Petro Fedorovych Tkachenko (December 21, 1878 in Syniavtsi – January 3, 1919) was a prominent blind

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 ...

Biography

Petro Fedorovych Tkachenko-Halashko was one of the more outstanding

s of the

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 ...

region. He was born on December 21, 1878, in the village of Syniavtsi,

Sosnytsia Sosnytsia ( uk, Сocниця) is an urban-type settlement in Koriukivka Raion (district) of Chernihiv Oblast (province) in north-central Ukraine. It is located on the west bank of the Ubid River, a tributary of the Desna river, some from Chern ...

county near

. At the age of 9 he became blind. At the age of 16 he began an apprenticeship with the kobzar Andriy Hayduk (Haydenko) and after a short period continued with Tereshko Parkhomenko under whom he studied for three years. ( Kornievsky states that he was partially sighted). Tkachenko's repertoire consisted mainly of songs.

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 Berdya ...

wrote in 1906 that he knew three '' dumy'' (sung epic poems): * The duma about the brother and sister * The duma about the widow and her three sons * The duma about the captives' lament These ''dumy'' were performed by Tkachenko rarely, and as a consequence some ethnomusicologists state that he did not know any ''dumy'' at all. Regarding his

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 ...

technique, he played quite well. Although his voice was not the most exciting, he sang with passion and was able to move the listener. Petro Tkachenko was widely traveled, performing in the cities of

Nizhyn Nizhyn ( uk, Ні́жин, Nizhyn, ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It ...

Konotop Konotop ( uk, Конотоп ) is a city in Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine. Konotop serves as the administrative center of Konotop Raion. Konotop is located about 129 km from Sumy, the oblast administrative center. It is host to Ko ...

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.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 ...

Lokhvytsia Lokhvytsia ( uk, Ло́хвиця, , ; russian: Ло́хвица, ) is a city in Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Lokhvytsia Raion (district), and is located on the banks of the Lokhvytsia River. Po ...

Pryluky Pryluky ( uk, Прилу́ки ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (Ra ...

, Pryiatyn,

Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; uk, Кременчу́к, Kremenchuk ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnipro River. The city serves as the administrative center of the Kremenchuk Raion (district) in Poltava Oblast (pr ...

Mykolayiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a city and municipality in Southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides Ukraine with access to the Black Sea, is the location of the most downriver brid ...

and others. In 1905 he lived for two months in the home of the director of the Yekaterinoslav Historic Museum – academic

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, ...

, playing for the visitors of the museum, as an illustration for public lectures by this eminent historian. Tkachenko died during the prime of his life living only 40 years, after a difficult illness (

Typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

) on 3 January 1919. For his noted accomplishments he was included in a list of prominent international cultural figures to be celebrated by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1977–78.

Sources

* Mishalow, V. and M.- Ukrains'ki kobzari-bandurysty - Sydney, Australia, 1986 * Polotay, M - Kobzar Petro Tkachenko - Narodna Tvorchist' ta Etnohrafiya, 1978 #5 p. 71-2 1878 births 1919 deaths People from Chernihiv Oblast Bandurists Kobzarstvo Ukrainian musicians Blind musicians Musicians from the Russian Empire {{ukraine-bio-stub