The formation of the national composer school, as well as the formation of professional music education in Ukraine, is associated with the name of the outstanding Ukrainian composer.
Composer Mykola Lysenko is often called the Sun of Ukrainian music. Recently, a concert was held in his memorial House-Museum on the occasion of the composer’s 181st birthday.
The event began with a welcome speech by the composer’s great-great-grandson and his full namesake, Mykola Lysenko. He said that last year the Ukrainian creative community was supposed to celebrate the 180th anniversary of the outstanding composer, but due to the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, most of the events had to be canceled.
Recalling the name of his illustrious great-grandfather, Mykola Vitaliyovych said that the creative heritage of the composer reflects the spirit of Ukraine and its national dignity, which the composer skillfully embodied in his works. His principled position was to support all things Ukrainian, despite the fact that during the Russian Empire there was a ban on the use and use of the Ukrainian language.
“This museum is a truly unique place where the brightest figures of Ukrainian culture gathered: Mykhailo Starytskyi, Lesya Ukraina with her family and others. Not for nothing, it is also called the Ukrainian Parnassus…“, he notes Mykola Lysenko.
The conductor also admitted that he always feels a great elation when performing on the terrace of Mykola Lysenko’s estate, where his illustrious great-grandfather lived the last 18 years of his life, writing the vast majority of his late works.
The concert program began with “Doroshenko’s March” – a work that was banned for a long time.
“She spent more than 70 years “behind bars” of ideology, hatred for everything Ukrainian. When Ukraine gained independence, this music returned to us. It is a symbol of indomitable spiritMykola Lysenko stressed.
After the performance of “Doroshenko’s March”, the orchestra presented the audience with other works of the composer, as well as “Red Viburnum”, which became a symbol of resistance and indomitability of Ukrainians.
“The birthday of the Hetman of Ukrainian music is always a landmark event for our museum. Every year we hold a number of cultural events to honor the memory of this iconic and unique figure for our culturesand”, says in his comment for “Evening Kyiv” Valentina Osypets, senior researcher at the Mykola Lysenko Museum.
She also emphasized that this year’s celebrations are special, because “Doroshenko’s March” will be played in the concert program for the first time. Recently, for its performance by a brass band, the score of the piece was translated by the modern composer and musician Dmytro Konovalov.
“The work “Doroshenko’s March” was extremely important for the composer himself. According to the memories of his relatives, during his lifetime, the composer wanted it to be performed during his funeral… Now, we are happy to hear it again, performed by the Kyiv Academic Municipal Wind Orchestra, conducted by his great-grandson Mykola Lysenko. In my opinion, the new orchestration of this March fills this rather sad and rather sorrowful piece with a new meaning, adds an optimistic sound to it, which is especially important in times of war“, says Valentina Osypets.
The museum celebrations continued with a concert by students and performers of the Kyiv Municipal Academy of Music named after R.M.Glier. The program included arias “Taras Bulba” and “Nocturne” from operas, romances and duets by Mykola Lysenko performed by: Daria Koba, Maksym Melnyk, Ruslana Rudenko, Darina Konopli and Adele Shurubura.
Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko (22.03.1842-06.11.1912), Ukrainian composer, folklorist, pianist, teacher, choir conductor, music and social activist. He is considered the founder of the Ukrainian National School of Composers, as well as the Ukrainian Opera Theater.
His creative legacy includes 10 operas on Ukrainian themes (the most famous are “Christmas Night”, “Drowned”, “Natalka Poltavka”, “Taras Bulba”, “Aeneid”, 120 chamber and vocal works (mostly based on texts by Taras Shevchenko – 88), 40 choral works, including four cantatas for soloists, choir and symphony orchestra, symphonic works (symphony, fantasy, overture), chamber-instrumental works, including 60 for piano. During his lifetime, Mykola Vitaliyovych recorded over 1,500 Ukrainian folk songs and performed over 500 arrangements of songs for voice with piano or for choir.
Tatyana ASADCHEVA“Evening Kyiv”
