Kvitka!

[Kathy]

A piece on remembrance of Kvitka. There is a nice, small interview with her son, who was a child when she passed away, and her husband, who was her producer.

YouTube - Kvitka Cisyk - п п╡я√я┌п╨п╟ пія√я│п╦п╨ - Casey Cisyk - Kasey Cisyk

[Zbyszek]

Originally Posted by Kathy

A piece on remembrance of Kvitka. There is a nice, small interview with her son, who was a child when she passed away, and her husband, who was her producer.

YouTube - Kvitka Cisyk - п п╡я√я┌п╨п╟ пія√я│п╦п╨ - Casey Cisyk - Kasey Cisyk

Kathy, could you elnlighten me on what kind of Ukrainian dialect did Kvitka speak?
When I listen to her (I am Polish) I understand much more than when I listen to Ukrainians currently living in Ukraine.
Listening to the clip above, I understood Kvitka herself much better than the commentaries.
I liked her songs very much. I do not understand what is the reason for the marginal interest in her songs in Ukraine.

[Kathy]

Kvitka's Ukrainian is similar to that spoken by many in Western Ukraine pre Soviet times. There are no Russian influences. Her intonations are similar to many Ukrainian speakers in Canada, down to the "English" accent.

I don't know about now, but Kvitka's music was popular in Ukraine when it was first released because it was very different from then recorded interpretations of that music.

[Kathy]

Another reason you may understand Kvitka better is that she speaks more slowly than most native Ukrainians today.

I have theories on this (urbanization, influence of television). I speak Ukrainian at about Kvitka's speed, as did my Grandmother (God rest her soul), and most of the Ukrainians I grew up around, and even my Grandmother's relatives, who all still lived in her village. My husband speaks Ukrainian far more quickly than I do, closer to the reporters in that clip. So perhaps, it is also just adjusting the ear to a faster pace of speech.

[Kathy]

Zbyszek, I asked my husband why he and his friends were drawn to Kvitka's music. This was his response, some of which echoes what Max said -

"She captured the soul of those Ukrainian folk songs. All the Soviet interpretations were empty because those singers did not understand what they were singing. They could sing the words, but the intention of the piece was missing. It was like a matrioshka, and at the end, there is nothing. Evidently, Kvitka's parents imbued in her an understanding of what these songs really meant. And she, evidently, also was a living soul."

[Zbyszek]

Originally Posted by Kathy

Zbyszek, I asked my husband why he and his friends were drawn to Kvitka's music. This was his response, some of which echoes what Max said -

"She captured the soul of those Ukrainian folk songs. All the Soviet interpretations were empty because those singers did not understand what they were singing. They could sing the words, but the intention of the piece was missing. It was like a matrioshka, and at the end, there is nothing. Evidently, Kvitka's parents imbued in her an understanding of what these songs really meant. And she, evidently, also was a living soul."

Katya, thank you very much for your reply. The topic is very interesting to me. I still remember one old Irinka's opinion on Ukrainian that is spoken currently in Canada. She said it was strangely distorted dialect of true Ukrainian tongue. (Irinka emigrated from Odesa as far as I remember). Irinka expressed her unpleasant feeling concerning the language spoken in Canada as so very far from true Ukrainian language. At the same time another user named Laryska maintained that Canadian Ukrainian reflects true heart of Ukrainian tongue.
My son who is advanced in his Ukrainian studies (at the University of Warsaw) says that Kvitka's way of speaking makes him think of her Halychyna's ancestors. His lecturers mostly base on Ukrainian spoken in Poltava's region.
Yes, I also think that the tempo of speaking contributes to better or poor understanding.
One of my elder uncles (85) who lives in the village in central Poland, not speaking English or any other foreign language, recently visited his daughter living in Bolton near Toronto, Canada and reported to me he was able to talk efficiently with one local Canadian Ukrainian. I was somewaht surprised but now, listening to Kvitka, I am more inclined to believe him.
Now Kathy, I am also more optimististic about being able to understand you speaking Ukrainian to me one day! Greetings to you and your family.

One more thing - it is difficult for me to accept that those Soviet singers did not truly understand what they sang about. I believe you but at the same time, when I come back to my younger years, I can hardly imagine that some folk bands performed without deep understanding of the song climate. I still remember how much care was applied to arrange the songs so that they sounded natural. There was plenty of talk about it and even when I sent my own little then kids to special folk dance and music centres located at or near their school, they received plenty of information on the region the song came from and on the associated musical/historical context. Also, great care was devoted to prepare folk clothes for the final show at the end of schoolyear. Usually, mothers sewed necessary skirts or trousers themselves.

As to dialects - they die at sadly high speed because of TV/Radio/Internet national impact.

[Kathy]

Greetings to you and your family as well, Zbyszek. I am certain you are busy with your garden.

Toronto's Ukrainian community is predominantly from Western Ukraine, with some Eastern Ukrainians, but it is mostly a post WWII emigration (unlike in Western Ukraine, which has a more mixed emigration).

What I noticed among post WWII emigres was more Polish influences than in those who emigrated in, for example, the 1920's. But, I still believe Irinka is incorrect if she is referring to the language itself. However, if her contacts were with Ukrainians born in Canada, there is a difference in how we speak. Our sentence structure has been Anglicized, because most of us think in English. I don't know if she was referring to this nuance of language or something else.

On the other hand, most Eastern Ukrainians I met, and even many of my relatives and contacts in Western Ukraine (Ivano Frankivsk, Ternopil), used Russian words, mixing them in their Ukrainian language because they were schooled in Russian, and they did not even recognize the words as non Ukrainian.

I believe you would understand my Ukrainian easily, Zbyszek .

One more thing - it is difficult for me to accept that those Soviet singers did not truly understand what they sang about. I believe you but at the same time, when I come back to my younger years, I can hardly imagine that some folk bands performed without deep understanding of the song climate. I still remember how much care was applied to arrange the songs so that they sounded natural. There was plenty of talk about it and even when I sent my own little then kids to special folk dance and music centres located at or near their school, they received plenty of information on the region the song came from and on the associated musical/historical context. Also, great care was devoted to prepare folk clothes for the final show at the end of schoolyear. Usually, mothers sewed necessary skirts or trousers themselves

I think he meant at a spiritual level, rather than in the music. I understand what he is saying, because I experienced this myself, though not with music.

I saw the performances of the best Ukrainian and Russian dance companies, performing traditional Ukrainian dances, such as the hopak. The dancing was technically perfect. Flawless, in fact. But it did not touch me the way the dancers of non professional companies in Canada, such as Shumka and Cheremosh, did, even though the latter could not compare on a technical level. I think it is because the latter did this out of the love of dance, nothing more. (Both companies have since adopted more "professional" training and, have lost some of that passion).

PS - Here is another link to Kvitka songs online, which can also be downloaded.

Eugenius D80 on IMEEM