History of the carol “Raduitesia vsi liudie” from the 17th to the 20th centuries

Abstract

Spiritual song-carol “Raduitesia vsi liudie (Rejoice all people)” appeared in the 17th century. It was recorded in a handwritten form and chronologically it was one of the first Christmas songs on the Ukrainian lands. The area of its widening was the Western Ukrainian lands: from Lemkivshchyna to Lviv and Galician Podilia (contemporary Ternopil region). Already in the 17th century the spiritual song came to the Moscow land through the Ukrainian settlers, where was recorded in collection of songs, which were the first known in these territories. But it did not spread in the “foreign” lands, and at the same time it has gained popularity in Ukraine.On the example of this Christmas song it is possible to trace a creative synthesis of the local Ukrainian tradition with Western influence in melody, rhythm, and song intonations, which became the disclosure of the general tendency of the development of Ukrainian culture during the European Baroque. In the 18th century and at the beginning of the 20th century the carol “Raduitesia vsi liudie” was distributed in the lists, in the editions, and, finally, in printed form. In the text of the carol there were transformations, new melodies and the musical processes with which it was performed. The “live” character of the carol is evidenced by musical experiments carried out by contemporary performers. Well-known composers and arrangers create new melodies and rhythms of the old spiritual song. Musical arrangement of the carol were made by well-known Galician composers of the end of the 19th and first half of the 20th century Josyp Koshakivets and Ostap Nyzhankivsky. Modern Ukrainian singer Ivan Navi recently performed a carol accompanied by a double bass in a rare modern performance. An old carol is getting a second breath, it is performed not only in Ukraine but also in other countries of our region (Russia, Poland) and around the world.Keywords: spiritual song, carol “Raduitesia vsi liudie (Rejoice all people)”, history of music, the Lviv Epiphany Brotherhood