Folk music enthusiasts gather in New York for workshop (06/20/99)

Folk music enthusiasts gather in New York for workshop

NEW YORK - Thirty Ukrainian folk music enthusiasts congregated at an intensive one-day workshop sponsored by the New York Bandura Ensemble on Saturday May 8. The workshop, held on the premises of St. George Ukrainian Catholic School in the East Village, was led by the NYBE's music director, Julian Kytasty, and guest instructor Alexis Kochan of Winnipeg.

Ms. Kochan and Mr. Kytasty, who worked together to record the acclaimed CD "Paris to Kyiv Variances," created a program that allowed the participants to experience layers of Ukrainian folk song that rarely are examined by traditional choirs and other musical groups.

After a brief vocal warm up conducted by Ms. Kochan, participants divided into men's and women's groups and focused for the rest of the afternoon on highly specific repertoire: ancient ritual songs and examples of polyphonic village singing from Central and Eastern Ukraine for the women's group, and medieval chant, historical Kozak songs and chumak songs for the men.

After a break for supper, the workshop continued with both groups singing for each other some of the material they had worked on during the day and blending their voices in a final set of songs that featured unique Ukrainian folk songs recorded by Mr. Kytasty from descendants of the Zaporozhian Kozaks in the Kuban region in 1989.

Participants who came from throughout the region, included: director Alex Kuzma and members of Hartford's Yevshan Choir, members of New York's Yara Arts Group, conductors of youth and community choirs, as well as members of choral ensembles ranging from the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus to the New York Russian Choir.

The workshop, advertised primarily via the Internet and word of mouth, succeeded in creating a virtual community of Ukrainian folk song. When event ended at 8 p.m., the participants spontaneously formed a human chain as the sounds of "Oi Hyllia, Hyllia" resounded through the empty halls of the school.

A week earlier, Ms. Kochan and Mr. Kytasty had performed with their Paris to Kyiv ensemble at Symphony Space on New York's Upper West Side in a concert program titled "Nightsongs From a Neighboring Village." "Nightsongs" also featured Brave Old World, a leading ensemble in the New Jewish Music movement.

The concert, presented by the World Music Institute, which showcased two ensembles who have found an esthetic common ground by exploring the depths of their respective traditions, was well received by an eclectic audience at Symphony Space. The two groups also performed a one-hour program, including interviews of their principal members, on WNYC's "New Sounds" which are on April 28.

The workshop was organized and presented by the New York Bandura Ensemble, whose activities are funded in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.

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