Nikolay Lysenko (1990s)
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Mykola Vitaliiovych Lysenko (; 22 March 1842 – 6 November 1912) was a Ukrainian composer,
pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
, conductor and
ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...
of the late
Romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
. In his time he was the central figure of
Ukrainian music Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...
, with an ''oeuvre'' that includes operas,
art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...
s, choral works, orchestral and chamber pieces, and a wide variety of solo piano music. He is often credited with founding a national music tradition during the
Ukrainian national revival The Ukrainian National Revival () took place during a period when the territory of modern Ukraine was divided between the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Russian Empire after the partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th centur ...
, in the vein of contemporaries such as
Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of N ...
in Norway, The Five in Russia as well as Smetana and Dvořák in what is now the Czech Republic. By studying and drawing from
Ukrainian folk music Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...
, promoting the use of the
Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...
, and separating himself from Russian culture, his compositions form what many consider the quintessential essence of Ukrainian music. This is demonstrated best in his epic opera ''
Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons Andriy and Ostap. The sons study at th ...
'' from the novella of the same name by
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...
, in which the grandeur, complexity and Ukrainian-language libretto prevented its staging during Lysenko's lifetime. To promote and cultivate Ukrainian culture, Lysenko set works by many Ukrainian poets to music, especially
Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
, to whom he was particularly devoted. His musical setting of a patriotic poem by
Oleksandr Konysky Oleksandr Yakovych Konysky (18 August 1836 – 12 December 1900) was a Ukrainian interpreter, writer, lexicographer, pedagogue, poet, and civil activist of liberal direction. He had around 150 pen names, including О. Return-freedom (), F. Gorov ...
, known as the "
Prayer for Ukraine File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...
", has become Ukraine's spiritual anthem. Lysenko had a profound influence on later
Ukrainian composers This is a list of Ukrainian composers of European classical music, classical music who were either born on the territory of modern-day Ukraine or were ethnically Ukrainian. List by century of birth 15th century 16th century 17th century ...
, including
Stanyslav Lyudkevych Stanyslav Pylypovych Lyudkevych (, ; 24 January 1879 – 10 September 1979) was a Soviet and Ukrainian composer, theorist, teacher, and musical activist. People's Artist of the USSR (1969) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1979). His name may altern ...
,
Alexander Koshetz Alexander Koshetz (12 September 1875 – 21 September 1944) was a Ukrainian choral conductor, arranger, composer, ethnographer, writer, musicologist, and lecturer. He helped popularize Ukrainian music around the world. His name is sometim ...
,
Kyrylo Stetsenko Kyrylo Hryhorovych Stetsenko (; May 12, 1882 – April 29, 1922) was a prolific Ukrainian composer, conductor, critic, and teacher. Late in his life he became a Ukrainian Orthodox Priest and head of the Music section of the Ministry of Education ...
,
Yakiv Stepovy Yakiv Stepanovych Stepovy () (October 20, 1883 – November 4, 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, music teacher, and music critic. Stepovy was born Yakiv Yakymenko (Akimenko) in Kharkiv, in the Russian Empire (in present-day Ukraine). Stepovy's olde ...
, and most importantly,
Mykola Leontovych Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (, ; 23 January 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, and teacher. His music was inspired by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko and the Ukrainian National Music School. Leontovych spec ...
. He is the namesake of the
Mykola Lysenko International Music Competition The Mykola Lysenko Music Competition, named after Mykola Lysenko, was founded in 1962 by the Ukrainians, Ukrainian composers Andriy Shtoharenko, Yevhen Stankovych, Myroslav Skoryk, Levko Kolodub, the singer Yelyzaveta Chavdar, pianists Yevhen R ...
and the
