Lysenko, Hunka and the Ukrainian Art Song

By Wasyl Sydorenko

One of the reasons why I am writing this review in English is because the term art song has no Ukrainian-language equivalent. This may come as a surprise since Ukrainian composers have been writing art songs for nearly 150 years. And yet, there is no Ukrainian word or phrase that describes this genre – one of the highest forms of vocal art in European music.

In the Austro-German tradition, the art song is known as the Lied, and in French as a mlodie. In Ukrainian, the following terms have been used –  , , , or  – with the last one coming closest to the semantic meaning of the term, but without capturing its essence. Basically, an art song is a classical composition that combines voice(s) and piano as partners in a musical setting of poetry. The voice is not unlike an instrument and the accompaniment is not unlike a soloist. Both combine to create a total musical experience.

During the 19th century, Western Ukraine was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and under the influence of Austro-German culture. Western Ukrainian composers like M. Verbytsky, S. Vorobkevych and V. Matiuk were among the first to write art songs. In Central Ukraine it was Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912) who pioneered the art song. He encountered the German Lied during his musical studies at the Leipzig Conservatory. In April 1868, Lysenko was inspired to set to music two texts by Taras Shevchenko.

For the next 25 years, Lysenko continued, almost exclusively, to set the poetry of Shevchenko to music. During this time, he attempted to create a Ukrainian version of the art song based on compositional techniques and melodic elements derived from Ukrainian folk songs and dumy. How successful he was is still a matter of debate among musicologists and music-lovers.

In 1893, with the composition of his song cycle to texts by Heinrich Heine, Lysenko all but turned his back on Shevchenko and began setting to music the poetry of contemporary Ukrainian writers – I. Franko, L. Ukrainka, O. Oles, etc. Musically, too, there was a noticeable shift away from the folk song as Lysenko began to imitate German composers and explore more modern styles of composition.

There is a lot about Mykola Lysenko that we do not understand. As a composer, he has been mythologized to a point where we can no longer see him as he truly was. But, he was not the father of classical music in Ukraine. He was not the author of great operas and symphonies. He was not the founder of Ukrainian authentic music. He was not a renowned pianist or great performer of his own works. A 1909 recording of Lysenko accompanying two singers in a totally lacklustre performance of his art song    is available online at: www.russian-records.com/details.php?image_id=2789

Nevertheless, Lysenko composed more than 120 art songs and influenced almost every other Ukrainian composer that followed him. This, indeed, is one of his most important legacies. And yet, for more than a century, Lysenko’s art songs remained either unpublished or unperformed. The publication of his collected works in the 1950s failed to encourage musicians to explore this legacy. If concert programs were strictly controlled by censors in Soviet Ukraine, why weren’t Lysenko’s art songs performed by singers in the Diaspora?

Without a performance tradition or practice, it is not surprising that Lysenko’s oeuvre of art songs baffled many a singer, including opera baritone Pavlo Hunka when he first discovered them. Indeed, these were not arrangements of folk songs or salon romances; these were concert hall art songs. Pavlo promised his father that one day he would perform them and that the whole world would hear the beauty of the Ukrainian art song.

And so, Pavlo Hunka, the Artistic Director of the Ukrainian Art Song Project (UASP), has devoted his life to rediscover and promote world-wide the art songs of Ukrainian composers, and to demonstrate that they are indeed part of the European tradition of classical vocal music. The project has generated the term  , which has been used by Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture, but a better translation would have been  . According to the Ministry, Pavlo’s project is a grandiose undertaking to redefine Ukraine’s national cultural identity. And yet, ironically, the Ukrainian language lacks the very word that would allow us to initiate any discussion of this topic.

After more than a decade of intense preparation and collaboration with other performers, musicologists, researchers, literary specialists, volunteers and sponsors, the art songs of Mykola Lysenko were finally launched at a concert in Koer­ner Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto on December 5, 2010. This follows the release of art songs by Kyrylo Stetsenko in 2006. Next February, the art songs of Yakiv Stepovy will be released in Edmonton.

The concert première of Lysenko’s art songs should go down in history as one of the greatest achievements in Ukrainian classical music. Pavlo Hunka was assisted by fellow singers Monica Whicher, Krisztina Szab, Russell Braun, pianist Albert Krywolt, cellist Roman Borys and flautist Julie Ranti. These are but a few of the names that appear on the recordings, which include: Isabel Bayrakdarian, Allyson McHardy, Elizabeth Turnbull, Benjamin Butterfield, Michael Col­vin, Robert Gleadow, Mia Bach, Serouj Kradjian, and Douglas Stewart.

Canadian broadcaster Stuart Hamilton was the host, Melanie Turgeon introduced the project’s online music library (www.uasp.ca), the Chair of the Executive Committee Lesia Babiak thanked all those who contributed to the project, and chief fundraiser William Zyla thanked all the donors and sponsors. The list of names is long and impressive. A special tribute was offered in honour of the late Richard Bradshaw, Artistic Director of the Canadian Opera Company, for his support of the project.

Not enough can be said about the actual performance of Lysenko’s art songs. To create a performance practice where none existed, especially one conforming to European tradition, was no mean feat. This proves that Lysenko’s art songs do belong to the classical tradition of European music. The interpretation of each art song was remarkably insightful. The Ukrainian diction was nearly impeccable. The renditions were pleasing to both the native and non-Ukrainian listener, and musically convincing to any fan of vocal art. Truly, a job well done!

Roman Hurko returned as the producer of the UASP’s Lysenko album. The recordings have a bright and intimate sound, perfect for the genre. They are accompanied by a 207-page book with annotations by Dagmara Turchyn and Wasyl Sydorenko. The 124 tracks of songs are organized by theme into 6 CDs: Nature, Love, Fate, A Historical Theme, A Philosophical Theme, and The Song Cycle “A Poet’s Love”. The album is a milestone of performance practice and the beginning of a new chapter in Ukrainian musicology. For the first time, classical music lovers, students of Ukrainian music history, and performers around the world can appreciate the creative genius of Mykola Lysenko. Thank you, Pavlo, for your vision and your determination to see this stage of the UASP through to completion. Bravo and encore!

Wasyl Sydorenko is a musicologist and composer in Toronto, Canada.

PHOTOS

1 - L. to R.: Roman Borys, Albert Krywolt, Stuart Hamilton, Krisztina Szabó, Russell Braun, Pavlo Hunka, Roman Hurko and Monica Whicher after performance of Mykola Lysenko Ukrainian  Art Song, Koerner Hall, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto

2 - Pavlo Hunka