НАЦІОНАЛЬНА СПРЯМОВАНІСТЬ ТВОРЧОСТІ ВИДАТНОГО УКРАЇНСЬКОГО СПІВАКА ІВАНА КОЗЛОВСЬКОГО

Abstract

The article objectively describes the organic connection between performance activity of the prominent Ukrainian singer Ivan Kozlovskiy with Ukrainian composers and Ukrainian folk singing. Facts derived from life path and creative heritage of Ivan Kozlovskiy showcase his immense patriotism, his boundless love towards his native turf, his great respect for his nation, his love to his mother tongue and to songs written in it. The author emphasises how important it is for a person to realise and come to terms with his or her own national identity, particularly as far as emigry environments are concerned. The individual’s personality is crucially impacted by the system of his or her upbringing and background, by the atmosphere of relations in one’s family, everyday life etc. Ivan Kozlovskiy was brought up in a traditional Ukrainian family wherein love, mutual respect, and overall Christian values were predominant. During the twenty four years Ivan Kozlovskiy spent in Ukraine, he managed to shape his personality and to forge himself into a singer possessing clear national and ethnic identity. These traits pertained to Ivan Kozlovskiy throughout his entire life.In addition to the above, an attempt has been made to reveal the tragic dimension of the creative personality of a performing artist trying to function in the circumstances of a totalitarian regime. Plenty of Ivan Kozlovskiy’s records had not been republished for over half a century. Russian factbooks and reference books never forget to mention that Ivan Kozlovskiy was a prominent representative of the Russian school of vocal singing – they do, however, downright omit the fact that he was, as a matter of fact, performing musical works by Ukrainian composers. A number of his works had been banned from public performances; vinyl recordings of Ivan Kozlovskiy performing kolyadas, Ukrainian Christmas carols, were systematically destroyed. He never had a chance to perform on major global stages outside the Soviet Union. And his last will and testament with a request to be buried on his native turf was also never respected. As of today, the Ukrainian society is presented with an extraordinarily important task: to assemble and put together its national heritage, breadcrumb by breadcrumb, little by little, piece by piece.