Shadows of a Forgotten World

Stiles, or perelazy in Ukrainian, are structures that provide people with a way to easily pass over a fence while at the same time preventing farm animals from passing through. Stiles are found in the countryside around the world and come in all kinds of forms. In the Carpathians, they are typically made of wood, and even in just one village I came across several different types. Perelazy from the beautiful Hustul village of Kryvorivnia Perelazy have even found their way into Ukrainian folklore: there are dozens of folk songs that feature perelazy in their texts. Ой не світи, місяченьку та й на той перелаз  (Oh, moon, don't shine on that perelaz) In fact, you can even karaoke sing about perelazy ! Перелаз, мій перелаз (Perelaz, my perelaz)

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...

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 ...

The Galician (Spain) folk band Sangre de Muerdago released a new EP "Os Segredos da Raposa Vermella"  (The Secrets of the Red Fox) "Before humans started building with concrete and steel, much earlier before machines reigned, and the steam locomotive was invented. There was a little red fox that wandered through the woods of the Iberian northwest, in a land where its people were  known as the Galaicos. This red fox liked to listen to the melodies of the leaves and the stones, to the songs of the streams and flowers, and she sung and sung and whistled as she wandered through the forests looking for food and adventures. Until one day she knew so many songs, more songs than any other red fox in those woods. Even more songs than the ravens themselves. Afraid of forgetting those beautiful melodies, she decided to start writing a little book with her favourite songs. The book had a cover of moss and paper of birch bark, and on its pages she wrote and drew. Many ...

DakhaBrakha is an "ethno-chaos" band from Kyiv, created in 2014. They have gained a following around the world, have toured extensively, and have even performed an NPR Tiny Desk Concert and as well as on KEXP. "Having experimented with Ukrainian folk music, the band has added rhythms of the surrounding world into their music, thus creating bright, unique and unforgettable image of DakhaBrakha. It will help to open up the potential of Ukrainian melodies and to bring it to the hearts and consciousness of the younger generation in Ukraine and the rest of the world as well," from their website . One of the songs that stands out most to me, due to the music as well as the lyrics, is the song "Ванюша" (Vaniusha), the events of which take place during the Seven Years' War (1754-1763). I wonder whether this song was truely passed down for two and half centuries. The lyrics are quite dark and gruesome, however, so it is hard to believe it is documenting...

Burdon, formed in 2002 in Lviv, is a great example of a band that preserves and promotes folk music, allowing a new generation of people to enjoy and cherish the music of their ancestors. "We're using acoustic folk instruments for the best reproduction of atmosphere of old dances which didn't change through centuries. But our music is not a real authentic reflection, we play modern folklore. We don't invent any new tunes, we play old and often very famous ones, with our own arrangement and modern influences." from their website . In additional to more common instruments such as the fiddle, double bass, accordion, they also incorporate many other interesting instruments such as the lira (hurdy-gurdy), bouzouki, and moraharpa. In addition to  traditional Ukrainian and Carpathian songs, they also play Romanian, Hungarian, Balkan songs.

"Presenting six young people who have created their own version of Polish folk punk! This band has found a welcome in the homes of elderly village musicians who see their traditions disappearing before the onslaught of urban life. They have taken these youngsters under their wing and have taught them the ancient repertoire. The band describes "Cranes" as "an anarchistic protest song; a classic example of defiance and disobedience and a lesson for contemporary societies...Go back home children and be nobody's servants."" from Link TV . "In other moments, the Warsaw Village Band finds comic contemporary possibilities in older tunes. The liner notes to People's Spring describe "Who Is Getting Married" as "a feminist composition, an example of contemporary ideas on emancipation, which apparently existed in the former Polish countryside. "The song's female protagonist sings a tale of not wanting to be married,...