Farewell to my village

Kupalo songfolkComposerArranger

Mar 19

Written By andrew waller

Translated Text

Score Ukrainian

Score Transliterated

Farewell to my village | Прощай село | Proshchaj selo

Arranger: Mykola Leontovych | Микола Леонтович

This song is an example of traditional Ukrainian folk music that has a common theme of a young man bidding farewell to his home, family and beloved as he leaves to go to war. This arrangement is by renowned Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych, who was also a folk song collector and musico-ethnographer. As inspiration, many Ukrainian composers have tapped into the vast repertoire of Ukrainian traditional folk music, much of which had been orally passed down through generations. Most of the music from the Ukrainian folk song genre falls within two main areas: music that reflects the important stages of a person’s life, such as carefree youth, unrequited love, courtship, marriage, motherhood, and music that reflects the seasonal cycle of a predominantly agrarian society. Ukrainian folk song tradition is rich with imagery and conveys an array of emotions.

This song was performed often by Vesnivka in its early years as a girl's choir. It was a favourite of audiences as well as for the choristers.