This article will address Prayer for Ukraine, a topic that has gained great relevance in recent times. Prayer for Ukraine has captured the attention of experts and the general public due to its impact and relevance in different aspects of society. Throughout history, Prayer for Ukraine has been the subject of study and debate, which has generated various interpretations and approaches to this topic. In this sense, it is important to analyze Prayer for Ukraine from multiple perspectives in order to understand its scope and impact in various areas. That is why this article is presented, with the aim of providing a comprehensive and updated view on Prayer for Ukraine, providing relevant information for the reader interested in delving deeper into this fascinating topic.
It was printed in Lviv in the summer of 1885, intended for a children's choir. The first title read: Молитва. Гімнѣ, на жѣночи голоси. Слова О. Я. Кониського, музика Миколы Лисенка, — Львовѣ., 1885, Лит П. Прищляка, 4 с. (Prayer. Hymn, for women's voices. Text written by O. Ya. Konysky, Music Mykola Lysenko, Lviv., 1885, Lithography P. Pryshliak, 4 p.). It came as a score, with separate parts for soprano and alto. The setting proved to be too difficult for usual children's choirs.
On August 2, Prayer was first performed in Ternopil at a literary and musical evening on the occasion of a travel of Lviv students in Podillya.
The Prayer became widespread in the beginning of the 20th century in arrangements for mixed choir made by Viktor Matiuk [uk] in 1907, and Kyrylo Stetsenko and Oleksandr Koshyts in the 1910s. It acquired symbolic significance during the Ukrainian War of Independence in 1917–1920, then performed by thousands of choirs, conducted by Kyrylo Stetsenko, on Bohdan Khmelnytsky Square in Kyiv. It was sung at a national-patriotic rally on 20 December 1917, and on the occasion of the Unification Act of the UPR and WUPR on 22 January 1919.
"Prayer for Ukraine" has been recorded several times.Oreya, a choir focused on Ukrainian music, chose the hymn as the first song of their 2000 album, its name as the title. It was also the opening of their 20th anniversary album in 2009. In 2002, Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus recorded "Prayer for Ukraine" in the album Golden echoes of Kyiv. In 2020, Mykhailo Khoma of Dzidzio recorded the hymn with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, conducted by Oksana Lyniv.
2022
"Prayer for Ukraine" has been performed internationally in church services related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, already in anticipation of the conflict. On 24 February 2022, the day that the invasion officially began, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra spontaneously included "Prayer for Ukraine", arranged by its music librarian Serge Liberovsky, in a series concert in Santa Monica, between Mozart's Divertimento for String Trio and Dvořák's Serenade for Winds. It was introduced by an address about its significance. On 26 February, the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York, a group founded in 1949 "to preserve and cultivate the rich musical heritage of Ukraine", performed the hymn in the cold open of Saturday Night Live, standing behind a table of candles that were arranged to spell "Kyiv".
References
^ abcdefgКузцк, В. (2011). "Молитва 'Боже великий, єдиний'". In Skrypnyk, H. (ed.). Українська музична енциклопедія [Ukrainian Music Encyclopedia] (in Ukrainian). Vol. 3 (Л – М). Kyiv: Rylsky Institute of Art Studies, Folklore and Ethnology. p. 460. ISBN978-966-02-4099-5.
^Мацко, Ольга (3 October 2002). "Ще не вмерла Україна". Поступ плюс: аналітичний погляд на світ (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
^"Голубченко Анатолий Константинович" [Holubchenko, Anatoliy Kostiantynovych]. Официальный веб-портал Киевськой городской власти (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
^Postevka, Nick (4 June 2018). "Боже Великий, Єдиний" [Prayer for Ukraine] (in Ukrainian). Телеканал Надія. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
^Мазан, Андрій (24 January 2019). "День Соборності (день Злуки)" (in Ukrainian). Zhovkva City Council. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.