DUDARYK GOES JAZZ

Ukrainian music has always been open to creative reinterpretation: for centuries, folk melodies have been enriched with new colours through arrangements and interpretations, while invariably preserving their essence. Jazz continues this tradition, opening up a new sonic space for beloved Ukrainian songs — a space of improvisation, live dialogue between musicians and freedom of creative thought.

The concert programme will bring together folk songs, contemporary Ukrainian compositions and some of the most beloved works from the “Dudaryk” repertoire, presented in specially created jazz arrangements. Together with the Dudaryk Jazz Band, soloists Dariia Kudryk and Taras Rizniak, and the chapel’s jazz vocal ensembles, listeners will embark on a musical journey where tradition and modernity do not compete, but inspire one another. This is a concert in which the choir does not abandon its academic tradition, but discovers new possibilities through the freedom of the jazz idiom while remaining faithful to Ukrainian musical heritage.

Ukrainian music has long been part of global jazz culture. The lullaby Oi khodyt son (“The Dream Is Passing By”) inspired George Gershwin’s famous Summertime, while the folk melody Kateryna i Vasyl is none other than the melody known worldwide as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Such musical parallels demonstrate the universality of Ukrainian melody, which naturally lends itself to the aesthetics of jazz and continues to inspire performers in Ukraine and around the world. That is why jazz interpretations of Ukrainian songs are not an experiment, but a natural continuation of their life.

“Jazz is a space of artistic freedom, unburdened by the rigidity of styles and academic conventions. It is a territory where music breathes and celebrates life, travelling along the endless roads of improvisation.”

— Dmytro Katsal

Performers:

• National Male Choir “Dudaryk”
• Dariia Kudryk
• Taras Rizniak
• Soloists of the Choir
• DUDARYK Jazz Band
• Dmytro Katsal, conductor