Lysenko music school Kyiv National Ivan Karpovych Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema and Television University () is the national university specializing exclusively in performing arts and located in Kyiv, Ukraine.Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University Kyiv National Ivan Karpenko-Karyi, Ivan Karpovych Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema and Television University () is the national university specializing exclusively in performing arts and located in Kyiv, Ukraine.Hrynky, near
Kremenchugsky Uyezd Kremenchugsky Uyezd (''Кременчугский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Kremenchug (Kremenchu ...
of the
Poltava Governorate Poltava Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796–1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Polt ...
(now
Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...
,
Poltava Oblast Poltava Oblast (), also referred to as Poltavshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory was par ...
, Ukraine) on 22 March 1842. His hometown was a small village near the
Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...
river, and between the major cities of
Kyiv 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, ...
and
Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...
. At the time, Ukraine was split between the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
and
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
. The Lysenko family was wealthy and educated; they were an old
aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
family stemming back to
Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
of the 17th-century. Among their descendants were the
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
() who had commanded the
Chernihiv Regiment The Chernigov Regiment (also known as ''Chernihiv Regiment'' or the ''Regiment of Chernigov'', , ) was one of ten territorial-administrative subdivisions of the Registered Zaporozhian Host, later incorporated as an autonomy in Tsardom of Russia. ...
and fought in both the Chyhyrin Campaigns and
Azov campaigns Azov (, ), previously known as Azak (Turki/Cuman language, Kypchak: ), is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River (Russia), Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name ...
; Ivan Lysenko's son, () had served as a
yesaul Yesaul, osaul or osavul (, ) (from Turkic yasaul - ''chief''), is a post and a rank in the Russian and Ukrainian Cossack units. The first records of the rank imply that it was introduced by Stefan Batory, King of Poland in 1576. Cossacks in R ...
and . Mykola Lysenko's father was , the great grandson of Fedir and a colonel himself. The composer had two younger siblings, a sister, and a brother, . Lysenko studied music at an early age, first receiving piano instruction from his mother. At the age of nine, he was brought to Kyiv to continue musical study in
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
s. He studied piano under and
music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...
. His early compositions from this time survive, including a Polka () and Nocturne (1859–1860) for piano, as well as a piece for
string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...
, ''Moldavskaya, Russian Pizzicato'' (1859–1860). In 1860, Lysenko attended the Gymnasium of
Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
, and studied
natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
s at the city's university, and later at the
Kyiv University The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...
. At the latter he continued his music studies with Dmitriyev, Wilczyk and Wolner, and graduated in 1865 with a degree in the natural sciences. Lysenko then completed two years of
civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
in
Tarashcha Tarashcha or Tarascha (, ) is a city in Bila Tserkva Raion, Kyiv Oblast (region) in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Tarashcha urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: History Tarashcha is an historic Cossack t ...
county as a for disputes involving former
serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...
s and their land-ownership claims. He pursued further music studies at the
Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...
, Germany, from 1867 to 1869, where his primary teachers included
Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid-Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as u ...
for piano as well as
Ernst Richter Ernst Friedrich Eduard Richter (24 October 18089 April 1879), was a German musical theorist and composer, born at Großschönau, Saxony. He first studied music at Zittau, and afterwards at Leipzig, where he attained so high a reputation that in ...
for composition and theory.


