Title: Banduryste, Orle Syzyj
Performers: Boys' Bandura Ensemble, Lviv State Music Academy at Vasyl
Culture of Origin: Ukraine
Orchestration: The Bandura and Vocals
When thinking of a piece of world music that I would want to share, the music from Ukraine stood out to me. I grew up in a family that was from the Ukraine and I have always loved the sound of the Ukrainian Bandura. In this video, you can see how the instrument is played and how beautiful it sounds with the men singing. The bandura is a traditional Ukrainian instrument of unique importance. With the history and development of Ukraine, it gave a voice to a country that spent centuries under oppressive external rule. The bandura and their players helped keep Ukrainian culture and history alive through music, despite adversaries' many efforts to kill national identity. This reminded me of the quote "people make music meaningful and useful in their lives." (Wade, 2013, p. 1). This instrument and it's music became more that just that: it became the voice of the people. This video is a great example of the power that music can have with a group of voices.
