Eastern Ukraine - Ukraine - page 480

Music & Literature
From whooping folk ensembles to cable TV chick pop, dreamy Soviet mas-
ters of the chanson to post-Soviet rock, music in all its forms flows in every
Ukrainian's blood. They're also a well-read nation, though most might know
more about French and English literature than their own.
SOFIA ROTARU
The most famous Ukrainian songstress of the last 40 years, bar none, is Sofia
Rotaru (b 1947), an ethnic Moldovan born near Chernivtsi. Dubbed the 'Nightingale
of Bukovyna' her voice is as familiar to Ukrainians as it is to music followers in Riga,
Irkutsk or Vladivostok. Indeed, across the ex-USSR, only the immovable Alla
Pugacheva comes anywhere near her profile. Rotaru began her career in the early
1970s, gaining many 'People's Artist of...' and 'Hero of…' titles before making a suc-
cessful transition to the new order of the 1990s. Singing in three languages (Russi-
an, Ukrainian and Romanian), she still has huge appeal among the over 40s.
Music
Folk Music
Ukrainian folk music developed as a form of storytelling. The guardians of Ukrainian
folklore, kobzary were highly respected wandering minstrels who travelled from town to
town spreading news through an extensive repertoire of songs. These included bylyny,
epic narrative poems relating the courageous deeds of the heroes of Kyivan Rus, and
dumy, lyrical ballads glorifying the exploits of the Cossacks.
Traditionally, kobzary were required to be blind and they used the lute-like kobza to ac-
company their historical narratives. In the 18th century the kobza was replaced by the ban-
dura, a larger instrument with up to 65 strings. Popular bandura choirs accompanied
Ukrainian national songs and folk dances, and this unparalleled instrument soon became a
national symbol.
The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus ( www.bandura.org ) was founded in Kyiv in 1918 and
still performs worldwide today (mainly in the US). To find a bandura concert in Ukraine,
check listings magazines. The National Philharmonic in Kyiv is a reasonable bet.
Traditional kobzary themselves suffered the all-too-familiar and miserable fate of many
who lived under Stalin. During the Soviet era, they kept Ukrainians apprised of collectiv-