Kupala night

Kupalo songfolkSSAA

Mar 19

Written By andrew waller

Translated Text

Score Ukrainian

Score Transliterated

Kupala night | Купала на Йвана | Kupala na Ivana

Composer: I. Zakharzhevski | І. Захаржевський

This song is one of many Ukrainian folk songs for the Feast of Kupalo (intertwined now with the Christian celebration of St. Jean Baptiste), which falls on July 7 for Ukrainians following the Julian Calendar. With seasonal ritual songs, while several songs retained many of their archaic pagan motifs and symbols, with the advent of Christianity, these ritual songs became intertwined with Christian beliefs and celebrations. 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.