Пісні миру, війни та надії

Folklore group "Mlynochok", Maria Polyachok (violin)

The band "Mlynochok" invites you to the world of authentic songs of the Predstepovoe Right Bank : a land at the intersection of forest-steppe and steppe, a land of Cossack feats, ancient Chumatsky paths and heroic pages of Ukrainian history. Here, human destinies intertwined in the struggle for freedom, distant journeys, separations and returns, and folk songs preserved the memory of life, customs and destinies of many generations.

What will be heard?

The program will feature songs and performances from Tymoshivka , the village where the famous composer Karol Szymanowski was born, as well as from Razumivka, Pidlisne, Krasnosilya and other villages in the region. Over twenty folklore works recorded in the 1980s and 1990s by folklorists Nina Kerimova, Oleksandr and Natalia Tereshchenko, as well as three original works for violin, create a musical tale of peace, war and hope .

This program was born two years ago as a response by the band "Mlynochok" to the full-scale Russian invasion. As an attempt to hear in folk songs what helps us to endure: the memory of a peaceful life, the awareness of the price of freedom, and the belief that the light will certainly return.

"PEACE"

This is a space of living tradition, joy and youth. Spring and summer festivities, dances to the violin and tambourine, echoes of wedding ceremonies - a world in which song unites people and accompanies the most important moments of their lives. The group's singing is interwoven with "Soloveyko" by Mark Kropyvnytskyi - a song arranged for solo violin performed by "Mlynochka" member Maria Polyachok .

"WAR"

These are the voices of past generations, in which the pain of the present echoes. Old Cossack, Chumach and recruit (soldier) songs tell of separation, loss and death. This part will also feature “Requiem” for solo violin by Ukrainian-Georgian composer Igor Loboda , which quotes the melody of the famous song “The Dnieper Roars and Groans Wide” — the voice of Ukraine, full of pain and sorrow.

"HOPE"

This is the expectation of return, the desire for freedom, and the indestructible power of the folk spirit. In the song “Oh, sound, mother, sound,” the Cossacks drive the enemies out of Ukraine, and in the Chumash song “Oh, don’t hide, you crucified periwinkle,” it resolutely sounds: “I will go to Crimea again.” In these words, the past speaks to the present, and the folk song becomes the voice of faith in the return of its own, in victory and a free future.

"Songs of Peace, War and Hope" is not just an encounter with the musical heritage of our land. It is a conversation across generations, in which an ancient song takes on a new sound, and the voices of our ancestors help us comprehend our own time. Because even through war, Ukrainian song preserves the memory of peace and carries hope.

Participants

Band leaders: Svitlana Kontsedalova and Oleksandr Polyachok

Author of the idea: Oleksandr Polyachok

Performers: Olena Panicheva, Anna Lyakh, Maria Polyachok, Anastasia Tokareva, Roman Polyachok

The concert will take place as part of the festival "Autumn with the Music of Karol Szymanowski", which is implemented with the support of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience.