The wind blows gently

Kupalo songfolkComposerArranger

Mar 19

Written By andrew waller

Translated Text

Score Ukrainian

Score Transliterated

The wind blows gently | По діброві вітер виє | Po dibrovi viter vyje

Composer: Pavlo Tychyna | Павло Тичина
Arranger: Hryhory Veriovka | Григорій Верьовка
Lyricist: Taras Shevchenko | Тарас Шевченко

This ballad of love and loss, set to a poem by Taras Shevchenko, is about a young woman's lament that her beloved kozak has died while fighting for Ukraine's independence. The melody was set down by Ukrainian academic Pavlo Tychyna and arranged for women's voices by Hryhory Veriovka. Taras Shevchenko, poet, writer, painter, political figure, and ethnographer, is considered by many to be Ukraine’s bard. His writings formed the foundation for modern Ukrainian literature in the middle of the 19th century, contributing greatly to the growth of Ukrainian national consciousness. Influenced by Romanticism, his unique manner of poetic expression encompassed themes and ideas germane to Ukraine and to his personal vision of its past and future. Shevchenko’s influence on various facets of Ukrainian intellectual, literary, and national life is still felt to this day, even inspiring some of the protestors during the Euromaidan movement of 2013-14.

Vesnivika's music archives include classical works with text drawn from poetry from many of Ukraine's great literary figures, including Ukraine's bard Taras Shevchenko.