THE RESONANCE CHORAL WORK OF MYKOLA LEONTOVYCH IN INTERWAR CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Abstract

The relevance of the study of the work of the outstanding Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (1877–1921), the 145th anniversary of whose birth we celebrate this year, is due to the desire to understand this phenomenon in the context of his presence in the world cultural space. The purpose of our article is to highlight the resonance of Mykola Leontovych’s choral work in interwar Czechoslovakia as a factor in preserving Ukrainian national identity in the diaspora and promoting Ukrainian musical culture in a foreign environment. The research methodology is based on a combination of general scientific and special art studies methods, in particular historical-cultural and phenomenological. The specified methodological approach allows us to consider the popularization of the work of the Ukrainian composer as a result of the efforts of representatives of various fields of musical art (conductors, members of choral groups, musicologists, critics), the creation of cultural and musical practice in conditions of emigration as a phenomenal phenomenon. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive coverage of the resonance of Mykola Leontovych work in interwar Czechoslovakia on the basis of little-studied and new sources and their introduction into scientific circulation. Conclusions. The actualization of Mykola Leontovych choral heritage by the Ukrainian diaspora in the interwar period was a factor in the preservation of its national and cultural identities, a manifestation of the indomitable spirit of our people who fought for independence and freedom, a means of popularizing and establishing it in the world cultural space. The prominent Ukrainian conductor Oleksandr Koshyts, as one of the first interpreters of M. Leontovych choral works, promoted them, introducing them to the repertoire of the Ukrainian Republican Chapel. His assistant, the subconductor of the chapel, Platonida Shchurovska-Rossinevych, in the interwar period became a key figure in the Ukrainian choral process in the Czech SSR and actively performed the works of M. Leontovych with the choral groups she led for more than twenty years. The updating of the composer’s works was facilitated by their inclusion in choral collections and songbooks. The scientific interpretation of the choral treatment of the Ukrainian folk song was first carried out by the Czech musicologista Zdenel Neyedly and Yaroslav Krzychka.