THE THINGS WE DO...: Choirs, dancers: so what else is new? (11/02/97)

THE THINGS WE DO...

by Orysia Paszczak Tracz

Choirs, dancers: so what else is new?

When it comes to Ukrainian choirs and dancers, I have become jaded. Over the years, after seeing the Ukrainian Canadian dance troupes such as Shumka and Rusalka (among so many more), and hearing good Ukrainian choirs in North America, I am no longer impressed with just any touring ensemble from Ukraine. And while the tour groups are professionals, and our North American ensembles are true amateurs - in it for the pure love of it - there still have been groups from Ukraine who have disappointed. After the exuberance and virtuosity of the Canadian dancers, a run-of-the-mill troupe from Ukraine is no big deal. Very often, the folk costumes have not only been awkward, but downright perversions of a Ukrainian stage folk costume (yes, by necessity, there is a stage vs an authentic village costume).

The Ukrainian National Army Song and Dance Company, which recently toured North America did not disappoint. From the first song they had the audience captivated. We loved them. Almost every item on the program demanded an encore. The hall sparkled with electricity, people clapped along to the songs and dances. There was a instant genuine rapport between people on both sides of the boards. The first of the two sold-out performances in Winnipeg had a mixed audience, with very many non-Ukrainian Canadians present.

There had been some hesitation within the Ukrainian community, based on doubts as to whether this would just be a continuation of the same old Red Army Chorus tradition. But with the first notes of "O Canada" and "Shche Ne Vmerla Ukraina," (the Ukrainian national anthem) the doubts were erased. Throughout the performance there was an ease, a relaxed genuine transmission of love of song and beauty - not a tense or rigid moment in the whole performance. The words "Hospod'" [God] and "strilets'" [World War I Ukrainian freedom fighter, or rifleman] passed their lips - and I could only think "Oy, Tatu." How my late father would have loved to hear this.

Even though this is the army and these are military men, they sure know how to enjoy themselves in song. Humor, wit, elegance, joy - all transmitted through amazingly glorious voices. Each soloist, from the highest tenor to the lowest contrabass, was wonderful, with his own personality coming through. The selection of songs was broad, with various songs of Kozaks, riflemen and the contemporary military songs ("Vzhe Vesna, Polkovnyky, Vzhe Vesna" - It's Spring, Colonel, It's Spring). Love songs and patriotic songs comprised the balance of the singing portion of the concert. The Hetman Quartet, made up of four members of the choir, also thrilled the audience. The whistler was something else.

The dance ensemble was excellent. Whether in military uniforms (which I thought would bother me, but did not) or in folk costume, the dancers were extremely graceful, agile and elegant. The humorous dance - three losers courting a really "special" woman - had people crying with laughter. And why do some dance groups (on both sides of the ocean) insist on pinning down the women's aprons?! It would make as much sense to pin the ribbons down from flying, and the men's sashes to the sharavary.

The orchestra was very good - whether performing solo, or dance music, or as an accompaniment to the singing. The sopilka player and the whistler added the right touch to the concert. The company is led by Vladimir Zibrov (artistic director), Alexandre Stepantsov (chief choir conductor), Nikolai Gouralnik (orchestra conductor) and Vladimir Chmagoun (chief balletmaster).

The program, in English, would have benefitted by having the Ukrainian song titles transliterated as well as just translated. And the program translation into English needed some refining in the general text and in song titles ("Young Female Neighbor" may be the translation of "Susidko," but doesn't work as a song title, neither does "Standing in the Field" or "Cossack Goes to the River Danube"). Someone with a good grasp of the English language would have helped. Soloists were not listed, and they certainly deserve recognition.

The list of performers shows us what happens when Ukrainians are issued documents using French transliteration: it looks like a tsarist emigre social list from Paris. Why is it that two presidents, Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma, have their surnames transliterated into the generally used English tranliteration, and their countrymen (not travelling just to France) are saddled with alphabet soup like Krawtchouk and Koutchma, and Igour, Serguei, Vassyl, Evgueni, Iouri. Cumbersome surnames such as Tchouenko [Chuyenko], Ossadtchouk [Osadchuk], Grichtchenko (Hryshchenko] and on and on abound.

The schedule of concerts throughout Canada and the United States seems exhausting. Of course, high costs are involved in transporting, feeding and lodging such a large troupe, but to provide just one day between Rochester, N.Y., and Newark, N.J., or Pittsburgh and New Haven, Conn.?

Videos and cassettes of the group were available at the concerts. More information on the sleeves of the cassettes would have been helpful. For example, who is the composer and lyricist of the lovely "It's Spring, Colonel, It's Spring?" Who are the soloists? What are the Ukrainian titles for the songs "A Song about Girls" or "A Soldier's Romance"? One cassette is titled "A Celebration of Ukrainian Independence," the other "Tvoyi Syny, Ukraino" [Your Sons, Ukraine] features Hetman, the men's quartet from the choir.

This troupe is a credit to independent Ukraine, and to the richness and beauty of its musical and dance heritage. So, if the Ukrainian Army ensemble reaches your city, don't deprive yourself of this special treat. Take the whole family, and your non-Ukrainian friends. You won't regret it.

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