Customer Reviews

Ukrainian Village Music - Historing Recordings 1928-1933

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There will always be unappreciative and disappointed individuals in this world who will not take a liking to a fiddle. One reviewer bemoaned..."out of tune intruments", and "disturbing" music. Hmm. Perhaps the "reviewer" is out of tune...with the folk music genre. If the performers on this rare CD wanted to play perfect music perfectly, they would have joined the Mantovani Orchestra. Let's not forget that it sounded much better in a barn, than on a CD. The Ukrainian Village Music CD is a wonderful example of vintage Ukrainian folk music played at village weddings and other social occasions prior to WWII. The CD cover alone is worth the price - it puts to shame many "new wave" bands in terms of image. Worth grabbing before it goes out of print!

Being of Ukrainian descent, I was intrigued initially by the historical aspect of this CD, but concerned that the quality of the music might be disappointing. Was I wrong! This is great, foot-stomping Ukrainian folk music.

True rural Ukrainian folk music is found in this CD! (Trendy British/Celtic folkies could learn a thing or two from these raw, foot stomping gems.) If you're looking for the huge orchestated sound, this is not for you. If you want to expose yourself to fiddle music for the people, pick this up!

These songs help you realize how close village music of the world is. It sometimes sounds exactly like fiddling from the Appalachian mountains! There are 24 different songs on this set, all recorded back between 1928 to 1933. These are the types of songs our grandparents would have been dancing around to at weddings and festivals.

There are a variety of polkas represented, as well as a waltz, a Hussar dance, and other styles of music as well. Most of it is instrumental, while some contain words. There are also often spoken introductions to the songs.

You really get an amazing sense of the power and energy of these songs! It's important to remember that in 1932 to 1933, the Soviet government deliberately created a famine in Ukraine, trying to subjugate the Ukrainian population. Up to 10 million people - primarily the poor Ukrainian peasant farmers - died as a result. Even with these events going on, the Ukrainian people found a way to dance away their cares and lose themselves in the whirl of the music, if only for a night.

When I recently went to visit my Ukrainian relatives, they talked about what it was like to live back in the days of World War II. They had little food, and slept 12 to a room - but they sang all night, enjoying each others company. I find that same joy here, in these songs. They might have been hungry, but they had each other, and they had the ability to sing and enjoy life. They were going to celebrate that.

Of course this isn't a classical music symphony! These aren't studio-trained musicians. They were farmers, weavers and blacksmiths who, on a fine Ukrainian evening, picked up their well worn instruments and helped to entertain their friends and relatives. You can hear with every note that these were real people. I really treasure this collection.

This CD is everything it claims to be. It's a recorded history of beloved folk and dance tunes. My sister and I laughed and danced to the music, reminiscing about our old Ukrainian dance group days. When I played it for my 80 year old mother, she smiled and cried at the same time. It took her back to her younger days growing up in Ukraine and then immigrating to America and singing in a Ukrainian choir. The sound quality is excellent.

It seems that most Ukrainian CD's are either music which is used for professional Ukrainian dance performances (like The Virsky Dance Ensemble, etc.) or an individual or small singing group, singing ballads. This CD is foot-stomping, pour me a Vodka and point me to the dance floor stuff!

I usually buy CD's for a few songs I like and skip the rest - what a waste of money. With this one, in all honesty, there are only 2 that I don't care for, and that's just a matter of taste. I would call 22 songs out of 24 a bargain!

Would return this CD if I could....very disappointing out of tune instruments are very disturbing even though it is a historical recording...unexciting