Energy Concentrated on a CD

On February 24 the culture and art center of the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy saw the presentation of the CD “The Spirit Will Never Die” featuring folk singers Taras Kompanychenko, Taras Sylenko and his son Sviatoslav, singer-songwriter Eduard Drach, the Hryndzholy group, Foma, and Oleh Skrypka. All of these singers participated in the Orange Revolution festival initiated by Skrypka, frontman of the group Vopli Vidopliasova. The festival was held every night on the improvised outdoor stages near the Cabinet of Ministers, the Presidential Administration, and the Verkhovna Rada buildings. “It was very cold, windy, and nasty at dawn. Sometimes my fingers would freeze to the bandura or guitar strings,” says Kompanychenko. “So we would pour hot tea on our hands or put on gloves and continue playing. We mostly sang rousing songs, like Taras Shevchenko’s ‘Hamaliya,’ Ivan Franko’s ‘Winter in Wonder,’ Osyp Makovei’s ‘Is It a Storm or Thunder?’ and the haidamaks’ ‘Song of Sava Chaly.’ We also performed our own pieces: Skrypka’s ‘Cossack Song’ and ‘Springtime,’ Hryndzoly’s cult song ‘We Are Together, We Are Many,’ Foma’s ‘Don’t Sleep, My Native Land,’ and ‘Radiance’.” It turned out that Foma composed five new pieces during that period, although he usually writes about a total of ten per year! He says he managed to do this because of strong, heartfelt emotions. He viewed those events as a struggle for his own freedom, moral values, and cultural priorities. This was also the attitude of the rest of the singers. The musicians call themselves and the people from Brody, Okhtyrka and Smila the tireless “ants” and “worker bees” of the revolution.

They all claim they were in no hurry to issue a disc because they wanted to reflect on what they had lived through. The existence of dozens of pirated CD compilations brings them bittersweet satisfaction. The singers say that some of the official “orange” albums are interesting and valuable, so they are convinced it is time to separate expediency from the display of true emotions and salubrious positive energy. They still remember singing for the crowds of people and feeling the spirit of all-time Ukrainian freedom fighters. This brought forth the title “The Spirit Will Never Die.” Now each of them will get back to his traditional repertoire: medieval, baroque, lyrical, and rock compositions, while the new CD will be another reminder of those memorable days of November-December. “We have all won! I am happy for our people!” Oleh Skrypka sums up. “But I personally look forward to the victory of a high-quality and high-style Ukrainian culture. We are still going to work for this!”