A soldier's carol

Kupalo songfolkComposerArranger

Mar 21

Written By andrew waller

Translated Text

Score Ukrainian

Score Transliterated

A soldier's carol | Повстанська коляда | Povstans'ka koljada

Composer: Zenoby Lawryshyn | Зеновій Лавришин

Christmas is celebrated even during wartime, but sadly without loved ones who are imprisoned in Siberia and suffering terribly. Behind a grated window, a Christmas carol can be heard being sung by a few voices. At home, a grieving mother is reassured that her children will return someday. The words to this carol are taken from songs written during the time of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army ("UPA"). The UPA was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan army that arose out of military formations from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, as well as other militant national-patriotic formations. It operated from 1941 to 1943 and engaged in a series of guerrilla conflicts during WWII against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and others. Its goal was the re-establishment of a united, independent national state of Ukraine on Ukrainian ethnic territory. Zenoby Lawryshyn, a prolific Ukrainian Canadian composer and pianist, collected and edited a collection of works entitled "Pisni UPA" (songs of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army), which was published as part of the 25th volume of Litopys UPA. Ukrainian Christmas traditions reflect achievements of an ancient culture, impressive in the musical and contextual diversity of its songs and in the number of its carols and epiphany carols. There are two distinct groups of Ukrainian Christmas music. Koljadky (Ukrainian Christmas Carols) are sung in church alongside traditional liturgical texts and hymns from Christmas Eve (January 6, according to the Julian Calendar) to Epiphany (January 19). Shchedrivky (New Year’s songs), being much older and having pagan roots, are rarely sung in a liturgical setting, given their secular themes of bounty and prosperity. These delightful and festive new-year folk songs of felicitation, with their charming and rhythmic melodies, reflect sectarian life and express wishes for health, happiness and bountiful harvests.

Koljadky and shchedrivky are an important part of Vesnivka's repertoire and have been sung annually since the ensemble was established in 1965.