – Я. Ярославенко М. Фоменко. Сольо: М. Мінський. М. Фоменко: ф-но.
Hey, boy scouts! Song of the transcarpathian boy scouts. Lyrics: S. Cherkasenko. Music: Ia. Iaroslavenko/M. Fomenko. M. Minsky, baritone. M. Fomenko, piano.

ARKA 405b
При ватрі. Пластова пісня. Слова: Ю. Старосольський. Музика: Я. Пясецький/М. Фоменко. М. Мінський, баритон. М. Фоменко, ф-но
By the Camp-Fire. Ukrainian scout song. Lyrics: Iuri Starosolsky. Music: Iuri Piasetsky, M. Fomenko. M. Minsky, baritone. M. Fomenko, piano.

BMP 101a
Іди від мене. Leave me.
BMP 101b
Гей, маршують вже повстанці. Marching freedom fighters.

Ансамбль бандуристів під орудою Стефана Ганушевського
Bandurist Ensemble under the direction of Stefan Hanushevsky

TREMBITA 300a
Забудь мене. Forget me.
TREMBITA 300b
Тихесенький вечір. Tranquil evening.

Музика: К. Стеценко. Сольо: М. Мінський.
Music: K. Stetsenko. Soloist: M. Minsky.

SEAGRAM, 29-9-1951 Archive nr. 2000.097.r002.4
Арія султана з опери Запорожець за Дунаєм
Sultan’s aria from the opera Kozak beyond the Danube

RUSALKA LP
М. Мінський співає українські пісні
M. Minsky sings in Ukrainian.

UCH 302a
Гомін села. Humming village.
UCH 302b
Сусідка. Neighbor girl.

Музика: А. Гнатишин. Солісти: Мінський і Сілецький
Хор Трембіта. Дириґент – Кирило Цепенда.
Music: A. Hnatyshyn. Soloists: Minsky and Siletsky.
Ukrainian choir Trembita. Kyryko Tsependa, conductor.

RCA 2220
У мене був коханий, рідний край. Музика : М. Лисенко
I once had a beloved homeland. Music: M. Lysenko

О, ще не всі умерли жалі.  Музика – Яків Степовий
Not all sorrows passed away.  Music: Iakiv Stepovyi

RCA 2221
Ще день, чи два – аріосо з опери Кармелюк. Музика: В. Костенко
A day, or two – arioso from the opera Karmeliuk. Music: V. Kostenko.

RCA 2222
Як стрільці йшли з України. Музика: Р. Купчинський/М. Фоменко
When the freedom fighters left Ukraine. Music: R. Kupchynsky/M.Fomenko

RCA 2223
Мав я раз дівчиноньку. Мізика: Р. Купчинський М. Фоменко
I had a sweetheart, once. Music: R. Kupchynskyi/M. Fomenko
Альбом з двох плит. Богдан Пюрко при фортепіані
Two record album. Bohdan Piurko, piano.

Irina is appealing to the public to help her complete this collection of Michael Minsky’s restored Ukrainian works. She’s hoping that whoever might have these items would be willing to donate (or even sell) them to her. If you or someone you know has any of them, please contact Irina by email to make arrangements.

(Sources: Wikipedia, Antonio Hopla, Irina Jacoba on Nash Holos.)

Ukrainian Dancers wow audience and panelists on Australia's Got Talent

Can't help wondering how Simon Cowell would react but the Ozzies certainly appreciate good music and good dancing!

Of course who in their right mind doesn't love Ukrainian dancing when they see it? LOL

This Australian bunch of Ukrainian dancers is fantastic.

Enjoy!

Shumka Ukrainian Dancers to kick off 50th anniversary celebration in Kelowna

The Toronto Star calls them a National Treasure – Canada’s professional Ukrainian Dance Company celebrates 50 years of dance tradition in a whirlwind of colour, power and grace.

Veselka to celebrate 40 years of Ukrainian dance on Vancouver Island

On May 21 and 22 Victoria's Veselka Ukrainian Dancers will host two events to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Veselka (meaning Rainbow) entertains audiences sev eral times throughout the year at various local events, including

Origins of the word "Easter"

When I decided to jump back on the blogging bandwagon I did so thinking that Ukrainian Easter would be a perfect topic to get started again.

After all, it's one I'm quite familiar with. I grew up steeped in the religious and cultural symbolism of Ukrainian Easter, having belonged to both

Nissan's newest car is Ukrainian?

OK ... this "ad" has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen:


.
Only two strikes against it.

Virsky in Vancouver

This was a most amazing show! So glad I had the opportunity to see these outstanding performers.

They're still touring Canada, so if your town is one they're slated to visit, make sure not to miss this show!

In the meantime, enjoy these clips of the Vancouver performance.

Nash Holos audio archives updated to Sept 26, 2010

On last night's show we got a fab audio "sneak preview" of the upcoming concert and tour of the Virsky National Dancers of Ukraine.

Also, two lucky listeners won free tickets to Virsky's October 7 concert in Vancouver. The Vancouver concert kicks off their 2010 Canada tour. I just popped the tickets in the mail today, and will be giving away one last pair of tickets to another lucky listener on Nash Holos next Sunday.

