Traditional Ukrainian Music

ShchukaRyba is a folk group from Kyiv, dedicated to recreating and popularizing traditional music in various formats. The group researches and presents vocal and instrumental music in its original sound, while also experimenting with combinations of traditional and contemporary genres. ShchukaRyba has three projects that reproduce traditional music in its authentic sound — the acapella group, the instrumental group, and the male vocal group. The acapella group presents singing in its original traditional sound and polyphony through aesthetic imagery. With acapella group, ShchukaRyba reproduces songs from archival folklore audio recordings, mainly from the central regions of Ukraine. The instrumental group is mostly involved in live events, dance workshops, and hosting parties with live traditional instrumental music. This project recreates a practice that existed 100 or more years ago when Ukrainians danced at evening gatherings accompanied by instrumental music. It typically consists of two violins, bass and tambourine. The group reproduces, and sometimes reconstructs, musical material originating from Vinnytsia, Sumy, Poltava, Cherkasy, and Ternopil regions. The male vocal project — mainly gives solo concerts dedicated to holidays or commemorative days. The tradition of male singing, once widespread throughout most of Ukraine and associated with the Ukrainian military environment, has been almost lost, so its reproduction is of particular importance. The practice of male singing was best preserved in the Kuban region, where it was recorded in the 1990s from Ukrainians whose ancestors were Cossacks, resettled to Kuban at the end of the 18th century by order of Catherine II. Thus, the main part of this project's repertoire comes from Kuban. Website: linktr.ee/shch.uka.ryba Instagram: instagram.com/shch.uka.ryba/ Email: [email protected]

The US Orchestra plays traditional music from different regions of Ukraine, which is found in archives and recorded in field expeditions. The vast majority of the repertoire consists of dance tunes, as well as ceremonial wedding music. These are the golden standards of Ukrainian traditional music that has been playing for over 200 years. "Ukraine has an incredibly powerful tradition of violin music in particular. It varies in sound, logic of melodies, passion, manner and style of playing. Furthermore, Ukrainian music adopted a lot from its neighbors — Poles, Romanians, Moldovans and others who lived on the border or nearby, like Jews. Yes, the influences of klezmer music are obvious to attentive listeners. We are interested in exploring and preserving local peculiarities, because these differences make the taste of music itself" "We respect and love our traditional music as it is. We feel a responsibility to play it, carefully reproducing original recordings from traditional musicians. Every new find, old photo, story about musicians is part of our culture. Sharing this with the world is our mission" US Orchestra are participants of international festivals in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Germany and Poland. Musicians also perform instrumental and ukrainian traditional dance master classes. Since 2017, the band has released three albums. Website: linktr.ee/US_Orchestra Instagram: instagram.com/us_orchestra/ Contact: [email protected]

Viltse is a folk group made up of young women from Kyiv. The singers perform traditional music without interpretations, loving it truly as it is. To get as close to an authentic sound as possible, they learn songs from expedition recordings, travel to villages to record the songs, and learn singing and ancient knowledge from the old performers. The band's repertoire covers a variety of genres, but it is dominated by ceremonial wedding songs. This choice is determined by the composition of the collective because in traditional culture it was women's voices that accompanied many sacral moments. Higher sounds spread better in wide open spaces, and according to folk beliefs, such singing can awaken the forces of nature, and facilitate communication with the ancestors. All the spring, summer, and family ceremonies were celebrated by women and girls. The name of the group is also related to weddings. A "viltse" is a small tree decorated with ribbons, candy, and flowers during a wedding celebration. It becomes a symbol of fertility, plentitude, and continuous renewal of life. Currently, the ensemble consists of seven members, of which six are professional folklore artists and researchers. The aim of the group is to introduce as many people as possible to traditional Ukrainian culture, to show how beautiful, rich, and relevant (especially!) it is right now. Website: https://linktr.ee/viltsegiltse Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_viltse_/ Email: [email protected]

DvaTry is a group from Kyiv and the area that performs Ukrainian traditional instrumental music from Polissia and Naddniprianshchyna regions. The group members are dedicated to popularizing authentic folk dances in their natural environment and are convinced that everyone can dance. Currently, DvaTry has a full ensemble of musicians: two violinists, a bassist, and a tambourine player/percussionist. DvaTry sources their music from open sources: mainly CDs with traditional music recorded during expeditions by researchers and folklorists in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. "Unfortunately, nowadays, one can find only remnants of instrumental performance in villages (or stories and tales about musicians and dances); the tradition is dying out," Maria Kononchuk, the violinist of DvaTry, notes sadly. "That's why we're doing this — to organically and naturally preserve the continuity of authentic instrumental performance in modern realities." The music that DvaTry plays for dancing is proof that folk dances should be for the people, not for the professional stage. They are simple, understandable, and accessible to everyone. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dva.try/ Email: [email protected]

Shum'ya is a folk group born in the winter of 2022. Their planned debut on February 24, 2022, was disrupted by Russia's full—scale invasion of Ukraine, delaying their first public performance until August of that year. The group's diverse membership includes a programmer, veterinarian, museum worker, lawyer—turned—video editor and entrepreneur, and two students of directing and scenography. None have formal training in folklore or ethnomusicology. They learned traditional singing through various means: masterclasses, old recordings, and observing experienced singers at parties. Shum'ya sources songs from their own expeditions, relatives, and both open and closed archives. The current lineup consists of six members: Tetiana Sobko, Maksym Leontiev, Anna Komar, Oleksandr Fedorenko, Olha Sterneichuk, and Marta Kudriakova. Since their formation, Shum'ya has performed at charity events, festivals in Ukraine and abroad, and given solo concerts. They've also reconstructed a traditional Khmelnytskyi region wedding at the National Taras Shevchenko Museum. Their first album, "Voices," was released and presented in June 2024, available on all streaming platforms. The group's repertoire includes about a hundred songs of various genres, recorded at different times in Polissia, Podillia, Naddniprianshchyna, Slobozhanshchyna, and Ukrainian Kuban regions. Website: https://linktr.ee/shum.ya Instagram: instagram.com/shum.ya.project Email: [email protected]

Syvash Station - a capella group performing and promoting music heritage from the South of Ukraine, particularly from Kherson, which is in need of significant attention and support due to its partial occupation. Syvash Station combines polyphonic singing techniques with storytelling elements, immersing listeners in the context of dance, vocal and instrumental material that reproduces and reinterprets the traditions of southern Ukraine based on expedition recordings and archival sources. Thus, the band focuses on the artistic and folk customs of Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv regions and Crimea, through which the performers promote the diversity of Ukrainian culture and identity. The band participates in fundraisers to support the people of Kherson. Insta: https://www.instagram.com/syvashst/

"Rys" is traditional music open to everyone! Since 2014, we have been bringing together people interested in traditional music and helping each person make traditional music a part of their modern lifestyle. In 2014, we started our first expedition to remote villages, fell in love with this music, and established Ukraine's first platform for informal education in traditional music. Today, "Rys" is a community of musicians, cultural managers, musical instrument makers, vocal and traditional instrument teachers, and researchers based in Kyiv. Many centuries ago, this music emerged for the most important life events and daily situations — parties, weddings, celebrations, dances, close gatherings, and simply to have a good time with friends. In recent years, it has increasingly been heard in Ukrainian cities. Today, we learn singing and instrument playing at courses in our community space, host screenings of expedition videos, lectures, and a multidisciplinary Summer School of Traditional Music. New generations of musicians and singers are rediscovering golden standards of songs and dance tracks, perfected over centuries of parties and festivities, in their own interpretations, preserving the complex techniques of playing and singing, as well as the living spirit of this music. Since 2014, "Rys" has conducted 7 Schools of Traditional Music, over 50 various musical events, and numerous expeditions, and has involved about 1,300 participants in educational events.