Emerging composer

From his youth, Lysenko had developed an intense enthusiasm for Ukrainian music and culture, particularly from the influence of his grandparents, and his enjoyment of peasant songs. In the early 1860s he began to collect and publish
Ukrainian folk songs Ukrainian may refer or relate to: * Ukraine, a country in Eastern Europe * Ukrainians, an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine * Demographics of Ukraine * Ukrainian culture, composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian peopl ...
, often with the minstrel
Ostap Veresai Ostap Mykytovych Veresai () (1803–April 1890) was a renowned minstrel and kobzar from the Poltava Governorate (now Chernihiv oblast) of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine). He helped to popularize kobzar art both within Ukraine and beyond. He is n ...
's help. He would later publish seven volumes of arrangements and transcriptions of these between 1868 and 1911. The philosophers
Vissarion Belinsky Vissarion Grigoryevich Belinsky (; Pre-reform spelling: Виссаріонъ Григорьевичъ Бѣлинскій. – ) was a Russian literary critic of Westernizing tendency. Belinsky played one of the key roles in the career of p ...
,
Nikolay Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism and the N ...
and
Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the precursor of Russian socialism and one of the main precursors of agrarian populism (being an ideological ancestor of the Narodniki, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Trudo ...
influenced him. His early works included musical settings of Ukrainian poets, particularly
Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
, an important figure of early Ukrainian literature, whose text he set in the choral work ''Zapovit'' ('The Testament'). Two other factors were important to his nationalistic fervor: close relationships with his cousin,
Mykhailo Starytsky Mykhailo Petrovych Starytsky (; 14 December 1840 – 27 April 1904), in English Michael Starycky, was a Ukrainian writer, poet, and playwright. Biography He was born in a family of retired cavalry officers (Rittmeister) Petro Starytsky and ...
, the historian
Volodymyr Antonovych Volodymyr Bonifatiyovych Antonovych (; ; , tr. ''Vladímir Bonifát'evich Antonóvich''; – ) was a prominent Ukrainian historian, archivist and archaeologist, who was known as one of the most prominent figures of the Ukrainian national revi ...
and the scholar Tadei Rylsky; and also his association with the
hromada In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level Administrative divisions of Ukraine, local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine, Government of Uk ...
in Kyiv, the . Lysenko concluded that music was the best way he could express his patriotism, and aimed to create an independent school of Ukrainian music, rather than duplicate existing styles of
Western classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
. In 1869 Lysenko returned to Kyiv, and in the words of music historian
Richard Taruskin Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...
, "he returned home a committed musical nationalist". On his return to Kyiv he continued to arrange and study Ukrainian folk melodies. He split his time between numerous activities: giving piano lessons, working at the
Russian Musical Society The Russian Musical Society (RMS) () was the first music school in Russia open to the general public. It was launched in 1859 by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and Anton Rubinstein, one of the few notable Russian pianists and composers of th ...
(RMS) chapter in Kyiv, and composing. During this period Lysenko wrote his first opera ''Chernomortsy'' (the 'Black Sea Sailors') between 1872 and 1873. Also during these years he wrote an orchestral
fantasia Fantasia may refer to: Film and television * ''Fantasia'' (1940 film), an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney ** '' Fantasia 2000'', a sequel to the 1940 film * ''Fantasia'' (2004 film), a Hong Kong comedy film * ''Fantasia'' (201 ...
, entitled ''Ukraïns′kyy kazak-shumka'' (Ukrainian Cossack Song) and a chamber piece for flute, violin and piano, the Fantasy on Ukrainian Themes. Lysenko went to
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
from 1874 to 1876 to study
orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...
with
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...
. Besides Rimsky-Korsakov, he met with other members of The Five, particularly
Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...
, who was working on an opera set in Ukraine, ''
The Fair at Sorochyntsi ''The Fair at Sorochyntsi'' (, ''Sorochinskaya yarmarka'', ''Sorochyntsi Fair'') is a comic opera in three acts by Modest Mussorgsky, composed between 1874 and 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The composer wrote the libretto, which is based on Ni ...
''. During this short stay in Saint Petersburg Lysenko conducted a choir and wrote many piano compositions, writing more than 10 works in a variety of genres.


