THE BOYAN ENSEMBLE OF KIEV
Ukraine's top professional male choir
We are proud to present The Boyan Ensemble on its 23rd
tour of Great Britain.
Since 1992 the Ensemble has thrilled UK audiences
with magnificent performances of a repertoire that has touched people in so
many ways. Press comments reflect the high esteem in which they are held:
“There was a purity of sound and dynamic control that was at times almost unbelievable”
“A mesmerising blend of powerful Slavonic liturgical music in the first
half and traditional songs from Ukraine’s
deep-rooted folk heritage in
the second”.
"The standard of musicianship was breath-taking” “Fortissimos like burnished brass”
The late Music Director, Maestro Bohdan Antkiv, People's Artist of Ukraine, formed the Ensemble in 1969 as the travelling arm of Ukraine's leading professional male choir, The Revutsky Academic Male Capella, based in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. The twenty five musicians on tour include Artistic Director Volodymyr Kuratch, conductor Andrei Karpinets and many superb soloists, including soprano Viktoria Zabolotska, the only female voice, and, in selected venues, guest soloist Vassily Savenko, bass-baritone.
The programme is a winning combination aptly described in comments from the Westmorland Gazette: “Their programme of sacred a cappella chants breathed mystery, incense and the flicker of candles. Audiences were caught up in the poignant drama of a religion that had fought its way through tyranny and oppression ... in the second half there is swagger, bravado, heroism, nostalgia and a sense of the limitless Ukrainian horizons”.
Boyan’s repertoire embraces Ukrainian, Russian, Georgian, Bulgarian, other Slavonic and Western-European sacred and classical music, including vocal-symphonic works, operatic choruses, medieval chants, the renowned chants of the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves and a vast array of traditional folk songs. The Ensemble regularly tours in Western Europe and has performed in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland as well as in countries of the former Soviet Union. Boyan has been broadcast in a live concert on BBC Radio 3 and also featured on Classic FM.
With roots tracing back to the legendary Scythian horsemen and traders of the Crimea, (7th - 3rd cent. BC), Ukraine has a treasured Orthodox Christian heritage. Its sacred music dates back to Kyiv chant of the 11th century and has developed through the ages, notably through the works of composers such as Berezovsky, Bortniansky, Vedel, Verbytsky, Leontovych and Stetsenko. Centuries of invasion, religious persecution, civil war, and oppression have not extinguished the enduring Christian faith and rich cultural heritage of this land which is so powerfully reflected in the choral music performed by the Boyan Ensemble.
Conductors: Volodymyr Kuratch; Andrei Karpinets
Soloists: Viktoria Zabolotska, soprano
Igor Liubymenko, baritone; Denys Shpak, tenor
Vasyl Pudchenko, Ivan Gembach, basses
Guest soloist: Vassily Savenko, bass-baritone, www.vassilysavenko.co.uk
Dmitry Otych, chimes; Igor Ridosh, bandura; Pavlo Khai, lira
Executive Director: Yuri Yakovlev
Programme notes will be on sale at each concert giving full details of the concert repertoire.
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Please click on the video link below to hear Boyan Ensemble
perform Prayer for Ukraine,
a spiritual hymn by
Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko
