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[CULTURAL DIPLOMACY] Svitova kontsertova podorozh Ukrainskoi Respublikanskoi Kapeli. Spomyny uchasnyka. [World Concert Tour of the Ukrainian Republican Chapel Choir: A participant’s Memoir]

Pelenskyi, Oleksander

Item #2612

Lviv: Drukarnia Naukovoho T-va im. Shevchenka u Lvovi for Alexander Pelenśkjį, 1933. 167 pp, [1], 10 tipped-in unnumbered illustrations. 20,5 x 14 cm. Period three-quarter cloth. In Ukrainian. Very good. Quarter cloth with gilt embossed author’s name and a variant title both on front cover and spine. Edges show expected light rubbing. Modern printed bookplate pasted down to the front endpaper. Endpapers with floral ornamentation in blue and gold harmoniously complement the blue cloth and gilded lettering. Firm block with minor creases. All 10 tipped-in illustrations mentioned on p. [168] present.

First and only edition.

Original publisher’s artistic paper wrapper with variant title Ukrainska pisnia v sviti [Ukrainian song around the world] preserved. The cover is signed “B. C.”, attributed to Volodymyr Sichynskyi (1894–1962). Sichynskyi is better known for his scholarship on Ukrainian toponyms and national symbols; this cover design is a rare occurrence of his graphic artistic expression. Pictorially, the cover design juxtaposes Eiffel tower and Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral, interwoven with musical notation and Ukrainian folk ornament. On the constructivist level, the cover art composition evokes a swinging church bell.

The Ukrainian Republican Chapel Choir, whose tour is detailed in the book, was established in 1919 supported by high-ranked Ukrainian Nationalist officials and Ukrainian People’s Republic leaders, notably military head Symon Petliura. The Choir listed 80 singers (as seen in the supplemented list on pp. 165–167), falling within one of its four voices. The Choir was led by two musicians, Kyrylo Stetsenko (1882–1922) and Oleksandr Koshyts (1875–1944), whose dedication and organisational talents made the choir internationally recognizable. Both musicians were associates of the Ukrainian music classic Mykola Lysenko. The Choir] thus enjoyed a large repertoire of folk and religious arrangements by Lysenko, but Koshyts, Stetsenko and Mykola Leontovych.
Established in 1919, the Choir—despite some administrative barriers—embarked on a European tour, a first of its kind for any Ukrainian music organization. The tour became a resounding success, comparable in the cultural impact (albeit on a smaller scale) to Dyagilev’s ballets. While less sensational, the Choir was a pioneering effort to introduce vibrant Ukrainian singing to the Western audience. The Choir’s repertoire consisted mostly of Church and ritualistic songs with a bit of staged events and dancing. The signature song of the choir was (and still is!) Leontovych’ chimesounding Shchedryk. Pelenskyi, serving as the Choir’s administrative manager and conductor, recounts the tours around Europe and America. The author supplements his personal recollections with excerpts from foreign press on the choir. In 1922, following news of independent Ukrainian state fall, the choir broke up in two groups with the majority of members emigrating to Americas, where they enjoyed even more touring success.

WorldCat shows 4 copies, including one at the Library of Congress and one at the Pennsylvania State University Library. KVK shows no additional copies.

Price: $650.00