THE THINGS WE DO...

by Orysia Paszczak Tracz

Homin - joyful music

They sang, and we cried. It was the beauty of the voices, the melodies and lyrics, the hospitality, the enthusiasm and the sincerity of the singers that overwhelmed us. And this was not even a formal concert, just some singing after their regular rehearsal.

I am forever grateful that a few years ago an individual in Kyiv made arrangements for my tour group to attend a rehearsal of the choir Homin, directed by Leopold Yaschenko. That first year they were rehearsing in one of the halls of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. It was special enough to be in the historic halls of this esteemed institution, but to hear such singing as well was truly wonderful. Homin was rehearsing for Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations later in August.

We sat enthralled, as song after beautiful song - many of which we had never before heard - surrounded us. Then came time for introductions and explanations. I thanked the director and the choir for permitting us to intrude, and explained that our group included Ukrainians of all generations from Canada and the United States.

After some conversation, we were stunned when some from the choir invited us to sing for them. Sheer panic set in, but, after some prodding, five very brave women (shaking in their skirts) stood up in front of their group and the esteemed Homin choir. It was not our group we were afraid of. What a quintet we were - an 80-something woman born in Canada, a much younger Canadian native, one who arrived as a child from Ukraine in the 1930s, one who left Lviv as a teenager during the war, and one born after the war in Germany. The choir sang along with us. They even asked us to repeat some refrains of "Chaban" which they had not heard before. Even though this had been only a choir rehearsal, the evening remained a highlight of the tour for all in the group.

Each year I make arrangements for our group to attend the Homin rehearsal when we are in Kyiv. And each year, it is memorable. It was this past year that I turned around, and saw my group in tears.

Homin is a special choir. Its members are not professional singers, but have regular day jobs. They constantly struggle through the difficult economic situation in Ukraine, but still find time to join their fellow music-lovers for rehearsals and performances. They are true amateurs, singing and performing for the love of Ukrainian music. They are from all over Ukraine, and this is reflected in their repertoire.

They especially sing songs not heard elsewhere. This writer has heard several individuals from Ukraine comment that, while Veriovka and other professional choirs sing well, it is Homin that sings with its Ukrainian soul.

Homin was born on Easter in 1969, when young people of Kyiv gathered to sing and dance the spring round dances, the "hahilky"-"vesnianky." Despite the extremely difficult anti-Ukrainian political situation, they needed to express their desire to preserve Ukrainian folk traditions. The choir members credit Ivan Honchar, the sculptor and folk art collector, for inspiring and supporting them; during the 1960s groups of koliadnyky (carolers) met at and departed from his private museum to sing throughout Kyiv.

At the end of the Khrushchev "thaw," composer, scholar and musical folklorist Leopold Yaschenko was dismissed from his position at the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences for protesting against the closed trials and persecution of Ukrainian intellectuals and dissidents. Mr. Honchar endorsed Mr. Yaschenko's work as leader of this group in promoting Ukrainian traditions and rituals among the youth of Kyiv.

The young Homin singers gathered on the banks of the Dnipro to sing under the open sky and encouraged everyone to join them. They were watched carefully, because they were suspect - they sang only true Ukrainian songs. No cultural group could legally exist without performing "Soviet-style" and party-praising songs. During the Brezhnev years it became dangerous for the choir members to even meet, because they were interested not only in music, but in the Ukrainian cause as well. Their non-sanctioned performances at May Day demonstrations, at the Shevchenko monument on May 22 (the date when Shevchenko's body arrived in Kyiv on the way to burial at Kaniv), and at Kupalo and New Year's celebrations, were marked by incidents with the militia and by persecution.

In 1971 the choir was officially liquidated because of its "nationalistic" actions. Mr. Yaschenko was forbidden to work at his profession, and was deprived of his membership in the Composers Union. He spent the next 30-some years surviving at whatever temporary work was available.

Mr. Yaschenko lives for his music. Once when he was arrested and his wife visited him after a few days, his first words to her were: "Lidusiu, did you bring me some note paper?" His wife, the ethnographer Lidia Orel, is the director of the Museum of Folk Architecture and Folkways of Ukraine in Pyrohovo located outside of Kyiv.

In the late 1980s, when the new thaw came, Homin was revived because its members never did forget their goals and activities. They gathered first in Kyiv's Hydropark, singing surreptitiously, or in various homes. In 1985 they received official recognition. Homin was the first in Kyiv to sing the old Ukrainian national anthem "Sche Ne Vmerla Ukraina," the religious hymn "Bozhe, Velykyi Yedynyi," and the patriotic song "Oy u Luzi Chervona Kalyna." In 1989 Mr. Yaschenko was reinstated as a member of the Composers Union, and in 1993 he was awarded the nation's Shevchenko Medal.

Along with the joy of singing, the choir's goal is to encourage and revive folk songs and singing among the general population. Over the past decades this centuries-old Ukrainian tradition has faded, especially in the cities and among younger people. By holding sing-alongs in the parks and at various events, Homin invites general participation.

If you are fortunate to be in Kyiv on Easter you can see Homin singing and performing hahilky near St. Michael the Golden-domed Cathedral. On Oblyvanyi Ponedilok (Easter Monday) they are at Pyrohovo. And you can celebrate the festival of Ivan Kupalo with them in the Hydropark, at the Venetian inlet on the Dnipro (from 7 p.m. until morning). They also travel with koliady and schedrivky at Christmas time.

Homin sings every Sunday evening, and all are invited to join them. The choir's phone numbers in Kyiv are: 266-02-53, 296-39-79 or 555-26-52.

This fan is eagerly awaiting Homin's first CD. And I can't wait to hear the group again this year.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 13, 2003, No. 28, Vol. LXXI

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