A banduryst ( uk, бандури́ст) is a person who plays the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

plucked string instrument Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by plucking the 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 vibrate. Plucki ...

known as the

bandura A bandura ( uk, банду́ра) is a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often referred to by the term kobza. Early instruments (c. 1700) had 5 to 12 strings ...

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'' ( ua, кобзар, pl. kobzari ua, кобзарі) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed bandura or kobza. Tradition Kobzars were often blind and became predominantly so b ...

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, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

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

Kiev academic style The Kyiv Academic Style of Bandura Playing is a method of playing the Ukrainian folk instrument of bandura. The instrument is held between the knees perpendicular to the body of the player. This means that the left hand is only able to play easily ...

. There are also a number of

Kharkiv style The Kharkiv Academic Style of Bandura Playing is a specific method of playing the Ukrainian folk instrument bandura. The instrument is held in a way that allows both hands equal access to all the strings. Firstly, the left hand has access to the ...

academic bandurists. * So-called "Fakeloric" performers, who play stylized songs and repertoire on contemporary instruments. Othen 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 XIIth Archeological Congress Kharkiv, 1902 was one of a number of Archeological Conferences known as Congresses held in Russian Empire. These Conferences were hosted by a different city of the Russian Empire every three years. The 1902 the XIIt ...

. 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 ( uk, Гнат Мартинович Хоткевич, also ''Gnat Khotkevich'' or ''Hnat Khotkevych'', born December 31, 1877 – died October 8, 1938) was a Ukrainian writer, ethnographer, playwright, composer, musico ...

to repeat the performance and take the ensemble on tour throughout

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, 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 ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

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

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.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 Vasyl' Kostovych Yemetz ( uk, Василь Костьович Ємець; 15 December or 27 December 1891 – 6 January 1982) (2 August 1890 – 4 January 1982) (also went by Wassyl, Vassyl) was born in the village of Sharivka, 40 km from Kh ...

in 1918 and became known as the

Kiev Bandurist Capella The Kyiv Bandurist Capella ( uk, Київська капeла бандуристiв, translit=Kyivs’ka kapela banduristiv) is a male vocal-instrumental ensemble that accompanies its singing with the playing of the multi-stringed Ukrainian fo ...

. 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 The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus ( uk, Українська Капеля Бандуристів Північної Америки ім. Т. Г. Шевченка; full name: ''The Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America'') is a s ...

which was originally established in 1941 during the Nazi occupation emigrated as a group. It settled in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

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 spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

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

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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

Renown exponents

Persecution

Many bandurists and

kobzars A ''kobzar'' ( ua, кобзар, pl. kobzari ua, кобзарі) was an itinerant Ukrainian bard who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed bandura or kobza. Tradition Kobzars were often blind and became predominantly so by ...

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