Yevshan Vocal Ensemble brings Ukrainian composers' works to new audiences (06/05/05)

Yevshan Vocal Ensemble brings Ukrainian composers' works to new audiences

by Roma Gina Thibodeau

HARTFORD, Conn. - This spring, the Yevshan Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble under the direction of Alexander Kuzma issued a new CD of liturgical music titled "Icons of Faith" that features rarely heard works by Leontovych, Arkhangelsky, Bortniansky and Vedel, as well as original works by Yuri Hodovanets and Mr. Kuzma.

Since its first full-length concert in 1999, the Yevshan ensemble has collaborated with several Connecticut-based choirs in reaching out to new audiences that had not been exposed to Ukrainian choral literature.

Most recently, Yevshan organized a festival at the Theater for the Performing Arts in Hartford titled "A Mosaic of Slavic Music." The April 1 program included performances by the Yale Slavic Women's Chorus, the Yale Russian Chorus and the Yevshan Ensemble.

"For us, this was a very interesting collaboration with two renowned student choirs at Yale," said Ihor Stasiuk, the artistic director of Yevshan. "Although the vocal styles of each choir were very distinctive, our audience had an opportunity to enjoy the rich diversity of Slavic choral traditions and to appreciate the unique qualities of each musical culture." At the conclusion of the concert, all three choirs united for a performance of Taras Shevchenko's epic poems "Dumy Moyi" and "Reve ta Stohne" as a tribute to the victory of the democratic Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

The concert opened with a performance by Yevshan, a mixed choir of men and women comprising selected singers from various Ukrainian churches in Hartford, New Haven, New Britain, Bridgeport and Colchester. After singing several a cappella arrangements of Ukrainian secular and sacred works, the ensemble was joined by a quintet of accomplished bandura players: Olya Chodoba-Fryz, Irene Kytasty-Kuzma, Joanna O'Flaherty, Daria Richardson and Christina Jamahian. The instrumental set included several works by Hryhory Kytasty and Julian Kytasty, including the beloved "Echo of the Steppes" and "Metelytsia" (The Whirlwind).

In the second portion of the concert, the Yale Russian Chorus performed under the direction of Mark Bailey. Established in 1953, this student choir has won acclaim in major concert halls of Western Europe, Russia, Georgia and the United States. The Yale Russian Chorus performed several liturgical works by Chesnokov and Ippolitov-Ivanov, as well as several popular marching songs such as "Borodino" and "Soldatushky."

After intermission, the Yale Women's Slavic Chorus charmed the audience with exotic and harmonically intricate works from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Poland, Bosnia and Russia. Under the direction of Hannah Farber, the chorus showcased several works from its new CD "Kolo Sertsia" (Close to the Heart).

The women's section of Yevshan joined the Slavic Chorus for a performance of the Ukrainian folk song "Vyshni-Chereshni" and, finally, all three ensembles - combining 60 voices - sang the finale, "Reve ta Stohne," which elicited a lively standing ovation.

"We really enjoyed working with Yevshan on this project," said the Slavic Chorus's Ms. Farber during a reception at the Ukrainian National Home in Hartford following the concert. "We were very impressed with the beauty of the bandura, and we would gladly include more Ukrainian material in our repertoire."

As a result of the April 1 program, Yevshan also received an invitation to perform as special guests at a June 12 festival hosted by the Connecticut Polish Choral Society.

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