«Reading The 150th Psalm»

The dulcimer is an umbrella term for one of the world's oldest and most widely spread string plucking and percussive instruments in Ukraine. Found in Nineveh (now Mosul in Iraq), the image of the dulcimer duet is 5500 years old. The biblical psalterium, due to its evolutionary improvements, eventually evolved into the harpsichord and piano. The dulcimer characterizes the culture of all the continents, and in China there are 20 million dulcimer performers. Lviv can boast of its own dulcimer school created by Professor of the Music Academy, People's Artist of Ukraine, PhD of Art Studies Taras Baran.
The 3rd International Festival "Pizzicato e Cantabile" offers solo and ensemble music for the dulcimer. The Philharmonic stage will host the whole dulcimer quartet, and one of these instruments used to belong to Igor Stravinsky, who also wrote music for this instrument. During his European tour Professor Taras Baran bought that instrument for Lviv Dulcimer School.
Composer Bohdan Kotyuk created a new stochastic composition "The 150th Psalm of King David" dedicated to his friend's memory - the inventor-designer, teacher, virtuoso-cymbalist and scholar Taras Baran. This laudative Hallelujah to the Lord, to the musical instruments and the dulcimer was Taras Baran’s favorite spiritual song, the one of a truly pious Christian.
In addition to the nine dulcimers the concert will feature both string and wind instruments, as well as Olena Matselyukh’s organ.