Task 1. Read the text. Cultural life of Ukraine

Cultural life of Ukraine

The cultural life of the Ukrainian people is rich and varied. From their pagan ancestors they have inherited a legacy of folk customs, rituals and rites. With the introduction of Christianity these, traditional customs were combined with religious practices but they have retained all the beauty of the pre-Christian era. Of special notes are the Easter rituals, which combine religious motifs with the celebration of spring. Pysanky /from pysaty -to write/, Ukrainian decorated Easter eggs include Christian symbols, like the Cross, and stylized plant and animal motifs symbolic of fertility and long life. The unique decorations are made on raw eggs through a laborious wax-dye method. One Christian legend maintains that after Simon had set his basket of eggs on the road side when he went to help Christ carry the Cross, he returned to find, not eggs, but beautifully decorated pysanky in his basket instead.

For another ritual, Ukrainian girls and boys dress in their brightly coloured embroidered folk costumes to perform the hahilky, a series of songs accompanied by dance-like steps outside church after service on Easter Sunday. Christmas riluals also combine Christian and pre-Christian elements, especially in the singing of Ukrainian Christmas carols. Wedding rites in Ukraine also have traces of pre-Christian influences.

Music has always been an essential part of Ukrainian folk culture. Ukrainians, who have songs for every occasion, will break into song at the slightest opportunity. Since the 16^th century, songs often have been accompanied by a lute-like instrument, called the bandura. Bandura players are highly esteemed by the Ukrainians. Ukrainian musical culture was associated very closely with church music. Ukrainian secular music developed under the guidance of M. Berezovsky, D. Bortniansky and A. Vedel. Bortniansky /1751-1825/ was an especially giried musician. He was a master of choral technique, composer of operas and sonatas.

The outstanding musical figure of the 19^th century was the composer Mykola Lysenko /1842-1912/ who gave Ukrainian classical music its character. He incorporated folk-songs into his many compositions. This tradition was followed by such outstanding 20^th century Ukrainian composers as Cyril Stetsenko /1883-1922/, Olexander Koshuts /1875-1945/ and Mykola Leontovych /1877-1921 /, his popular Christinas song “Carol of the Bells” is heard in the U.S. today.

Dancing has always been a vital clement of Ukrainian culture. Ukrainian folk dancing dates to the pre-Christian era. In time the Pagan ritual dances merged with Christian rites and reflected the church and seasonal calendar. Such ritual dancing slowly developed into folk dancing and became the most popular entertainment of the Ukrainian people. From these dancing there emerged a great diversity of forms and choreographic techniques, one of them is hopak. In the 1890’s, native folk dancing was incorporated into Ukiainian operas and dramas and became a part of Ukrainian stage productions.

Today Ukrainian folk dancing is further popularized by numerous professional and amateur dance groups in Ukraine and other countries. Many cities of the world have been visited by the State Dance Ensemble of Ukraine under the direction of Pavlo Virsky. Everywhere its performances of Ukrainian folk dances have been enthusiastically received.

Folk handicraft arts in Ukraine are especially well developed. Pysanky,
woodcarving and inlay, ceramics, embroidery and weaving have been preserved and developed. Halychyna region covers ethnographic localities of Ukraine, which are extremely rich in traditions of folk arts, such as Lemky area, Boiky area, Hutsul area, Pokuttia, Yavoriv area, Kholmshchyna and Podillia.
Ukrainians especially love to embroider and use embroidery not only in their native dress. They also adore other clothing, pillowcases, tablecloths, dresser scarves, curtains and altar cloths. The designs used, generally geometric or floral ones, are done in brightly-coloured thread. The predominating colours are red or orange and black. Embroidery designs vary from region to region and even individual villages have their own patterns.

Church architecture is well-known aspect of the Ukrainian art. It was highly
developed not only in Kyiv but also in the remotest regions of Ukraine. Expert wood craftsmen made magnificent wooden structures using only primitive
planes and wooden pegs for nails. The St. Sophia’s Cathedral of the 11^th century was built in the Byzantine style. The churches of the 17-18 cc, the Golden age of the Ukrainian art, were a combination of traditional Byzantine art and Western influence. This combination resulted in the unique style known as Cossack baroque. The Church of St. Yuri in Drohobych dates from the 17^th century and is a famous example of Ukrainian baroque architecture. The all-wooden structure contains no nails and is held together with wooden pegs. The Cathedral of St. Yuri, the center of Ukrainian Catholicism, dates from the 17^th century and is an example of rococo architecture. Of particular interest are the wooden village churches found today in some parts of Ukraine. Many of them are bell towers separate from the church. Unfortunately many of the wooden and other churches were destroyed. Fine replicas of Ukrainian wooden churches have been recently constructed in the U.S. in New York and New Jersey.

The frescoes andmosaics in Ukraine are among the finest examples of Byzantine art. Equally highly developed was the art of painting icons. Some of the finest Kyivan icons, which were usually painted on wooden panels, have been appropriated for museums of Russia. A few still remain in Ukraine, but many were lost in the period of the Mongol invasions.

The painting of the Golden age of the Ukrainian art also combined traditional elements with Western influence. It continued and in the 19 ^th century. Unfortunately Ukrainian artists usually had to work in St. Petersburg and were unable to develop their talent in Ukraine. The most famous painter of this school was Ilya Repin /b. in Chuguyiv in 1844 -d. in 1930 in Kuokkala/. His depictions of Cossack life were not only favourites in his day but are still admired today.

Ukrainian artists led by the poet-artist Taras Shevchenko, succeeded in expressing Ukrainian themes and creating their own form of realism. From that time on, Ukrainian artists have asserted their originality and dedication to their native traditions. In December 1917 the Ukrainian academy of Arts was opened. Most prominent artistic figures worked there. Among them were H. Narbut, M. Burachek, O. Murashko and others. Olexander Arkhypenko /b. in Kyiv in 1887- d. in the U.S. in 1964/, an outstanding American sculptor of Ukrainian descent, is represented in many museums in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Task 2. Vocabulary. Use the words from the box to complete the sentences.

carol

hopak

pysanky

icons

bandura

1. Ukrainians are famous for decoration of Easter eggs or..................

2. The Ukrainian lute-like instrument is called.................

3. The Christmas song of Mykola Leontovych is a popular..................in the U.S. today.

4. The..................is Ukrainian popular and improvised dance.

5. Kyivan............were painted on the wooden panels.

Task 3. Discussion: Answer the questions.

1. How is the decoration of pysanka made?

2. What is the Ukrainian popular lute-like instrument?

3. Whose depictions of Cossack life are still admired today?

4. What is Cossack baroque?

Task 4. Read the two passages and find out the names of the outstanding Ukrainian artists.

1.He was born in Ukraine. His best sculptural masterpieces include “Dance”, “Taras Shevchenko”, and “Ivan Franko”. He was the founder of cubism in sculpture.

2.He was born in Ukraine. Many of his pictures are dedicated to Ukraine, among them are the pictures “The Zaporizhyan Cossacks write a letter to the Sultan of Turkey” and “Sit-round Gathering”. He died in Finland.

UKRAINIAN WAY OF LIFE

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