Melody (Skoryk)

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Melody
by Myroslav Skoryk
Native nameМелодія
Key A minor
OccasionVysokyy pereval (1982)
ScoringFlute and piano (original)

Melody (Ukrainian : Мелодія, romanized: Melodiya), also known as Melody in A minor, is a musical composition by the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. Composed for the 1982 Soviet war film Vysokyy pereval  [ uk ], it has a simple structure comprising an opening theme, short development section, and modified reprise of the original theme. It was originally scored for flute and piano but has since been arranged for many other instrumentations. Melody is Skoryk's most popular work and is frequently performed in concerts, including in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Contents

Background

Skoryk in 2015 Skoryk3 (cropped).jpg
Skoryk in 2015

Skoryk composed Melody for the 1982 Soviet war film Vysokyy pereval  [ uk ]. [1] [2] Set in Galicia in the aftermath of World War II, the film was subjected to Soviet censorship and negatively depicted Ukrainian nationalism. [3] [4] Skoryk, who composed the work at the request of the film's director, Volodymyr Denysenko, later said that although other composers had turned down the offer to compose the film's score, he wanted to create music to subvertively convey the film's tragic and emotional themes. [4] [5] It was originally scored for flute and piano; Skoryk later arranged the work for other instruments, including violin with piano or orchestral accompaniment. [6]

Form

Melody is in small ternary form, with an opening theme, short development, and modified reprise of the original theme. It begins mostly in common time with occasional single measures in 3
4, which Skoryk described as creating a "unified statement". In the first eight measures, the key is modulated from A minor to C major and then to E major, a recurring pattern in Ukrainian folk music. According to Skoryk, he chose this sequence after studying many Ukrainian folk songs. The opening theme is then repeated, this time with a more complex counter-melody in the accompaniment. [7]

The eight-measure development is a series of rapid changes in minor keys: from C-sharp minor to G-sharp minor, B minor, and F-sharp minor. The accompaniment in this section similarly increases in intensity, culminating in the reprise of the original theme. The reprise includes additional voices and emphasis on the first four notes of the melody. [7]

Usage

As Skoryk's most well known composition, Melody is frequently performed in concerts and on Ukrainian radio and television. [7] It is frequently described as a spiritual hymn of Ukraine, [2] [8] and has been used in commemorations of the Holodomor and the Revolution of Dignity. [9] [10]

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Melody has been widely performed internationally in benefit concerts and other settings. [11] [12] [13] During a virtual address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United States Congress in March 2022, it accompanied a video of the destruction in Ukraine. [12] The work is part of the concert program of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra during their tour in Europe, selected for its recognisability and sentimentality. [14]

Melody have often been used without permission for commercial purposes - in particular, in the Russian film "The Milkmaid from Khatsapetovka" (2007) [15]

Related Research Articles

Ukrainian music covers diverse and multiple component elements of the music that is found in the Western and Eastern musical civilization. It also has a very strong indigenous Slavic and Christian uniqueness whose elements were used among the areas that surround modern Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mykola Lysenko</span> Ukrainian composer and musician (1842–1912)

Mykola Vitaliiovych Lysenko was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor and ethnomusicologist of the late Romantic period. In his time he was the central figure of Ukrainian music, with an oeuvre that includes operas, art songs, choral works, orchestral and chamber pieces, and a wide variety of solo piano music. He is often credited with founding a national music tradition during the Ukrainian national revival, in the vein of contemporaries such as Grieg in Norway, The Five in Russia as well as Smetana and Dvořák in what is now the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Opera of Ukraine</span> Opera company based in Kyiv

The Kyiv Opera group in Ukraine was formally established in the summer of 1867, and is the third oldest opera in Ukraine, after Odesa Opera and Lviv Opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borys Lyatoshynsky</span> Ukrainian composer (1895–1968)

Borys Mykolaiovych Lyatoshynsky, also known as Boris Nikolayevich Lyatoshinsky, was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher. A leading member of the new generation of 20th century Ukrainian composers, he was awarded a number of accolades, including the honorary title of People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR and two Stalin Prizes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myroslav Skoryk</span> Ukrainian composer and teacher (1938–2020)

Myroslav Mykhailovych Skoryk was a Ukrainian composer and teacher. His music is contemporary in style and contains stylistic traits from Ukrainian folk music traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentyn Silvestrov</span> Ukrainian pianist and composer

Valentyn Vasylyovych Sylvestrov is a Ukrainian composer and pianist, who plays and writes contemporary classical music.

Yevhen Fedorovych Stankovych is a contemporary Ukrainian composer of stage, orchestral, chamber, and choral works.

Ivan Fedorovych Karabyts was a Ukrainian composer and conductor, and a People's Artist of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myroslav Marynovych</span> Ukrainian educator and human rights activist

Myroslav Frankovych Marynovych is a Ukrainian educator, human rights activist, and former Soviet dissident, and longtime vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. The co-founder of Amnesty International Ukraine, Marynovych was a founding member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.

Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28, is a composition for violin and piano, written in the spring and summer of 1915 by the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleksandr Kozarenko</span> Ukrainian pianist (1963–2023)

Oleksandr Kozarenko was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, and musicologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi</span> Ukrainian film director

Myroslav Mykhailovych Slaboshpytskyi is a Ukrainian film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Nebesnyy</span> Ukrainian composer

Ivan Nebesnyy is a Ukrainian composer and music producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khreshchatyk Choir</span> Ukrainian musical ensemble

The Khreshchatyk Choir is a musical ensemble based in Kyiv, Ukraine, named for the central street of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyiv Symphony Orchestra</span> Ukrainian symphony orchestra

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra is a Ukrainian symphony orchestra based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It has been conducted by Luigi Gaggero since 2018. The orchestra played music by Ukrainian composers on a tour to major concert halls in Poland and Germany, beginning in April 2022.

Aleksey Semenenko is a Ukrainian and German classical violinist. He won second prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2015, and has performed in Europe and the U.S. as a soloist and chamber musician. He has been teaching at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Germany's Ruhr Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luigi Gaggero</span> Italian conductor and percussionist (born 1976)

Luigi Gaggero is an Italian percussionist, conductor and academic teacher who has worked internationally. He is the chief conductor of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, and cimbalon teacher at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, the only professor of cimbalon in Western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Tishchenko</span> Ukrainian classical violinist (born 1990)

Diana Tishchenko is a Ukrainian born classical violinist and the winner of the International Long Thibaud Crespin Competition in Paris 2018. Named "Rising Star" by the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) in 2020, she has performed at the leading concert halls of Europe.

Volodymyr Denysenko was a Ukrainian film director and screenwriter. He was a laureate of the Shevchenko Prize in 1979 for the film "Reapers" (ukr.«Женці») and People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR.

Kharkiv Music Festival is an annual international Festival of classical music that has been taking place in Kharkiv, Ukraine, since 2018. The festival includes not only a concert programme, but also an educational programme and activities to promote classical music. Festival events take place both in the concert halls of the Kharkiv Philharmonic Society and Kharkiv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Mykola Lysenko, as well as in unconventional locations such as the subway, shopping malls, art spaces, and open-air venues. Some of the festival events are free of charge and have free admission.

References

  1. ↑ Cantrell, Scott (18 March 2022). "Dallas Symphony brilliantly performs less familiar works by Strauss, Shostakovich and Unsuk Chin". The Dallas Morning News . Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 Courtney, Laryssa Lapychak (10 July 2020). "Myroslav Skoryk, Ukraine's cultural icon, 81". The Ukrainian Weekly . Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  3. ↑ Гоцур, Оксана (18 May 2007). "Іван Вакарчук: «Мирослав Скорик – це творча особистість, без котрої українську музику не можна уявити»" (in Ukrainian). Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 терещук, галина (2 June 2020). "Композитор Мирослав Скорик. На його долю вплинула Соломія Крушельницька". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  5. ↑ Кисілевська, Нінель (17 May 2016). "Мирослав Скорик, композитор, лауреат Шевченківської премії" (in Ukrainian). Ukrinform. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Зінченко, Наталія (7 November 2006). "Мирослав Скорик: 'Соломія Крушельницька порадила моїм батькам послати мене в музичну школу...'". Kreschatic (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Markiw, Victor Radoslav (2010). The Life and Solo Piano Works of the Ukrainian Composer Myroslav Skoryk. Edwin Mellen Press. pp. 116–118. ISBN   978-0-7734-3690-9. OCLC   529958074.
  8. ↑ Shulzhenko, Daria (2 June 2020). "Prominent Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk dies at 81". Kyiv Post . Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Korkatsch-Groszko, Maria; Slobidsky, Marie (1 November 2019). "Holodomor commemoration held at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral". The Ukrainian Weekly . Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Babij, Lana; Kuzma, Alexander (5 January 2019). "University of New Haven hosts concert commemorating Holodomor and Maidan". The Ukrainian Weekly . Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  11. ↑ Feher, Peter (26 April 2022). "L.A. Musicians Stand With Ukraine in Benefit Concert". San Francisco Classical Voice. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  12. 1 2 Kageyama, Yuri (20 April 2022). "Ukrainian opera singer in Japan prays for peace in melody". Associated Press . Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Crowley, Sinéad (11 April 2022). "Ukrainian opera star to sing at St Patrick's Cathedral". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  14. ↑ Tholl, Egbert (26 April 2022). "So verrückt das klingt". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  15. ↑ Gazeta.ua (11 July 2008). ""В Америці гриби не пахнуть"". Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 December 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.