New divine liturgy by Valerij Kikta making debut in Ukrainian churches (05/09/99)

New divine liturgy by Valerij Kikta making debut in Ukrainian churches

by Halia Talpash Wawryshyn

TORONTO - Since the autumn of 1998, the exquisite sounds of brand new liturgical music have been making their debut in Ukrainian churches, both Orthodox and Catholic, in Toronto and outlying centers. The new liturgy was composed by the Ukrainian-born composer Valerij Kikta, a former student of Stanislav Liudkevych and of Semen Bohatyrov.

Within his repertoire are compositions for symphonies, operas, chamber orchestras and choirs. His symphonic compositions, "Frescoes of St. Sophia" and "Schedrivky-Koliadky," have been performed on Canadian stages. Maestro Kikta's oratorio, "The Sacred Dnipro," was performed by the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Association in 1996 in Toronto.

Maestro Kikta's new divine liturgy was requested on the initiative of the late Maestro Wolodymyr Kolesnyk. This new liturgy premiered in Edmonton in 1994. Though the predominant harmony is contemporary, it incorporates the traditional approach of religious and spiritual music of Ukraine. There is a unique, deeply spiritual interpretation to the varied texts of the liturgy. The harmonic motif reflects the spirituality of the liturgy.

In Toronto the new liturgy premiered at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Andrew on November 8, 1998. The occasion marked the first anniversary of Maestro Kolesnyk's death. After singing the liturgy, the Lysenko Choral Ensemble sang a panakhyda. The following Sunday the choral ensemble sang the Kikta divine liturgy at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto, and on November 29, 1998, the Lysenko Choral Ensemble sang the divine liturgy in Oshawa, Ontario, at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. John the Baptist.

On December 6, 1998, at the conclusion of the World Congress of Ukrainians in Toronto, the Lysenko Choral Ensemble sang the new divine liturgy in a packed St. Wolodymyr's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral.

A male chorus under the direction of Nestor Olinyk sang various parts of the liturgy supplementary to the liturgical singing of the Lysenko Choral Ensemble.

Among those present in the cathedral were many guests and delegates to the congress who had come from distant places in North and South America, Australia and Europe. Bishop Yurij of Toronto and the Eastern Eparchy officiated at this divine liturgy along with guests, Metropolitan Wasyly of Canada, Archbishop John of Edmonton and the Western Eparchy, and Archbishop Vsevolod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America. Present also as a guest was Bishop Adrian from the UOC-Kyiv Patriarchate in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.

Bishop Adrian, a musicologist, was well-acquainted with the music of Maestro Kikta and appeared delighted to hear this new sacred music in the repertoire of Ukrainian liturgical music. Bishop Yurij, who also has a background in music and had sung as well as attended conductors' workshops with Maestro Kolesnyk, greeted the chorus with much warmth and encouragement.

Before he died, Maestro Kolesnyk gave his baton to Alla Shklar, who keeps it as a cherished memento. Although work on Maestro Kikta's divine liturgy was started with Maestro Kolesnyk, he did not live to hear the chorus complete it and sing it in churches. Ms. Shklar, a longtime singer in the Ukrainian Opera Chorus and a student of many of Maestro Kolesnyk's conductors' workshops, undertook the formidable task of completing work with the chorus on the Kikta liturgy.

Ms. Shklar has a degree in music from the University of Toronto, and taught in a high school where she directed not only the choir, but also the band and orchestra. As Maestro Kolesnyk's right-hand woman for the last years that he conducted the Ukrainian Opera Chorus of Toronto and as a leading executive member of the Canadian Ukrainian Opera Association, which brought the public numerous Ukrainian operas and premiere symphony and opera performances for over 20 years, Ms. Shklar is uniquely qualified to continue the work that Maestro Kolesnyk left as his bequest.

The divine liturgy by Maestro Kikta has also been sung by the Lysenko Choral Ensemble at St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto, at St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Mississagua, and at St. Wolodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Church in Thornhill.

Later this month, the same liturgy will be sung at St. Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Toronto and at St. Wolodymyr's Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Hamilton, Ontario. Americans will have an opportunity to hear the Lysenko Choral Ensemble sing this unique and modem divine liturgy on Saturday, May 23, in Johnson City, N.Y., and on Sunday, May 23, at the St. Andrew Memorial Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Bound Brook, N.J.

For centuries, Ukraine has had a treasure trove of sacred music in well-known composers such as Vedel, Bortniansky, Lysenko and, later, Koshets. Maestro Kikta's deeply spiritual yet contemporary liturgy has now entered the rich repertoire of Ukrainian church music. As a result of the Lysenko Choral Ensemble's performances at various churches, not only the people, but also many priests and choir conductors, have become aware of this new liturgical music. The unique flavor of this late 20th-century piece of work has excited and ignited the communities where it was sung. Young people, not afraid of occasional dissonance, have been among the appreciative audiences who claim they really have to listen and think during the Kikta liturgy

Although few church conductors may choose to sing the entire liturgy by Valerij Kikta, in the future they will have a new well of liturgical music from which to choose pieces of music for their choirs.

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