Ukrainian Fiddle Music, past and present

Ukraine has a rich tradition of fiddle music- part of a distinctive culture very different from that of Russia. In this short documentary, I discuss the development of folk music in Ukraine from medieval times. The Bandura, a type of lute, was distinctive of Ukraine, being the favourite mode of accompaniment for the Kobzars, or travelling minstrels Three string Rebec like fiddle, the Gudok was also common until it was replaced by the violin. The typical village band was a Troyista Música (musical Trio), usually led by a fiddle, along with instruments such as a bourben (two sided drum, tsimbaly (cimbalom) or Sopilka (flute). There was a tradition of choral music song by trainee priests, going back to the year 1600. They compose their own songs, both sacred and secular, and many of these are absorbed into the general village folk repertoire . In 1902 in Kharkiv in north eastern Ukraine someone came up with the idea of combining this combination with the Bandura -playing kobzar troubadour tradition, and an ensemble of 14 singers and bandurists was formed. The combination seemed to capture the essence of Ukrainian history and culture and quickly caught on. By 1930 they were around 900 of these Bandurist Capellas in the Ukraine. State-run folklore ensembles were also formed in Soviet times: the macho cossack dancing and the lively hopaks lend themselves to large-scale stage performance. Indeed it is this Ukrainian tradition that largely dominated what we in the west thought of in the late 20thC as Russian folk music and dance. I examine three of the most distinctive tune types from Ukraine; the Kolomeyke, Kozachok, and Hopak. One of the best sources of information on the style and repertoire of 19th and early 20th Century Ukrainian fiddle music is the recordings made by musicians who emigrated to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries One such recording now widely available is “Ukrainian – American fiddle music; first recordings 1926 to 36”, released in 1977 by Arhoolie records. One of the best non-Ukrainian Americans was fiddler Paulo Humeniuk (1884–1965). He immigrated in about 1902, and in 1926 released the record, Ukrainske Wesilie (Ukrainian wedding), which recreated the various traditions and ceremonies, along with much humour and chatter from Cameo characters including the gruff father and weeping bride. The audio samples used in my documentary are taken from the recording by Arhoolie in 1993 under the title “Paula Humeniuk; king of the Ukrainian fiddlers." Running alongside the Cossack folk tradition of the Ukraine is the Jewish folk music known as klezmer. There is a good selection of teaching videos on Ukrainian fiddle tunes elsewhere on The Fiddle Channel. Below are details of further fiddle resources from Chris Haigh 1. Patreon 2. Books 3. Subscription video courses 4. Website 5. Email to request pdf’s. 1. PATREON This is a platform where anyone can help support creative artists and get closer access to their work. You can join me on Patreon at three levels, for £4, £10 or £40 per month. At the lowest level you get access to all my pdf’s and tune collections, plus many exclusive tuition videos not available to the public. At level 2 you can join also me once a month for a group Zoom chat, and can request a backing rack once a month. Level 3 gives you all the above plus a free lesson once a month, and access to all my backing tracks. You can find me on Patreon at   / thefiddlechannel   2. BOOKS I have seven fiddle tuition books published by Schott, all widely available from the publisher, from Amazon, and many other outlets. All come with audio tracks illustrating the tunes and exercises. Exploring Jazz Violin Beginning Jazz Violin Discovering Rock Violin Exploring Folk Fiddle Exploring Klezmer Fiddle Hungarian Fiddle Tunes French Fiddle Tunes Exploring Country and Bluegrass Fiddle You can order from https://bit.ly/31ZWmgm 3. VIDEO SUBSCRIPTION COURSES I have three video subscription courses MUSIC GURUS- Exploring Jazz Violin. Based on my Schott book Parts 1 and 2 are each £26 for 26 lessons, covering the first and second halves of the book Part 1; https://tinyurl.com/49tfk5ef Part 2 https://tinyurl.com/23atebfc -MUSIC GURUS Discovering Rock Violin. . Based on my Schott book £35 for 46 lessons https://tinyurl.com/2ua2kuxh ACADEMY OF FOLK Includes a folk fiddle primer course, with introductions to basic techniques and concepts plus an Irish Fiddle Course and Scottish fiddle course. A monthly sub of $9.99 gives access to all lessons https://academyoffolk.com/ 4. WEBSITE My website is probably the most extensive and detailed summary of fiddle styles on the web, as evidenced by the range of top hits on Google for many fiddle styles. www.fiddlingaround.co.uk ________________________________________________________________________ TO REQUEST PDF’S, or ask any questions, CONTACT ME AT [email protected]