Ivan Iovych Kuchuhura-Kucherenko ( uk, Іван Іович Кучугура-Кучеренко; July 7, 1878 – November 24, 1937) was a Ukrainian minstrel ( kobzar) and one of the most influential
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 ...
of the early 20th century. For his artistry he was awarded the title "People's artist of Ukraine" in 1919 and later "People's Artist of the
Ivan Kucherenko (or as he later became known, ''Kuchuhura-Kucherenko'') was born on July 7, 1878 in the village of
Murafa
Murafa () is a river in Ukraine, a left tributary of the Dniester. It is long and its basin area is .Мурафа of Bohodukhiv uyezd in the
Kharkov Governorate
The Kharkov Governorate ( pre-reform Russian: , tr. ''Khárkovskaya gubérniya'', IPA: xarʲkəfskəjə ɡʊˈbʲernʲɪjə ) was a governorate of the Russian Empire founded in 1835. It embraced the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine. From ...
of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. At the age of 3, he became fully blind in his left eye and had some damage in his right eye. At the age of 8, he lost his father and became an orphan.
The young Kucherenko had exceptional musical talent which directed him to the lifestyle of a kobzar. He was apprenticed to the kobzar
Pavlo Hashchenko
Pavlo Ivanovych Hashchenko ( -1933) was a Ukrainian kobzar and bandura player.
Hashchenko was originally from Poltava province but lived most of his life in the village of Konstantynivka, Bohodukhiv county, Kharkiv province.
Among the kobzar ...
and began to perform as a kobzar at the turn of the 20th century.
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.Hnat Khotkevych who noticed that the kobzar was exceptionally gifted artistically, and during the preparation of the concert, spent a considerable amount of time with him. This association with Khotkevych left a significant impression on Kucherenko as he was able to learn much from Khotkevych. Khotkevych wrote in his memoirs:
In 1906, Kucherenko was performing at the market in Yekaterinoslav (''now
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, 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 Rive ...
'') and was heard by the renowned historian
Dmytro Yavornytsky
Dmytro Ivanovych Yavornytsky ( uk, Дмитро́ Іва́нович Яворни́цький), or Dmitry Ivanovich Yavornitsky (also known as ''Dmitry Evarnitsky'', russian: Дмитрий Иванович Яворницкий; November 6, 1855, ...
. Kucherenko's high artism left a deep impression on Yavornytsky. Yavornytsky wrote:
He invited Kucherenko to his home and later sent him to
Myrhorod
Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast s ...
to further master his bandura performance under the guidance of
Opanas Slastion
Opanas Heorhiiovych Slastion ( uk, Опанас Георгійович Сластіон, – September 24, 1933) was a Ukrainian graphic artist, painter, and ethnographer.
He was born in the port town of Berdiansk (now Ukraine) on the Berdyans ...
. For three months Kucherenko lived and studied at Slastion's house, whereupon he returned to Yekaterinoslav and thanked the professor for his fatherly guardianship. Kucherenko demonstrated his newly acquired artistic skills to the professor, who was extremely satisfied, and very moved. Yavornytsky organized a concert for the kobzar in Yekaterinoslav, which was a resounding success and helped elevate the popularity of Kucherenko as an exceptionally talented folk singer.
In 1908, Kucherenko was invited to work as a teacher at the
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 ...
. Here he worked for a period of 18 months. The work was difficult, and he was unable to continue it. He resumed his concertizing where he remained a master performer.
Kucherenko was a virtuoso player of the bandura and had an exceptional baritone voice which left an excellent impression on the audience. Khotkevych noted:
In 1913, Kucherenko traveled to
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
on the invitation of T. Pryvalov, on the recommendation of Hnat Khotkevych where he had over 40 concerts, mainly at educational establishments. After Saint Petersburg, Kucherenko was invited to
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 ...
by the "Kobzar" Society where he also performed at ethnographic concerts and evenings organized by the society.
In 1915, Kucherenko gave a highly successful concert at the Kharkiv Public Library.
During the brief period of Ukrainian independence, Kucherenko toured Ukraine with concerts supporting the government of Symon Petliura whom he knew personally. For his activity in supporting the government he was awarded the title "People's Artist of Ukraine" by the then Ukrainian government.
Soviet period
During the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
period, Kucherenko was able to perform even more often. Initially the government supported many of these performances. In 1921, in the city of Bohodukhiv, a special concert was organized to celebrate his 25th anniversary of being a kobzar and he was one of the first artists to receive the prestigious title of People's Artist of the
in 1926.
After 1928 Kucherenko began to perform on the grave mound monument of
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...
in
Kaniv
Kaniv ( uk, Канів, ) city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv urb ...
. In the 1930s it is known that he secretly became ordained as an orthodox priest in the
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC; uk, Українська автокефальна православна церква (УАПЦ), Ukrayinska avtokefalna pravoslavna tserkva (UAPC)) was one of the three major Eastern Orthod ...
.
Until recently Kucherenko's true date of death was not officially known. Soviet sources such as the ''
Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya en ...
'' stated that he died in 1943 in Kharkiv during the German
occupation
Occupation commonly refers to:
*Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, th ...
. Recently, it has become known that Kucherenko was arrested and after a period of eight months of prolonged torture was finally shot by the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
in 1937. His body was buried in a mass grave on the territory of the KGB recreational facility in the area of
Piatykhatky Piatykhatky ( uk, П'ятихатки) can refer to
* Piatykhatky, a city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
* Piatykhatky, a historic neighborhood in Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Хар ...
on the outskirts of Kharkiv.
Repertoire
Kucherenko's repertoire included six '' dumy'' (sung epic poems):
# Oleksiy Popovych (probably from Khotkevych)
# About the Poor Widow and her three sons
# Captives lament (from Slastion)
# Khmelnytsky and Barabash (from literary sources)
# The death of Bohdan Khmelnytsky (from literary sources)
# The death of the kozak-bandurist. (from Khotkevych)
Many of the texts of these ''dumy'' he learned from books, and the accompaniment he composed himself or sometimes borrowing from other bandurists. His repertoire also included numerous songs of literary origin and songs which he composed himself.
Khotkevych also noted that Kucherenko had lost much of his folk character in his renditions of Ukrainian folk songs.
References
* ''Колесса Ф..'' Melodii ukrayinskykh narodnykh dum – К.: Наукова думка, 1969. – С. 316
* Danylenko, K. Narodnyi spivets-kobzar Ivan Iovych Kuchuhura-Kucherenko ... ІМФЕ. Ф.8-к.3, од.зб.15, - Арк. 3-4, 1921
* Danylenko, K. Narodnyi spivets-kobzar Ivan Iovych Kuchuhura-Kucherenko – “Selianskyi budynok”, Bohodukhiv, 1921 - P. 16.
* Danylevskyi, K. Slavetnyi ukrayinskyi kobzar – Ivan Kuchuhura-Kucherenko (8 rokiv yak zamorduvaly NKVD) // UVAN, DP,
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
, 1946 - P. 7.
* Danylevskyi, K. Petliura v sertsiakh i picniakh svoho narodu // Nakladom filii Tovarystva ukrayinskykh politychnykh v’iazniv v Regensburzi, 1947 - P. 11.
* Danylevskyi, K. О. Professor Petliura v sertsiakh i picniakh svoho narodu // Vidbytka z Narodnoho Slova,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...