Settling in Kyiv

Lysenko led another choir when he returned to Kyiv 1876. Many of the choristers under Lysenko's instruction would become composers, including Levko Revutsky, Porfyrii Demutsky,
Kyrylo Stetsenko Kyrylo Hryhorovych Stetsenko (; May 12, 1882 – April 29, 1922) was a prolific Ukrainian composer, conductor, critic, and teacher. Late in his life he became a Ukrainian Orthodox Priest and head of the Music section of the Ministry of Education ...
and his son . Other acitives included organizing concerts for Veresai and giving music lessons, often at the . By the late 1870s, Lysenko was recognized as a leading figure in Ukrainian music. As a Ukrainian composer living in a Russian-controlled state he endured continued difficulties from the government. His relationship with the RMS gradually deteriorated, until he was completely ignored. Unlike his Russian colleagues, Lysenko received no state support, and sometimes active resistance from Russian officials. He was repeatedly monitored by the government and often attacked in the local press, because his activities in support of Ukrainian culture made him suspicious to the political officials – in particular his frequent meetings with other Ukrainian patriots, and later, his support of the
1905 revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...
and heading of the Ukrainian Club. He was jailed for his stance on the revolution in 1907. The
Ems Ukaz The Ems Ukaz or Ems Ukase (; ), was an internal decree (''ukaz'') of Emperor Alexander II of Russia issued on banning the use of the Ukrainian language in print except for reprinting old documents. The ukaz also forbade the import of Ukrainia ...
decree of 1876 that banned use of the Ukrainian language in print was one of the obstacles for Lysenko; he had to publish some of his scores abroad, while performances of his music had to be authorized by the imperial censor. For his
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
libretti A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...
Lysenko insisted on using only Ukrainian. He was so intent on promoting and elevating the Ukrainian culture that he didn't allow his opera ''
Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons Andriy and Ostap. The sons study at th ...
'' to be translated – he maintained that it was too ambitious to be staged in Ukrainian opera houses.
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
was impressed by the opera and wanted to stage the work 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 ...
. Lysenko's insistence on it being performed in Ukrainian, not Russian, prevented the performance from taking place in Moscow.


Later career

In his later years, Lysenko raised funds to open a Ukrainian School of Music, known as the
Lysenko music school Kyiv National Ivan Karpovych Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema and Television University () is the national university specializing exclusively in performing arts and located in Kyiv, Ukraine.Natalka Poltavka'', '' Utoplena'' (''The Drowned Maiden'', after
Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...
's '' May Night'') and ''
Taras Bulba ''Taras Bulba'' (; ) is a romanticized historical novella set in the first half of the 17th century, written by Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852). It features elderly Zaporozhian Cossack Taras Bulba and his sons Andriy and Ostap. The sons study at th ...
'', ''
Nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' "of the night") was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...
'', and two operas for children—'' Koza-dereza'' and '' Mr. Kotsky''.


Art songs

Of his Ukrainian colleagues, Lysenko was the composer most committed to
art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...
s (). His works in this genre number 133, and "relate a wonderfully descriptive and passionate story of 19th- and early 20th-century European life". These songs are usually
through-composed In the theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional, and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music. While most musical forms such as te ...
and attentive to the details of the text. His approach blends characteristics from traditional Ukrainian music and Western classical music. From the former are the frequent use of
ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration * Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts * Ornamental turning * Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals ...
, unusual
meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
s, and folk melody-like affects, while from classical music there is a Romantic use of intense
chromaticism Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic scale, diatonic pitch (music), pitches and chord (music), chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses o ...
and rapid shifts between
tonal center Tonal may refer to: * Tonal (mythology), a concept in the belief systems and traditions of Mesoamerican cultures, involving a spiritual link between a person and an animal * Tonal language, a type of language in which pitch is used to make phone ...
s, typical of
20th-century classical music 20th-century classical music is Western art music that was written between the years 1901 and 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously, so this century was without a dominant style. Modernism, i ...
. His songs cover a wide variety of topics, described by the musicologist Dagmara Turchyn as an "astoundingly wide
ange Ange or Anges may refer to: Places * Angé, Loir-et-Cher department, France, a commune * Ånge Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden ** Ånge, the seat of Ånge Municipality * Änge, Jämtland County, Sweden, a locality * Ange (river), Ai ...
passionate dramatic monologues and meditative elegies, profound philosophical statements and colourful folk scenes, lyrical serenades and ecstatic love songs, a melancholy waltz and a heroic duma, an extensive romantic ballad and a tone poem". Lysenko set music to many poets, particularly the Ukrainian
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
s, which he found the best way to express his patriotic and political beliefs. These included
Ivan Franko Ivan Yakovych Franko (, ; 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, translator, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, ethnographer, and the author of the first d ...
,
Yevhen Hrebinka Yevhen Pavlovych Hrebinka (; ; 2 February 1812 – 15 December 1848) was a Ukrainian romantic prose writer, poet, and philanthropist. He wrote in both the Ukrainian and Russian languages. He was an older brother of the architect . Life and car ...
,
Oleksandr Oles Oleksandr Oles (born Oleksandr Ivanovych Kandyba, ; 1878–1944) was a prominent Ukrainians, Ukrainian writer and poet. He is the father of another Ukrainian poet and political activist, Oleh Olzhych, who perished in the Nazi labor camps in 1944. ...
, , Shchegolev, Staryts′ky and
Lesya Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka (, ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, ; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active political, civil, and feminist activist. Among her best-known works are ...
, but also others such as
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...
,
Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...
and
Semyon Nadson Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson (; 14 December 1862 – 19 January 1887) was a Russian poet and essayist. He is noted for being the first Jewish poet to achieve national fame in the Russian Empire. Biography Nadson's father was a Jew who converted to ...
. He was particularly devoted to Taras Shevchenko, and set 82 texts from the poet's ''
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 ...
'' collection. In Ukraine, comparisons are often drawn between Lysenko and Shevchenko, both of whom form what many Ukrainians consider the essence of their culture and identity.


