A ''kobzar'' ( ua, кобзар,
pl. kobzari ua, кобзарі) was an itinerant Ukrainian
bard
In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
who sang to his own accompaniment, played on a multistringed
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 ...
or
kobza
The kobza ( uk , кобза), also called bandurka ( uk , бандурка) is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family ( Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kobz ...
.
Tradition
Kobzars were often blind and became predominantly so by the 1800s. ''Kobzar'' literally means '
kobza
The kobza ( uk , кобза), also called bandurka ( uk , бандурка) is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family ( Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kobz ...
player', a Ukrainian stringed instrument of the
lute
A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted.
More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
family, and more broadly — a performer of the musical material associated with the kobzar tradition.
The professional kobzar tradition was established during the
Hetmanate Era around the sixteenth century in
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 ...
. Kobzars accompanied their singing with a musical instrument known as the
kobza
The kobza ( uk , кобза), also called bandurka ( uk , бандурка) is a Ukrainian folk music instrument of the lute family ( Hornbostel-Sachs classification number 321.321-5+6), a relative of the Central European mandora. The term ''kobz ...
,
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 ...
, or
lira
Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...
. Their repertoire primarily consisted of para-liturgical psalms and "kanty", and also included a unique epic form known as
dumas.
At the turn of the nineteenth century there were three regional kobzar schools:
Chernihiv
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...
,
Poltava
Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...
, and
Slobozhan
Sloboda Ukraine (literally: Borderland of free frontier guards; uk, Слобідська Україна, Slobidska Ukraina), or Slobozhanshchyna ( uk, Слобожанщина, Slobozhanshchyna, ), is a historical region, now located in Northeas ...
, which were differentiated by repertoire and playing style.
Guilds
In Ukraine, kobzars organized themselves into regional guilds or brotherhoods, known as
tsekhs. They developed a system of rigorous apprenticeships (usually three years in length) before undergoing the first set of open examinations in order to become a kobzar.
These guilds were thought to have been modelled on the Orthodox Church brotherhoods as each guild was associated with a specific church. These guilds then would take care of one church icon or purchase new religious ornaments for their affiliated church (Kononenko, p. 568–9). The Orthodox Church however was often suspicious of and occasionally even hostile to kobzars.
End of kobzardom
The institution of the kobzardom essentially ended in the
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
in the mid 1930s during Stalin's radical transformation of rural society which included the
liquidation of the kobzars of Ukraine.
[Volkov Solomon, ed. Testimony: The Memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich (New York: Faber &
Faber,1979), pp.214-15. ] Kobzar performance was replaced with stylized performances of folk and classical music utilising 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 ...
.
Soviet version
Soviet kobzars
Soviet kobzars were stylised performers on the bandura created to replace the traditional authentic kobzari who had been wiped out in the 1930s. These performers were often blind and although some actually had contact with the authentic kobzari o ...
were stylised performers on the bandura created to replace the traditional authentic kobzari who had been wiped out in the 1930s. These performers were often blind and although some actually had contact with the authentic kobzari of the previous generation, many received formal training in the Folk conservatories by trained musicians and played on contemporary chromatic concert factory made instruments.
Their repertoire was primarily made up of censored versions of traditional kobzar repertoire and focused on stylized works that praised 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, ...
system and Soviet heroes.
Re-establishment of the tradition
In recent times, there has been an interest in reviving of authentic kobzar traditions which is marked by the re-establishing the
Kobzar Guild as a centre for the dissemination of historical authentic performance practice.
Other use of the term
''
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 ...
'' is a seminal book of poetry by
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 ...
, the great national poet of
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 ...
.
The term "kobzar" has on occasion been used for
hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vio ...
players in
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
(where the hurdy-gurdy is often referred to as a "kobza", and
bagpipe
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...
players in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
where the bagpipe is referred to as a "kobza" or "koza").
See also
*
Blind musicians
Blind musicians are singers or instrumentalists, or in some cases singer-accompanists, who are legally blind.
Resources
Historically, many blind musicians, including some of the most famous, have performed without the benefit of formal instruct ...
*
Preservation of kobzar music
References
* Kononenko, Natalie O. “The Influence of the Orthodox Church on Ukrainian Dumy.” ''
Slavic Review
The ''Slavic Review'' is a major peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly studies, book and film reviews, and review essays in all disciplines concerned with Russia, Central Eurasia, and Eastern and Central Europe. The journal's title ...
'' 50 (1991): 566–75.
External links
{{Commons category, Kobzars
*
Kobzars' at Encyclopedia of Ukraine
*
' at Encyclopedia of Ukraine
*
National Union of the Ukrainian Kobzars' official site (in Ukrainian)
The last kobzar a portrait of OSTAP KINDRACHUK, a film by Vincent Moon
Ukrainian music people
Kobzarstvo
Hurdy-gurdy players
Entertainment occupations
Occupations in music