A project by Stanislav Badrak

Performers:
Stanislav Badrak, bass-baritone
Myroslav Dragan, piano

Program:

Mykola Lysenko:
– The Boundless Field (lyrics by Ivan Franko)
– He Walks Across the Field (lyrics by Taras Shevchenko)
– There Is a Fate in This World (lyrics by Taras Shevchenko)
– It Doesn’t Matter! (lyrics by Mykola Voronyi)
– Why Have You Grown So Dark? (lyrics by Taras Shevchenko)
– The Days and Nights Pass (lyrics by Taras Shevchenko)
– The Boat (lyrics by Yevhen Hrebinka)
– Fire in My Chest (lyrics by Mykhailo Starytskyi)
– It’s All the Same to Me (lyrics by Taras Shevchenko)
– I Had a Beloved Homeland (lyrics by Heinrich Heine, trans. Ahatanhel Krymskyi)
– Prelude from Ukrainian Suite in the Style of Old Dances

Lesia Dychko:
Enharmonic – vocal cycle on poems by Pavlo Tychyna

Valentyn Silvestrov:
– Bagatelle
– Farewell, World, Farewell, Earth (lyrics by Taras Shevchenko)

In these challenging times for Ukraine, the music of Mykola Lysenko resonates with striking relevance. His songs, set to the words of various poets, reveal the full emotional spectrum of the human soul — from love to suffering, from serenity to tragedy — reflecting the experiences of today’s Ukrainians.

For half a century, Lysenko worked on his monumental “Music to the Kobzar,” following a path similar to that of Shevchenko — combining folk tradition with academic mastery. This lifelong pursuit resulted in 82 works grouped into seven series. While it would be impossible to perform all of them in one evening, this program offers selected pieces for baritone and piano, alongside songs set to texts by other Ukrainian poets.

A figure of quiet sorrow, Shevchenko becomes a deeply intimate presence in the music of Valentyn Silvestrov. His farewell to his homeland, rendered through Silvestrov’s delicate and introspective musical language, touches the most sensitive emotional chords — the music makes this goodbye feel irrevocably final. “Farewell, World, Farewell, Earth” by Silvestrov, closing this concert, is a true gem of modern Ukrainian music. It is part of the composer’s “Requiem for Larissa,” a cycle nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004.

Shevchenko’s voice takes many forms — and that is precisely why it remains so universally relatable. This program’s expressive blend of word and music is brought to life by the duo of Stanislav Badrak and Myroslav Dragan. A special highlight of the evening is Lesia Dychko’s rarely performed vocal cycle “Enharmonic”, composed in 1967. Written for a high voice and originally reflecting avant-garde aesthetics, the cycle gains fresh expressive depth through Badrak’s unique baritone interpretation — revealing a wide spectrum of artistic imagery in a contemporary musical language.