Other vocal music

Aside from art songs, Lysenko's vocal work includes three cantatas for choir and orchestra, all to
Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
's texts: ''Raduisia nyvo nepolytaia'' (Rejoice, Unwatered Field), ''Biut’ porohy'' (The Rapids Roar), ' (To the Eternal Memory of Kotliarevsky). He also arranged approximately 500 folk songs for voice and piano, choir and piano, or choir a cappella. He wrote two works for anniversaries of Shevchenko's death, a Funeral March (1888) on words by Ukrainka for the 27th, and a Cantata (1911) for the 50th. His 1885 choral setting of a patriotic poem by
Oleksandr Konysky Oleksandr Yakovych Konysky (18 August 1836 – 12 December 1900) was a Ukrainian interpreter, writer, lexicographer, pedagogue, poet, and civil activist of liberal direction. He had around 150 pen names, including О. Return-freedom (), F. Gorov ...
, originally intended for a children's choir, became known internationally as "
Prayer for Ukraine File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...
", a spiritual hymn for the country.


Piano music

Lysenko's larger works for piano include the ''Ukrainian Suite in Form of Ancient Dances'', two rhapsodies (the second, ''Dumka-shumka'' is one of his most-known works), ''Heroic scherzo'' and Sonata in A minor. He also wrote dozens of smaller works such as nocturnes, polonaises, songs without words, and program pieces. Some of his piano works show the influence of
Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
's style.


Chamber music

Lysenko's chamber music includes a string quartet, a trio for two violins and viola, and a number of works for violin and piano.


Ethnomusicological work


Overview

Lysenko made the first musical-ethnographic studies of the blind
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 ...
Ostap Veresai which he published in 1873 and 1874; they are still exemplary. Lysenko continued to research and transcribe the repertoire of other kobzars from other regions such as
Opanas Slastion Opanas Heorhiiovych Slastion (, – September 24, 1933) was a Ukrainian graphic artist, painter, and ethnographer. He was born in the port town of Berdiansk (now Ukraine) on the Berdyansk Gulf of the Sea of Azov. He studied at the Imperial ...
from
Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
and Pavlo Bratytsia from
Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...
. He also made a thorough study of other Ukrainian folk instruments such as the
torban The torban (, also ''teorban'' or ''Ukrainian theorbo'') is a Ukrainian musical instrument that combines the features of the Baroque lute with those of the psaltery. The Тorban differs from the more common European bass lute known as the theo ...
. His collection of essays about Ukrainian
folk instruments A folk instrument is a traditional musical instrument that has remained largely restricted to traditional folk music, and is not usually used in the classical music or other elite and formal musical genres of the culture concerned, though relate ...
makes him the founder of Ukrainian
organology Organology (; ) is the science of musical instruments and their classifications. It embraces study of instruments' history, instruments used in different cultures, technical aspects of how instruments produce sound, and musical instrument classi ...
and one of the first organologists in the Russian Empire.