Here are yesterday's show highlights:

• Interview with Bohdan Tkachyshyn, of Boen Arts. You can listen to it here. (Also my colleague Stan Nastenko interviewed him (in Ukrainian) on his show yesterday morning. Catch his podcast here.)
• On his Kultural Capsule, Vasyl Pawlowsky features Ukrainian Canadian Victoria Cross recipient Filip Konowal. (Listen to it here.) 
• Marina Lewycka's newest book, We are all Made of Glue, is the focus of Irena Bell's Чи знали ви? (Did Your Know?) feature.
• Proverb of the week, upcoming events in Vancouver's Ukrainian community, and plenty of great Ukrainian music!

Enjoy!

Ukrainian community in northern Florida

The people in this charming documentary about the Ukrainian community in North Port, Florida could be about my own family.

Yet they are total strangers living in a different country three time zones away on the other side, and end, of the continent!

The video came to me from a friend in Victoria, who received it from a friend of hers (also a stranger to me) in Edmonton.

The way the internet connects people, these folks may not be strangers for long!

Hope you enjoy this story as much as I did!

Nash Holos podcast and audio archives updated for this week

For those who didn't catch the program when it aired on Sunday, visit the Nash Holos website for the podcast!

Here's what's on:

• Meylakh Sheyket, of the Jewish Heritage Museum in Lviv, Ukraine, talks about he month of Elul on the Jewish calendar, and how it is observed by the Jewish community in Ukraine.
• Vasyl Pawlowsky presents another Kultural Capsule on the Montreal Ukrainian Festival which took place last weekend.
• Irena Bell, of the Ukrainian Hour Radio Program in Ottawa, profiles Martha Bielish, the first female Ukrainian Canadian senator

This week's music mix features several acts who will be performing at the Toronto Ukrainian Festival this coming weekend, including psychobilly band Mad Heads XL from Ukraine, folk group Zubrivka from Toronto, virtuoso violisnist Vasyl Popadiuk of Ottawa, and folk rock band Dunai from Ajax, Ontario

I'll be posting a few videos of these acts that I particularly like. Here's one by Mad Heads.

Enjoy!

Ukraine's Eurovision near-wins

On last Sunday's radio program (international edition) I played Ukraine's 2007 and 2008 entries. The latter was a request from a new listener in Japan, and I thought it would be fun to play them back to back. Both years, Ukraine came second in the Eurovision contest.

There was a very lively discussion on this blog back in 2008 about these artists and the direction Ukrainian music has been taking. You can check it out here, but in the meantime, here's the wild and crazy 2007 entry.

Ukrainian Day celebrations in Langley, BC

Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations will take place this year Sat. Aug. 28-29 during the Langley International Festival.

The opening ceremony starts at 11 am and will end with a flag raising/flag presentation followed by the singing of the Ukrainian National Anthem, Shche ne Vmerla Ukraina.

The MC of the event is MP Mark Warawa. Performances by musicians and dancers will be scheduled throughout the 2-day event. Food may be purchased on-site. The Ukrainian kitchen is by Prairie Cottage Perogies (Judy Hrynenko). The basic menu is pyrohy & kovbasa.

Free admission!

This outdoor event takes place at Willoughby Park, next to the new Langley Events Center. It's located at 7888 200 St. in Langley ... at the SE corner of 200 St. and 80 Ave. (enter off 80 Ave.) exactly 1.6km (or 4th traffic light south from Hwy 1).

The Festival location will have a beer and wine garden, a Main Stage, Seniors’ Chalet, Children’s’ Chalet, Marketplace, and plenty of parking! Adjacent is a Children’s Playground and Spray Park.

Other activities include a soccer tournament all day, and a performance of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream at 7PM. Check the website for complete information.

Here's a map of the venue and driving instructions to get to the park.









Here's an instrumental version of the Ukrainian National Anthem with a lovely slideshow.

Great CD of Montreal kids singing Ukrainian songs

Last Sunday's program featured a bunch of very talented kids singing the Ivasiuk classic Vodohrai (Водограй) which translates as "Dance of the Waterfountain."

This tune is from their recently-released CD Усміхнися Сонечко which means "smiling sun" in rough translation.

The CD is a collection of seasonal songs including Миколай (St. Nicholas Day), Mother's Day, Shevchenko, summer, a kolomeyka and a western.

It is an exceptional recording and an absolute delight to listen to. It is on par with any recording of adults and the best ones at that.

The singers are all students of the Metropolitan Andrei Sheptycky Ukrainian School of Montreal. The school has about 100 students ranging in age from 4-17. The singers on this recording were from 4-13. The CD also comes with a pdf of all the song lyrics (in Ukrainian Cyrillic).

The school's singing/music teacher is Vera Kulycky who is well known on Montreal's Ukrainian music scene. She also directs a young girls' trio/sextet who have performed at many local functions as well as the Montreal Ukrainian Festival.

Vera's husband Yourko Kulycky (formerly of the Montreal band 1945) programmed the music, recorded, and mixed the children's album, while Vera arranged and conducted the children in the vocals.

Many thanks to Roman Kostyk of Pryvit for connecting us and making this fabulous CD found its way into the Nash Holos music library.

If you'd like a copy for your own music library, send Vera an email or order through Yevshan.

The CD is $15 and all proceeds go to support the school.