NEW RELEASE: Musicus Bortnianskii records 16th-18th century motets (06/30/02)

NEW RELEASE: Musicus Bortnianskii records 16th-18th century motets

by Myron Maksymiw

TORONTO - The highly acclaimed Ukrainian Canadian performing arts organization, Musicus Bortnianskii, was founded in 1981 in Toronto under the direction of the author. Musicus Bortnianskii performs and publicizes the works of Ukrainian, Ukrainian Canadian, as well as West and East European composers of music, for chorus and orchestra. Performing a wide repertoire written for various chorus and orchestra ensembles, Musicus Bortnianskii moves with ease among all periods of music from Baroque to contemporary, unveiling the untapped wealth of the music of these periods. The ensemble familiarizes the audience with the music and cultural heritage of Ukraine by focusing on Ukrainian composers, past and present. As a Ukrainian Canadian performing arts organization, Musicus Bortnianskii has a special interest in Ukrainian Canadian composers.

In addition to performances and recordings, Musicus Bortnianskii has been and is actively involved in music search and research. It is compiling and completing a historical collection of previously lost or forgotten compositions of Ukraine. Over the past 20 years the organization has established contacts with all the major libraries around the world searching for and collecting works of the great Ukrainian masters. As a result, new works, thought to have been lost, have been found and performed. To date, Musicus Bortnianskii has perhaps the most complete collection of early Ukrainian music, among them "Partesni Kontserty" as well as works by Bortniansky, Vedel, Maksym Berezovsky and others. Musicus Bortnianskii has been involved in CBC national radio and television productions and has performed in Toronto and environs, as well as in the United States for the celebrations of the millennium of Christianity in Ukraine.

To date, Musicus Bortnianskii has 11 recordings to its credit. Its latest release is a recording of 17th and 18th century five- and six-part Ukrainian motets known as "Partesni Kontserty" or "Partesni Motets" by anonymous Ukrainian composers. This CD recording is a very important and historic event, for it makes accessible, for the very first time, a particular form of early Ukrainian music and culture. In his article, "Church Concertos for Five Voices" (Utrecht, 1974), Dr. M. Antonowych states that the influence of 17th and 18th century Ukrainian music on Eastern Europe is comparable to the influence of the Netherland's and Italy's masters on the development of 15th and 16th century Western European music.

The "partesny kontsert," often referred to as "partesny motet," is a polyphonic (many-voiced) a cappella composition widely used in Ukraine from the 16th to the 18th century. (The term "partesny" derives from the Latin word "partes" and refers to a choral work where all the vocal parts - soprano, alto, tenor, bass - are written out separately in "Part Books.") It is analogous to the Western European "motet" and, with reference to sacred music, is analogous to the "Concerto Ecclesiastico" (Church Concerto) in early Western European music. "Partesni Kontserty" may be sacred or secular.

To this day, with the exception of a few articles in various Ukrainian publications, very little research has been done on the "partesny kontsert." Most works, written for as few as three voices, and as many as 24, remain in manuscript form. Few composers' names appear and those that do are unknown or obscure.

The "partesny kontsert" has its roots in early Ukrainian polyphony which some music historians date to the 16th century, while others trace it to the 15th century. Yet the emergence of the "partesny kontsert" as a genre, with its own specific structure that would reflect the artistic thinking and requirements of the time, dates to the late 16th and early 17th century.

The introduction of the "partesny kontsert" in church singing should be viewed, perhaps, as a reactionary movement in music to the growing influence of Roman Catholicism and the use of the organ and instruments in the church. Thus it may be viewed as a struggle for the preservation of Orthodoxy, especially in those parts of Ukraine that were under Polish rule.

Faced with this problem, semi-religious organizations called "Bratstva," or "Brotherhoods" (e.g., the Brotherhood of the Assumption in Lviv was founded in 1585), which were formed around Ukrainian churches, cultural centers and educational institutions. These "bratstva" were perhaps the greatest promoters of the "partesny kontsert."

Yet it was the composer who was faced with the most difficult of all tasks: to write acappella music that would stand up to the Western tradition, and more so, to be successful, as well as appeal to the educated musician and the sophisticated amateur. The composer would have to use devices that were current, close to his own musical thinking, and at the same time, that were familiar to his audience. These gifted composers, by using contrast, color, effect and imitation, as well as the full gamut of sound - from the fullest "tutti" to the bare minimum of a trio in various voice combinations - created works that covered a wide range, from the tender simplicity of "Darui My Umyleniie" (Grant Me Absolution) to the exultant "Hospody Oruzhiie Krest Tvoi" (Lord, Your Cross is Our Arms). The "kontserty" are very demanding both vocally and technically and are indicative of the high level of performance of choral music in Ukraine at that time.

The "Partesni Kontserty" CD, as recorded by Musicus Bortnianskii, has examples of three five-part and seven six-part "kontserty" in various voice combinations (e.g., three sopranos, two basses; two altos, one tenor, two basses; two sopranos, two altos, two basses; two altos, two tenors, two basses, etc.). Two works on this CD are taken from a collection of manuscripts discovered in Novy Sad, Yugoslavia, by Dr. Antonovych of Utrecht and subsequently reworked by him. The others are from additional manuscript findings, also from Novy Sad, compiled and published by the eminent Ukrainian musicologist Nina Herasymova-Persydska of Kyiv. They all date from the middle of the 17th to the early 18th century and fall into the category of "sacred kontserty."

The "Partesni Kontserty" CD is available from Musicus Bortnianskii for $21; price includes shipping and handling. To order call (416) 255-7378 or e-mail [email protected].

Among projects undertaken for the coming year by Musicus Bortnianskii is the recording of Dmytro Btorniansky's 10 "kontserty" for double choir. The 2002-2003 season will open in the fall with a concert commemorating all the victims of the Great Famine in Ukraine as well as others who suffered as a result of man's inhumanity to man.

Myron Maksymiw is the founding director of Musicus Bortnianskii. His work as conductor and specialist in early Ukrainian music took him to Ukraine, where he worked with professional and amateur choirs, and did further research in his field. Mr. Maksymiw has returned to Toronto where he has resumed working with Musicus Bortnianskii, performing, recording, and promoting classical and contemporary Ukrainian music.

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