THE EPISTOLARY OF MYKOLA LYSENKO AS A SOURCE OF HIS RELATIONS WITH GALICIANS

Abstract

The epistolary of Mykola Lysenko was studied by Filaret Kolessa, Vasyl Vytvytskyi, Mykola Rylskyi, Roksana Skorulska, Mykhailo Golovashchenko, Iryna Farion and others. Separate epistolary aspects were taken into consideration by scholars who studied the relations of Lysenko with different figures of national culture (Mariia Zagaykevych, Sofiia Grytsa, Stefaniia Pav-lyshyn, Roman Sovyak, Yakym Gorak, etc.). However, his correspondence with Galicians as a versatile phenomenon, was not specifically studied. The purpose of the article is to reveal the versatility of M. Lysenko’s contacts with Galicia and Galicians through the prism of his epistolary heritage. His letters combine the theme of establishing ties between the two artificially separated branches of the Ukrainian people; collecting, preserving and studying folklore; professionalism of the composer’s work and musicology; concert activity and publishing; popularizing Ukrainian music in the world; musical, public and cultural life in general and many other aspects. In his letters, Lysenko called himself a "mediator", referring to his intermediary tasks in contacts with the Galicians. But his role was much more important – he was a mediator of the spiritual consolidation of all Ukrainians, wherever they lived. The role of Galician writers, artists, scholars, politicians, public figures and societies in his musical creativity and ethnographic work was noted. We have emphasized on the value of Lysenko’s letters in the elevation of the musical culture of the region. The character features of Lysenko were his innate generosity and intelligence, courtesy and sincerity, compassion and responsibility, honesty and decency, courage and optimism, which appear in the letters, along with a thorough education and professional competence, the condemnation of the policy of the Tsar regime and love for his people. In general, Lysenko’s epistolary testifies an extremely wide range of his interests and tireless work for the good of Ukraine.