Ostap Yosypovych Nyzhankivsky ( uk, Остап Йосипович Нижанківський and ); January 24, 1863 – May 22, 1919) – Ukrainian writer and cleric, a priest of the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's C ...

, composer, conductor, and public figure.

Life

Ostap Nyzhankivsky born in the village of Mali Didushychi (today Stryi district of Lviv region) January 24, 1863. He was born in a large family of Greek Catholic priest of Joseph Nyzhankivsky (1836 - 1911), which was a priest of the Greek Catholic parish in the village Mali Didushychi. Then the family moved to the village Zavadiv.
He studied in the nearby village Duliby and later he studied in

Drohobych Drohobych ( uk, Дрого́бич, ; pl, Drohobycz; yi, דראָהאָביטש;) is a city of regional significance in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hro ...

and

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

gymnasium. Ostap Nyzhankivsky was expelled from the sixth grade of gymnasium and had to enter military service in the

Austrian army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

in Lviv (1882-1885). Ostap has participated in the company “Academic Fraternity”, where he met

Ivan Franko Ivan Yakovych Franko (Ukrainian: Іван Якович Франко, pronounced ˈwɑn ˈjɑkowɪtʃ frɐnˈkɔ 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, ...

and with the composer, conductor and public figure

Anatole Vakhnianyn Anatole Vakhnianyn ( uk, Анатоль Вахнянин ; September 19, 1841 – February 11, 1908), was a Ukrainian political and cultural figure, composer, teacher, and journalist. Biography Family Background Vakhnianyn was born in Sieniawa, ...

.
The Lviv gymnasium Nyzhankivsky graduated in 1888. Later he studied and graduated from the Greek Catholic Theological Seminary in Lviv (1888 - 1892).
Ostap Nyzhankivsky got married after ordination in 1892 with the Olena Bachynska, what was the daughter of Galician composer Hilary Bachynsky.
The first parish Ostap Nyzhankivsky received in the

Berezhany Berezhany ( uk, Бережани, ; pl, Brzeżany; yi, ברעזשאַן, Brezhan; he, בּז'יז'אני/בּז'ז'ני ''Bzhezhani''/''Bzhizhani'') is a city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It lies about fr ...

. 1900 – moved to

Stryi Stryi ( uk, Стрий, ; pl, Stryj) is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine 65 km to the south of Lviv (in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains). It serves as the administrative cen ...

. The first parish he had in the village Duliby, later in the village Zavadiv. The first cooperative dairy (in Zavadiv) and the Provincial Home and Dairy Union in

(later renamed Maslosojuz Provincial Dairy Union) has founded in 1907 Ostap Nyzhankivsky.
May 21, 1919, during the

Polish–Ukrainian War The Polish–Ukrainian War, from November 1918 to July 1919, was a conflict between the Second Polish Republic and Ukrainian forces (both the West Ukrainian People's Republic and Ukrainian People's Republic). The conflict had its roots in ethn ...

he was arrested by Polish authorities.
The Polish authorities May 22, 1919, without trial on the outskirts city Stryi was shot Ostap Nyzhankivsky. When Ostap Nyzhankivsky was shot, Poles came to the house of Nyzhankivsky in the village Zavadiv and took all the cattle, poultry, grains. Polish soldiers took off shoes of the murdered priest, took off a gold wedding ring, took the clock.
He was buried in the city

at the cemetery in the family tomb together with his wife Elena Nyzhankivsky (née Bachynska).

Composer and musical activities

Ostap Nyzhankivsky graduated with honors from the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

in 1896. He dedicated much of his energy to developing musical life in Galicia. He founded the music publishing house Muzykalna Biblioteka (1885) and compiled (, Ukrainian-Ruthenian Songbook, 1907). Ostap helped popularise the piano in Western Ukraine, particularly as a solo instrument, but also as an accompanist to Ukrainian Art Song. His works for choir ‘''Hulialy''’ (, They Danced) and ‘Z Okrushkiv’ (, From Crumbs, text by

Yuriy Fedkovych Osyp Yuriy Fedkovych ( uk, О́сип Ю́рій Федько́вич , translit=Osyp Jurij Feďkovyč, 8 August 1834, Putyla - 11 January 1888, Chernivtsi) was a Ukrainian writer, poet, folklorist and translator. Biography Fedkovych lived in Ch ...

) became very popular. He also wrote art songs for solo voice with piano accompaniment, including ‘’ (, The Years of Youth Have Passed By); arrangements of folk songs for solo voice or choir; and Vitrohony, a cycle of

kolomyika The kolomyika ( uk, кoлoмийкa, pl, kołomyjka; also spelled kolomeyka or kolomeike) is a Hutsul (Ukrainian) music genre that combines a fast-paced folk dance and comedic rhymed verses. It includes a type of performance dance developed by ...

melodies for piano. Ostap Nyzhankivskyi wrote the

carols A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with Christian church worship, and sometimes accompanied by a dance. A caroller (or caroler) is someone who sings carols, and is said to be carolling (or caroling). T ...

"God Is Born" (''Boh sya rozhdaye'', ), "Heaven and earth" (''Nebo i zemlya'', ), "News in Bethlehem" (, ) and others...

Political activism

Ostap Nyzhankovsky was elected to the Galician Diet in 1908–13. He was also elected a member of the UPR, and district commissioner WUPR. Мусимо мати Україну! Заклик Остапа Нижанківського.

Football team in the city of Stryi

Sich A sich ( uk, січ), or sech, was an administrative and military centre of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The word ''sich'' derives from the Ukrainian verb сікти ''siktý'', "to chop" – with the implication of clearing a forest for an encampme ...

was created in 1911. The president of Sich became well known Ukrainian composer Ostap Nyzhankivsky.

References

External links

GENi, About Rev. Ostap Nizhankowsky

До 150-річчя від дня народження Остапа Нижанківського

Славетна Стрийщина, Нижанківський Остап

Mali Didushychi village: street map, description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyzhankivsky, Ostap 1863 births 1919 deaths Ukrainian classical composers Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians Austro-Hungarian Eastern Catholic priests People from Lviv Oblast Classical composers of church music Eastern Catholic hymnwriters Austro-Hungarian hymnwriters Musicians of the Ukrainian diaspora 19th-century Eastern Catholic clergy 20th-century Eastern Catholic clergy 19th-century Austrian clergy Austrian male classical composers Ethnic Ukrainian composers 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers 19th-century hymnwriters