Shadows of a Forgotten World

My parents in Chicago have some neat posters from the late Soviet period  announcing various artistic and cultural events in Kyiv. Poster from 1987 Performance of Kupala rituals at the Folk Architecture Museum in Kyiv Organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Міністерство культури української РСР Українське товариство охорони пам'яток історії та культури Музей народної архітектури та побуту УРСР *** Poster from 1989 Academic conference marking the 90th birthday anniversary of Vasyl Sedliar at the Rylsky Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology Спілка художників України Київська організація спілки художників України Інститут мистецтвознавства фольклору та етнографії ім. М. Т. рильського АН УРСР (нині Мистецтва,фольклористики та етнології інститут ім. М. Рильського) *** Poster fom 1981 Exhibition of graphics by Heorhiy Ivanovych Narbuta at the National Art Museum o...

Late last year I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the atmosphere of Lviv's interwar music scene at a live performance of a young band from Warsaw, which plays famous tunes from Poland's 1920-1930s musical heritage. Warszawska Orkiestra Sentymentalna (Warsaw Sentimental Orchestra) comprises a group of young musicians united by their passion for urban folklore. They play familiar and forgotten dance melodies as well as more sentimental tunes for singing and listening. Their repertoir includes songs from prewar theaters, courtyard ballads and couplets from interwar Warsaw and Lviv. The also play compositions by modern artists inspired by urban folklore and traditional Polish melodies, and enliven dance parties with their lively polkas and foxtrots, sultry tangos, and romantic waltzes. The orchestra reaches to the roots of the Polish prewar music scene and continues the tradition of revue performaces, maintaining the timeless charm of these songs while adding their o...

A folk band from Przemysl  —  Krajka, together with Ukrainian musicians  —  released a new album dedicated to the lands that lie along the current Polish-Ukrainian border. "The album contains traditional music from the Polish-Ukrainian borderland, from the regions of Kholm, Lubaczow, Przemysl, to the Carpathian mountains and valleys. These lands were once replete with the splendor and richness of culture, traditions, and ethnos. Today this music is largely unknown and forgotten. It has been reconstructed using recordings gathered during field expeditions and from available materials  —  to save it from oblivion and bring back its ancient luster." "The album 'Krajka. W domu' contains songs exclusively from the Polish-Ukrainian borderland. This territory, on which from time immemorial reigned a balance of diverse cultural components, was brutally destroyed by the war and postwar deportations. The expulsion of Ukrainians, Boykos, and Lemkos is above ...