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The folklore music orchestra of the ensemble
"Halychyna" include some very accomplished and versatile players.
They all have one thing in common, however, they love to play music and
given half a chance, on or off stage, that's what they do. The company
has a membership of 10 persons.
The accordian is widely used across Europe as an instrument for accompanying folk dance, because one instrument can provide melody, chords and bass. We use it, along with drum and the ubiquitous guitar, to give a rhythmic and harmonic basis to the orchestra. The violin (or its relatives) is found not only in symphony orchestras but also in many folk cultures and Ukraine is no exception. Its mellow tone gives a strong melody line.Variety is added by the inclusion of several wind instruments. These range from the orchestral fluteand clarinet to the simpler recorder and flageolet("penny whistle"). In the higher registers, these can ornament a melody like the traditional sopilka. The Tzymbaly is a traditional Ukrainian instrument which is basically sets of steel strings, approximately 100 in number stretched across a wooden sound box and struck by wooden hammers. The Bandura is an ancient multi-stringed instrument, it developed from a lute like instrument dug out of a solid piece of timber and became extremely popular during the era of the Ukrainian Kozaks,(16th-18th century) during the kozak era a special class of musician was formed, called the Kobzar. The Kobzars sang epic ballads called Dumy about the exploits of the Kozaks against foreign invaders.
Petro Rachynsky,for many years the conductor
of the ensemble orchestra has been responsible of the arrangements. He`s
the recipient of the prestigious Special Award of the Prime Minister
of Ukraine.
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