SONGS OF THE UKRAINIAN SICH RIFLEMEN: GENESIS AND CULTURAL-ARTISTIC FOUNDATIONS OF FORMATION

Abstract

The aim of the article is to provide a comprehensive study of the songs of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen as an integral phenomenon of the national musical culture of the early twentieth century, in particular to clarify their genesis and to determine the cultural and artistic foundations of their formation based on the analysis of folk, sacred, regional, and professional musical traditions. The article summarizes the results of a study of the song творчість of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen as a holistic phenomenon of the national musical culture of the early twentieth century and substantiates its genesis and cultural–artistic foundations of formation. Based on a comprehensive analysis, it has been established that the Riflemen’s song tradition emerged as a result of an organic synthesis of several interrelated traditions, among which the decisive role is played by Cossack musical folklore, the kobzar–lirnyk tradition, Ukrainian church music–particularly the kant practice–regional folklore of Western Ukrainian lands, as well as urban song culture and the influence of the Western European musical environment. It is demonstrated that continuity with the Cossack tradition is manifested in thematic orientation, heroic and patriotic content, and the typology of the warrior-defender image, whereas the kobzar–lirnyk tradition determined the formation of narrativity, epic character, and historical memory within the Riflemen’s melos. It has been established that the influence of church music contributed to the formation of an elevated, often requiem-like character of the songs, while the kant basis ensured their accessibility and the possibility of wide collective performance within the military environment. It is generalized that the urban musical culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly the romance genre, significantly influenced the intonational expressiveness, lyricism, and harmonic organization of Riflemen’s songs, whereas Western European musical influences contributed to the renewal of their rhythmic and formal characteristics. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of the professional musical milieu, since a considerable number of authors of Riflemen’s songs possessed sufficient musical training, which ensured the high artistic quality of the works, their structural completeness, and their capacity for further functioning in academic and concert practice. As a result of the study, it is substantiated that the Riflemen’s song tradition performs not only aesthetic but also important communicative, consolidating, and identity-forming functions, acting as a means of preserving historical memory and transmitting national values. It is concluded that the songs of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen constitute a significant cultural and artistic phenomenon that demonstrates the continuity of Ukrainian musical tradition, its ability to adapt under conditions of historical transformations, and plays a substantial role in shaping national identity and historical continuity.