A bandurist () is a person who plays the Ruthenian

plucked string instrument Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the string (music), strings. Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in such a way as to give it an impulse that causes the string to ...

known as the

bandura A bandura ( ) is a Ukrainians, Ukrainian plucked string instrument, plucked-string folk-instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often called a kobza. Early instruments () had 5 to 12 strings and ...

Types of performers

There are a number of different types of bandurist who differ in their particular choice of instrument, the specific repertoire they play and manner in which they approach their vocation. *

Kobzar A ''kobzar'' ( ; ) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed kobza or bandura. Tradition The professional kobzar tradition was established during the Hetmanate Era around the sixteenth cen ...

i, who play authentic ethnographic instruments or copies. This group can also be further categorized into ''authentic'', ''reproduction'', and ''stage'' performers. *Academic players, playing more sophisticated contemporary concert banduras. These performers have a

tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

majoring in bandura performance and typically perform works by Western classical composers in addition to, or instead of, Ukrainian folk music. This category can be further divided into instrumentalists (who only perform instrumental works) and vocalists (who primarily use the bandura to accompany their voice). The most common academic bandurists play in the Kyiv academic style. There are also a number of Kharkiv style academic bandurists. * So-called "Fakeloric" performers, who play stylized songs and repertoire on contemporary instruments. Often these performers refer to themselves as contemporary kobzars. Many contemporary blind bandurists can be placed into this category. *Ensemble performers - performers who sing in a choir and accompany their choral performance with their own playing on the bandura.

Ensembles

Evidence of ensemble playing prior to the 20th century is scarce, although there do exist accounts of two or sometimes three kobzars playing together at bazaars, especially in the area around Kharkiv. The first documented performance by a bandura ensemble however took place in Kharkiv in 1902, at the XIIth Archeological conference. The performance had a very positive effect on the popularity of the bandura and ensemble bandura playing. Attempts were made by

Hnat Khotkevych Hnat Martynovych Khotkevych (, also ''Gnat Khotkevich'' or ''Hnat Khotkevych'', born December 31, 1877 – died October 8, 1938) was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian theater and public figure, engineer, inventor, writer, historian, translator, ethnographe ...

to repeat the performance and take the ensemble on tour throughout

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, but permission was not obtained from the Russian authorities. In 1905 there is evidence of the first performance of a bandura quartet of non-blind bandurists performing in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. From 1906 small bandura ensembles began to form not just from kobzars who had participated in the

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

performance of 1902 but also from non-blind bandurists and had become interested in the instrument. Groups were established by M. Domontovych in Kiev and V. Shevchenko in Moscow and the Kuban. What is considered to be the first professional (in the sense that this was their main livelihood) bandurist ensemble was established by Vasyl Yemetz in 1918 and became known as the Kiev Bandurist Capella. Despite periods in which the ensemble did not function due to the political turmoil within the country, the ensemble re-established and re-defined itself on numerous occasions and through its concerts stimulated the establishment of many other similar bandura groups. By 1928 there were over 900 bandura ensembles in

. Active persecution of bandurists in the 1930s resulted in many players being murdered or persecuted in the 1930s. Many of those that continued playing took the opportunity of seeking freedom emigrating to the West. The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus which was originally established in 1941 during the Nazi occupation emigrated as a group. It settled in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in the USA where it continued to actively propagated the art form in the West. The Kiev State Bandurist Capella was re-established in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1948 under the direction of Oleksander Minkivsky. Many members after being mobilized to the front in 1941 had died. Others had emigrated. It currently has over 70 members. Numerous other bandurist Capellas exist in Ukraine throughout the country having all male membership, mixed membership, or just female membership. A capella made up of blind bandurists also exists in Lviv. Bandurist choruses, ensembles and capellas were also established in

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, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Paraguay, Poland, The United States, and Venezuela.

Renown exponents

Persecution

Many bandurists and

kobzars A ''kobzar'' ( ; ) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed kobza or bandura. Tradition The professional kobzar tradition was established during the Hetmanate Era around the sixteenth cen ...

were persecuted by authorities that controlled Ukraine at various times because of the association of the

with growing Ukrainian national self-awareness.

References

{{Reflist Kobzarstvo Ukrainian musical instruments Occupations in music