Legendary Drevo still sings!

The amateur folk music ensemble Drevo from the village of Kriachkivka, Pyriatyn raion, Poltava oblast, well known for its unique multi-voiced singing, is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year.

“Kriachkivka has always heard songs – on holidays, during a harvest, in joy and in sorrow. So, women often sang at work or on a lunch break. In 1958 a well-known composer and folklorist, Volodymyr Matviienko, who was collecting traditional Ukrainian songs, came from Kyiv. He arrived at Kriachkivka, where local women sang him songs willingly and inspirationally,” Nadia Rozdabara says, telling The Day the band’s history. “He was so thrilled with the performance of lyrical works that he could not hold back his emotions and impressions and called the singing ‘Georgia.’ From then on, Matviienko used to send his pupils – conservatoire professors now – to us. At the same time, Hanna Popko, who died three years ago, organized and led this band. But the official date of our ensemble’s formation is October 31, 1960.”

Out of those who founded and originally sang in the band, the couple Nadia and Fedir Rozdabara are still living, while Nina Reva joined in a little later. The others   – Halyna Natoloka, Alla Dmytrenko, Valentyna Dzhym, Nadia Rvach, and Nina Zabava – became members of the singing ensemble much later. The youngest Drevo vocalist is Maryna Fedynska, now 29.

In 1982 the band was invited to Moscow, where they recorded 24 folk music pieces at the Melodiya company’s studio. As Nadia Rozdabara says, “this catapulted our songs to worldwide fame.” It is perhaps owing to that recording session that the folk song “Oh There on the Hill,” sung by Drevo, was used in the animated cartoon There Was a Dog which film director Eduard Nazarov made after the Ukrainian folk fairytale Sirko. In the same year the band recorded some songs in Poland and Ukraine. They have a lot of disks to their credit now with the songs which both the older and the younger generation listen to.