Writings

Source: * * * * *


Legacy and influence

The influence of his music and nationalistic style was immense for subsequent
Ukrainian composers This is a list of Ukrainian composers of European classical music, classical music who were either born on the territory of modern-day Ukraine or were ethnically Ukrainian. List by century of birth 15th century 16th century 17th century ...
. Composers such as
Stanyslav Lyudkevych Stanyslav Pylypovych Lyudkevych (, ; 24 January 1879 – 10 September 1979) was a Soviet and Ukrainian composer, theorist, teacher, and musical activist. People's Artist of the USSR (1969) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1979). His name may altern ...
,
Alexander Koshetz Alexander Koshetz (12 September 1875 – 21 September 1944) was a Ukrainian choral conductor, arranger, composer, ethnographer, writer, musicologist, and lecturer. He helped popularize Ukrainian music around the world. His name is sometim ...
,
Kyrylo Stetsenko Kyrylo Hryhorovych Stetsenko (; May 12, 1882 – April 29, 1922) was a prolific Ukrainian composer, conductor, critic, and teacher. Late in his life he became a Ukrainian Orthodox Priest and head of the Music section of the Ministry of Education ...
,
Yakiv Stepovy Yakiv Stepanovych Stepovy () (October 20, 1883 – November 4, 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, music teacher, and music critic. Stepovy was born Yakiv Yakymenko (Akimenko) in Kharkiv, in the Russian Empire (in present-day Ukraine). Stepovy's olde ...
, and mostly importantly,
Mykola Leontovych Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (, ; 23 January 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, and teacher. His music was inspired by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko and the Ukrainian National Music School. Leontovych spec ...
, have acknowledged his influence. Despite his high renown in Ukraine, Lysenko is not particularly well known outside of the country. From 1950 to 1959, Lysenko's complete works were published in Kyiv in 22 volumes. A group of Ukrainian composers and musicians, including , Ariadna Lysenko (the composer's granddaughter), Yevhen Rzhanov,
Andriy Shtoharenko Andriy Shtoharenko () (15 October 1902 – 15 November 1992) was a Soviet Ukrainian composer and teacher. Biography Andriy Shtoharenko was born in the Ukrainian village of Novi Kaidaky (now part of the city of Dnipro). He completed his music ...
,
Myroslav Skoryk Myroslav Mykhailovych Skoryk (; 13 July 1938 – 1 June 2020) was a List of Ukrainian composers, Ukrainian composer and teacher. His music is contemporary in style and contains stylistic traits from Ukrainian folk music traditions. Skoryk wa ...
and
Yevhen Stankovych Yevhen Fedorovych Stankovych (; born September 19, 1942) is a contemporary Ukrainian composer of stage, orchestral, chamber, and choral works. Biography Stankovych was born in Szolyva (today the Ukrainian city of Svaliava), in Hungary. In 196 ...
founded the
Mykola Lysenko International Music Competition The Mykola Lysenko Music Competition, named after Mykola Lysenko, was founded in 1962 by the Ukrainians, Ukrainian composers Andriy Shtoharenko, Yevhen Stankovych, Myroslav Skoryk, Levko Kolodub, the singer Yelyzaveta Chavdar, pianists Yevhen R ...
in 1962 in honor of Lysenko. Lysenko's home in Kyiv where he resided from 1894 to 1912 was converted into the Mykola Lysenko House-Museum in 1987, one the city's many museums for important cultural figures.


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * (Old) Ukrainian Art Song Project Website * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lysenko, Mykola 1842 births 1912 deaths People from Poltava Oblast People from Kremenchugsky Uyezd 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century male musicians 19th-century male musicians from the Russian Empire 20th-century Ukrainian classical composers 20th-century Ukrainian classical pianists 20th-century Russian male musicians Burials at Baikove Cemetery Hromada (society) members Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Kary Theatre, Cinema and Television University people Lviv Conservatory Ukrainian male classical composers Ukrainian male classical pianists Male opera composers National University of Kharkiv alumni Romantic composers Composers from the Russian Empire Pianists from the Russian Empire Music educators from the Russian Empire Expatriates from the Russian Empire in Germany Ukrainian music educators University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni Ukrainian opera composers