THE BANDURA IN THE AESTHETIC SPACE BETWEEN ART AND POPULAR MUSIC: THE CREATIVE PHENOMENON OF OKSANA HERASYMENKO

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive musicological analysis of the oeuvre of Oksana Herasymenko within the context of the development of Ukrainian bandura art in the second half of the twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries. The study is grounded in an examination of the processes of the bandura’s academisation, the expansion of its genre and stylistic spectrum, the renewal of performance techniques, and the gradual integration of the instrument into chamberinstrumental and concert practice. From this perspective, the artist’s work is interpreted as a representative example of the synthesis of traditional national melos and contemporary compositional tendencies, reflecting the openness of Ukrainian musical culture to dialogue with the European and global artistic space. The article consistently outlines the stages in the formation of the composer’s individual style–from her professional development in Lviv to the Cuban and contemporary Lviv periods, which fostered the intercultural openness of her artistic thinking and the multidirectional genre character of her output. Particular emphasis is placed on the significance of her performing experience as a factor in shaping her individual intonational language, her sensitivity to the timbral resources of the bandura, and the practicality of her textural writing. The organic combination of performing, composing, and pedagogical activities defines the universalism of O. Herasymenko’s creative persona and her substantial contribution to the modernization of the academic bandura repertoire. Special attention is devoted to the Chamber Suite for bandura and piano as a representative example of the composer’s individual style. The analysis reveals the principles of form-building, the logic of thematic transformations, the modalharmonic language, the intonational sources, and the dramatic integrity of the cycle. It is demonstrated that the structure of the work synthesizes features of the Baroque suite, Romantic programmaticism, and sonata-symphonic thinking, integrated with Ukrainian folk melos and contemporary harmonic devices. In conclusion, the study substantiates the significance of the composer’s creative work as an important factor in the renewal of contemporary bandura art, the expansion of its expressive and artistic potential, and the actualization of national tradition within a broader cultural and artistic context.