Maria or Marusia Churai (1625–1653) was a mythical Ukrainian

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

composer, poet, and singer. She became a recurrent motif in Ukrainian literature and the songs ascribed to her are widely performed in Ukraine. According to the legend she was a native of

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 ...

(then in

Crown of the Kingdom of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, includ ...

), and is regarded as the purported author as well as the subject of the well-known Ukrainian folk song "Oi Ne Khody Hrytsiu Tai na Vechornytsi" (Oh Gregory, Don't Go to the Evening Dances) known in the West as "

Yes, My Darling Daughter "Yes, My Darling Daughter" is a 1940 song by Jack Lawrence first introduced by Dinah Shore on Eddie Cantor's radio program on October 24, 1940. It was Shore's first solo record, released by Bluebird, and peaked at No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' ma ...

In literature

The legend of Marusia Churai was formed under the influence of 19th century literary works such as the novel "Marusia, Malorosiiskaia Sapfo" (Marusia, the Littlerussian

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

) by C. Shakhnovsky (1839). Many writers used the theme of "Hryts" in their works: M. Starytsky's play "Oi Ne Khody, Hrytsiu" (1892), V. Samiylenko's drama "Churaivna" (1894), Olha Kobylianska's novel "V Nediliu Rano Zillia Kopala" (She Gathered Herbs on Sunday Morning 1909), I. Mykytenko's drama "Marusia Churai" (1935), L. Kostenko's novel in verse "Marusia Churai" (1979), and others.

Influence in music

The song "Oi Ne Khody Hrytsiu" was translated into Polish (1820), Czech (1822), German (1827), French (1830), English (1848) and other languages. However its melody is not of folk origin. It was first documented use was as an arietta from a vaudeville by a

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

composer Catterino Cavos. The original English translation of the song "Oi Ne Khody Hrytsiu" was also made and performed in 2023 by Vol Deineko on finger-style guitar under the name
Don't Go to Party
" The melody was used in

, a 1941 song by

Jack Lawrence Jack Lawrence may refer to: *Jack Lawrence (songwriter) (1912–2009), American songwriter *Jack Lawrence (artist) (born 1975), British comic book artist and animator * Jack Lawrence (bluegrass) (born 1953), American bluegrass guitarist * Jack Lawre ...

. Three other song texts that are ascribed to Marusia Churai: "Kotylysia Vozy z Hory" (The Wagons Were Rolling Downhill), "Viyut' Vitry" (Winds Are Blowing) and "Za Svit Staly Kozachenky" (The Kozaks Were Ready to March at Dawn). While the texts of these songs are of literary origin, their music is anonymous, from oral tradition. All the melodies that are attached to these texts date from the late 19th century. The text of the Ukrainian folk song "Oi ne khody Hrytsiu" was first published in English translation in London in 1816. A Polish translation first appeared in 1822 in Lviv and a German translation appeared in 1848. Evidence exists to the songs popularity in France (1830s), Czech, Slovak lands, Belgium and the United States where it equally well known was the song "Ikhav kozak za Dunai" (the Cossack rode beyond the Danube; music and words by Semen Klymovsky). Marusia Churai was commemorated on a Ukrainian postage stamp in February 2000.

References

External linkis

Marusia Churai
in Encyclopedia of Ukraine (in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Churai, Marusia 1625 births 1653 deaths Musicians from Poltava Pseudepigraphy