Ensemble Drevo
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| Ensemble Drevo

http://www.magnatune.com/artists/drevo
The Paradise Has Blossomed
Christian folklore singing in Ukraine
One thousand years ago with the ward of Christianity to
Ukraine the culture on these grounds did not begin anew, but its new page
was opened. Alongside with the partially kept prior archaic layers and on
their basis, the Christianity has formed other original forms of culture,
genres and styles.The influence of these processes on national music was
especially expressive.
In pagan times the Kolyadkas (№1,4,5,7–11,14,16,18,20,21)
and Shchedrivkas (№2,15,17,19)
were a component of sacramentals related with New Year Day and vernal
equinox. In later time Kolyadkas and Shchedrivkas (Christmas carols)
became a symbol of Christmastime and other biblical dates and events.
Obviously, such reassess of function has served as the reason of a
semantic and stylistic variety of Kolyadkas and Shchedrivkas, represented
on the disk.
The content of spiritual verses
is always Christian. Their musical stylistics can inherit ancient
epic singing-narrative tradition of east Slavs (№6). The closest
relation with Orthodox Christian religious doctrine and ideology, and also
with Church service music is observed in folk canticles (№3,12,13)
and polychronions (№20,22).
The biblical characters (Jesus Christ, The Theotokos,
apostles Peter and Paul, saint George and saint Basil, Herod the king and
others), and also place of events in folklore musical compositions as
though they are passed through a prism of representation of the Ukrainian
peasant consequently get typical features of Ukrainian everyday life.
The musical stylistics of the folk
compositions, represented on the disk, shows different stages of Ukrainian
folk singing history. Besides it is caused by the certain regional tradition.
The heterophone Kolyadkas and Shchedrivkas from Polissia (North Ukraine)
are the most archaic. The manner of their performance is especially
ceremonial, and reminds a wail (№2,8,11). In other regions of
Ukraine such manner of singing is of rare occurrence
(№15). The characteristics of the later stylistic features are:
adding of an independent top voice to a song melody (№9,14,17,18);
expansion and enriching the canvas with additional voices (№1,12).
So it forms chord-harmonic canticle style of 17-18 centuries
(№3,4,5,7,10,13,16,20,22) and change vocal manner to church singing
(№5,16). Dniper Livoberezhzhia singing (№3,7,13) is noticeable
for its extended, polyphonically wide style. It is very close to local
lyrical singing tradition. In Polissia the singing of winter ceremonial
songs could be traditionally accompanied by a violin (№8,21).
This disk represents only small part of a unique
musical folklore heritage of Ukrainian people. Tunes were recorded on an
audio film in 1978-1999. All of them were performed by singers from
villages of three regions of Ukraine – Pripyat’ Polissia,
Poltavshchina and Cherkashchina. Ensemble "Drevo" has kept
features of local musical stylistics (canvas, characteristic sound, a
melodic variation, ornamentation) and a language dialect.
The ensemble "Drevo" (founded in Kiev in
1979) has begun the movement for authentic reproduction of traditional
peasant music in musical culture of Ukraine. The art director is an
ethnomusicologist, the candidate of an art criticism, senior lecturer of
National musical academy of Ukraine Eugeny Efremov. The ensemble consists
of the young scientists, who collect and investigate traditional national
music of different regions of Ukraine - mainly Polissia, Podillia and
Livobverezhzhia - for many years. "Drevo" recovers the material
gathered in ethnographic expeditions without additional art processing,
keeping its natural, original form.
E. Efremov, O. Shevchuk |

The Paradise Has Blossomed
1. For
a Good Day, O Host, to You 
2. Oh, Uncle, Uncle, in Your Yard
3. Suffering Mother
Stood Near the Cross
4. Sees God, Sees Creator
5. Did You Learn, O
Brothers, Wonderful News
6. Oh, There Were Unfaithful People
7. Have Come the Three Kings to Christ With Gifts
8. Oh, Uncle, Uncle, in
Your Yard
9. Oh, Did You Learn, O People, Such News
10. Graceful Lady Treaded Through the World
11. In the Honoured Lord’s Yard
12. Our Watcher, Show
Us the Way 
13. Wonderful Time Has
Come
14. Oh, in Jerusalem There Are Two Monasteries
15. Oh, in Jerusalem Bells Ring Early in the Morning
16. What Wonderful News
17. Through the Wide Field, Through the Deep Sea
18. Ah, in the Field, in the Field Bees Buzz
19. Oh, Christ Sat to Have a Supper
20. Christmas Day,
Angel Has Come; Many Years
21. Yesterday Night
From the Sky Yard
22. Many Years
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