MUSIC REVIEW: Making a joyful noise - the Volyn Ukrainian Song and Dance Company (01/18/04)

MUSIC REVIEW: Making a joyful noise - the Volyn Ukrainian Song and Dance Company

by Orysia Paszczak Tracz

If you're down in the dumps and need a pick-me-up, put on a Volyn Choir album, and turn it on a bit louder than usual. You'll be smiling, probably singing along and even dancing in no time. This is one amazing bunch of enthusiastic, very talented singers and musicians. Their full name is the Volyn Ukrainian Song and Dance Company, from Lutsk, Volyn Oblast, Ukraine.

So far, there have been three albums of folk and contemporary songs from this ensemble, and one album of Christmas songs, koliady and schedrivky (New Year's songs). "Volyn, Ukrainian Christmas Album" and "Volyn," which comprised folk songs, were just released by Ablaze Productions of Toronto. This company is also planning to bring Volyn to North America later in 2004.

Thankfully, there are many, very many choir recordings from Ukraine now - most of them very good. And the subject matter is extensive - from the authentic and stylized ritual and folk to the most contemporary. The choices are out there, and the buyer must choose wisely, because not all ensembles are worth listening to.

With its very first recording, the Volyn Choir was a burst of joy and fun. The singers approach their songs with enthusiasm and let-'er-rip delight. The very fine orchestra, with folk instruments and great horns, adds much to the joy of song shared with the audience.

The repertoire of the choir is also something new. Along with well-known folk and ritual songs, there are many new ones (new to North America, old in Ukraine), and some standards. Artistic Director Oleksander Stadnyk has arranged very old Ukrainian folk music in a fresh, new, delightful way. The happy songs are so good that many have been used by North American dance ensembles as their accompaniment. While this ensemble, formed in 1978, is well-rehearsed, the effect is one of spontaneity.

The Volyn Choir's new volume of folk songs includes a few from the previous albums, in new renditions, and songs newly arranged and performed. There are also compositions by Mr. Stadnyk to lyrics of various poets. One haunting composition about the Kozaks, "Oy u luzi," has lyrics by Vasyl Symonenko to the music of O. Petrov. The selection is varied, from the rip-roaring Kozak battle songs and humorous ones, to gentle, sometimes heartbreaking love songs. The voices, the harmonies and the soloists are wonderful. Some compositions, while interesting, still remind me of the Soviet-style epic melodies ("Harnyi, Kozak, Harnyi").

It would be very difficult to pick a favorite song from this album, because each is so special and so well done in its own way. But I am partial to "Hai, Hai, Zelenkyi / A Divchyna Horlytsia" (No.18). I can just see a dance choreographed to this delightful blend of two upbeat tunes. And their version of "Rozprahaite, Khloptsi Koni - Marusia Harna" is one the younger generations will enjoy.

One final note: There is a problem with the labeling of tracks for a series of songs on this album, with tracks 16 to 23 not cued up properly.

The "Volyn Ukrainian Christmas Album" also is very fine. Along with a few standards that have been recorded and performed before, the majority of the numbers comprise koliadky and schedrivky originating in pre-Christian times, with the Christian layer sometimes added later, in the refrain. There are medieval songs that we do not hear as often. It is a pleasure to hear the actual ancient songs as opposed to just reading the lyrics in old books.

The second song, "Skhovalos Sontse za Horoyu" (The Sun Has Set Behind The Mountain) is neither a carol nor a schedrivka, but a long-lost song from the turn of the last century set to a folk melody. Leopold Yashchenko, the director of the Homin Choir of Kyiv, explained to me that for a long time people thought this was a folk song. During Soviet times this gentle, lovely song was frowned upon, because it spoke of the beauty of Ukraine and people's love and devotion to it. Only recently did it come to light that the lyrics were by the poet M. Kononenko. This song, along with a few others on this album, have been in the repertoire of the Homin Choir for years. It deserves to be heard and sung, but not as a Christmas song.

The open, "bilyi" (white) style of singing is in vogue as the accepted folk way of singing, but after a while a whole album of these blasting voices gets to be a bit much. In this Christmas album, it is a pleasure to hear the choir also sing in the regular fashion - the gentility of presentation is a welcome change. And here's a question for ethnomusicologists: Is this "bilyi holos" really traditional?

The penultimate cut, "Staryi Rik Mynaye" (The Old Year Passes)," is a great way to bid farewell. The last track is "Schedryk" (one of many), but it is not, as labeled, the "Carol of the Bells" at all.

Both new albums would benefit from having the song titles listed also in Ukrainian because the English translations are not easily associated with a particular Ukrainian song. In gearing the albums to an English-speaking audience, perhaps the producer did not want Cyrillic writing confusing the reader. An insert in Ukrainian might help. Also, indicating which is a koliadka and which a schedrivka would help.

And now to the one thing that drove me up the wall. In both albums, there is this shrieking woman at the beginning and throughout the cheerful fast-paced songs. High-pitched yelps, shouts, screeches, howls - "skavulinnia," as my Mama would say. And how in the world could the director permit or initiate this shrieking in schedrivky? Even the fun ones are still to be done reverently - after all, these are ritual songs, representing something ancient and very spiritual. Dare we hope that subsequent recordings will eliminate most of the yelping, and all of it in the Christmas album?

The Volyn Choir's CDs are available at most Ukrainian music outlets and on Ukrainian catalogue webpages.

| Home Page |