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.
I loved this piece Stephanie. The music is beautiful and passionate. The men sing and play with their whole hearts, and it is also very masculine and powerful. It is interesting that the bandura sounds very similar to a piano when they are all playing it together like that. I've never heard anything like this before, so thank you for posting this!
ReplyDeleteGreat song choice Stephanie. You are correct, this is a powerful piece of music. The ensemble is wonderful also. Great idea to pick a video with the Bandura being played.Great Post!
ReplyDeleteIt was good to hear about your personal connection to this style. Make sure you also include your paragraph reacting to each week’s specific prompt. This can be found under Assignments each week. I mistakenly recommended YouTube as a source. For future weeks, please use Smithsonian Folkways, Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, or BBC World Music.
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