Bandura - Music and Repertoire

Music and Repertoire

Up until the 20th century, bandura repertoire was an oral tradition based primarily on vocal works sung to the accompaniment of the bandura. These included folk songs, chants, psalms, and epics known as dumy. Some folk dance tunes were also part of the repertoire.

In 1910, the first composition for the bandura was published in Kiev by Hnat Khotkevych. It was a dance piece entitled "Odarochka" for an starosvitsky Kharkiv-style bandura. Khotkevych prepared a book of pieces in 1912, but because of the arrest of the publisher, it was never printed. Despite numerous compositions being composed for the instrument in the late 1920s and early 30's, and the preparation of these works for publication, little music for the instrument was published in Ukraine.

A number of bandura primers appeared in print in 1913-14 written by Mykhailo Domontovych, Vasyl Shevchenko and Vasyl Ovchinnikov, which contained arrangements of Ukrainian folk songs with bandura accompaniment.

In 1926, a collection of bandura compositions compiled by Mykhailo Teliha was published in Prague.

Hnat Khotkevych also prepared a number of collections of pieces for the bandura in 1928, however because of dramatic political changes within the Soviet Union, none of these collections were published.

Professional Ukrainian composers only started composing seriously for the instrument after World War II, and specifically in the 1950-70's including such composers such as Mykola Dremliuha, Anatoly Kolomiyetz, Yuriy Oliynyk and Kost Miaskov who have created complex works such as sonatas, suites, and concerti for the instrument.

In recent times more Ukrainian composers have started to incorporate the bandura in their orchestral works with traditional Ukrainian folk operas such as Natalka Poltavka being re-scored for the bandura, and contemporary works such as Kupalo by Y. Stankovych and The Sacred Dnipro by Valery Kikta incorporating the bandura as part of the orchestra.

Western composers of Ukrainian background such as Yuriy Oliynyk and Peter Senchuk have also begun composing serious works for the bandura.