''Melody'' (), also known as ''Melody in A minor'', is a musical composition by the Ukrainian composer

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 ...

. Composed for the 1982 Soviet war film ', it has a simple structure comprising an opening theme, short development section, and modified reprise of the original theme. It was originally scored for flute and piano but has since been arranged for many other instrumentations. ''Melody'' is Skoryk's most popular work and is frequently performed in concerts, including in response to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Background

Skoryk composed ''Melody'' for the 1982 Soviet war film '. Set in Galicia in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the film was subjected to Soviet censorship and negatively depicted

Ukrainian nationalism Ukrainian nationalism (, ) is the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The origins of modern Ukrainian nationalism emerge during the Khmelnytsky Uprising, Cossack upri ...

. Skoryk, who composed the work at the request of the film's director, Volodymyr Denysenko, later said that although other composers had turned down the offer to compose the film's score, he wanted to create music to subvertively convey the film's tragic and emotional themes. It was originally scored for flute and piano; Skoryk later arranged the work for other instruments, including violin with piano or orchestral accompaniment.

Form

''Melody'' is in small ternary form, with an opening theme, short development, and modified reprise of the original theme. It begins mostly in

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

with occasional single measures in , which Skoryk described as creating a "unified statement". In the first eight measures, the key is modulated from A minor to C major and then to E major, a recurring pattern in

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 ...

. According to Skoryk, he chose this sequence after studying many Ukrainian folk songs. The opening theme is then repeated, this time with a more complex

counter-melody In music, a counter-melody (often countermelody) is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent lead melody. In other words, it is a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the pri ...

in the accompaniment. The eight-measure development is a series of rapid changes in minor keys: from C-sharp minor to G-sharp minor, B minor, and F-sharp minor. The accompaniment in this section similarly increases in intensity, culminating in the reprise of the original theme. The reprise includes additional

voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (1 ...

and emphasis on the first four notes of the melody.

Usage

As Skoryk's most well known composition, ''Melody'' is frequently performed in concerts and on Ukrainian radio and television. It is frequently described as a spiritual hymn of Ukraine, and has been used in commemorations of the

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

and the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity (), also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution, took place in Ukraine in February 2014 at the end of the Euromaidan protests, when deadly clashes between protesters and state forces in the capit ...

. In response to the

, ''Melody'' has been widely performed internationally in

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

s and other settings. During a virtual address by Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

in March 2022, it accompanied a video of the destruction in Ukraine. The work is part of the concert program of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra during their tour in Europe, selected for its recognisability and sentimentality. ''Melody'' have often been used without permission for commercial purposes - in particular, in the Russian film "The Milkmaid from Khatsapetovka" (2007)

References

External links

''Melody''
performed by the Kyiv Classic Orchestra on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{portal bar, Classical music, Music 1980s compositions Compositions by Myroslav Skoryk Compositions for flute and piano Film music compositions