SOUNDING THE UKRAINIAN SOUL: AESTHETIC AND CIVIC DIMENSIONS IN YAKIV STEPOVYI’S VOCAL MINIATURES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbmusica.2025.spiss4.07Keywords:
chamber vocal lyrics, Ukrainian modernism, musical impressionism, poetic-musical synthesis, civic educationAbstract
The article presents a comprehensive study of Yakiv Stepovyi’s vocal miniatures based on the verses of Oleksandr Oles as exemplary manifestations of poetic-musical synthesis in Ukrainian chamber music of the early 20th century. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of intonational structure, harmonic language, and piano accompaniment, as well as to the disclosure of the emotional, symbolic, and cultural significance of these works. The article highlights how Stepovyi’s miniatures, through their poetic and musical fusion, form a psychologically nuanced artistic space where melody and harmony serve as vehicles of both aesthetic experience and cultural memory. In addition to musicological and literary analysis, the article explores the civic-educational potential of Stepovyi’s vocal works in the 21st century. It argues that this repertoire can function as an educational resource that fosters historical reflection, cultural empathy, and national self-awareness, thus becoming a tool for civic education and identity formation.
References
Bench-Shokalo, O. Ukrainskyi khorovyi spiv: Aktualizatsiia zvychaievoi tradytsii [Ukrainian Choral Singing: Actualization of the Customary Tradition]. Ukrainskyi Svit, 2002.
Berehova, O. “Stylovi tendentsii v kamernii muzytsi ukrainskykh kompozytoriv 1990-kh rokiv XX stolittia. Sytuatsiia postmodernizmu” [“Stylistic Tendencies in the Chamber Music of Ukrainian Composers of the 1990s. The Situation of Postmodernism”]. Ukrainske muzykoznavstvo, no. 29, 2000, pp. 103–08.
Berehova, O. “Problematyka tvoriv suchasnykh ukrainskykh kompozytoriv” [“A Range of Problems in the Works of Modern Ukrainian Composers”]. Ukrainske muzykoznavstvo. Tsentr muzychnoi ukrainistyky, no. 30, NMAU im. P. I. Chaikovskoho, 2001, pp. 150–55.
Bulat, T. “Do pytannia zbahachennia tradytsii kamerno-vokalnoi tvorchosti” [“On the Issue of Enriching the Traditions of Chamber and Vocal Creativity”]. Muzychna krytyka i suchasnist, vol. 2, Muzychna Ukraina, 1984, pp. 39–57.
Bulat, T. Yakiv Stepovyi. Muzychna Ukraina, 1990.
Council of Europe. Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC). Guidance Document for Vocational Education and Training, 2024. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025. https://rm.coe.int/prems-056824-rfcdc-guidance-doc-for-vet/1680b1c6f4
Filts, B. Ukrainskyi radianskyi romans [The Ukrainian Soviet Romance]. Naukova dumka, 1970.
Honcharov, A. “Neofolkloryzm yak stymul do teatralizatsii v muzychnomu vykonavstvi” [“Neo-folklorism as an Incentive for Theatricalization in Musical Performance”]. Naukovyi visnyk muzychnoi akademii Ukrainy im. P. I. Chaikovskoho. Muzychne vykonavstvo, vol. 22, no. 8, 2002, pp. 81–93.
Hrytsa, S. Ochyma etnomuzykoloha (Rozdumy z pryvodu VIII «Kyiv Muzyk Festu») [Through the Eyes of an Ethnomusicologist (Reflections on the 8th Kyiv Music Fest)]. Mizhnarodnyi Muzychnyi Festyval Kyiv Muzyk Fest, 1999.
Hubanov, Ya. “Klaster yak komponent suchasnoho myslennia (na prykladi ukrainskoi radianskoi muzyky 70–80-kh rokiv)” [“The Cluster as a Component of Modern Thinking (Using the Example of Ukrainian Soviet Music of the 1970s–80s)”]. Ukrainske muzykoznavstvo, no. 24, Muzychna Ukraina, 1980, pp. 118–25.
Humeniuk, T. “Postmodernistska estetyka: do vyznachennia pytannia” [“Postmodern Aesthetics: Toward Defining the Question”]. Ukrainske muzykoznavstvo, no. 29, 2000, pp. 236–44.
Hundrova, T. “Proiavlennia slova. Dyskursiia rannoho ukrainskoho modernizmu” [“The Manifestation of the Word: The Discourse of Early Ukrainian Modernism”]. Krytychni studii, Instytut krytyky / Ukrainskyi naukovyi instytut Harvardskoho universytetu, Chasopys “Krytyka,” 2009.
Ilnytskyi, M. Vid «Molodoi muzy» do «Prazkoi shkoly» [From the “Young Muse” to the “Prague School”]. Lviv,1995.
Kornii, L. Istoriia ukrainskoi muzyky [The History of Ukrainian Music]. Pt. 1, Kyiv–Kharkiv–New York, 1996.
Kozarenko, O. Fenomen ukrainskoi natsionalnoi muzychnoi movy [The Phenomenon of the Ukrainian National Musical Language]. NTSh, 2000.
Lihus, O. “Tendentsii neoromantyzmu v ukrainskii fortepiannii muzytsi pochatku XX stolittia” [“Neo-romantic Tendencies in Ukrainian Piano Music of the Early 20th Century”]. Khudozhnia kultura: Aktualni problemy, vol. 16, no. 2, 2020, pp. 94–98. https://doi.org/10.31500/1992-5514.16(2).2020.217797
Pavlychko, S. Teoriia literatury [The Theory of Literature]. Vydavnytstvo Solomii Pavlychko “OSNOVY,” 2002.
Semenenko, N. F. Folklorni rysy harmonii khorovoi muzyky [Folkloric Features of the Harmony of Choral Music]. Naukova dumka, 1987.
Stepovyi, Ya. Romansy “Pisni nastroiu”: Vokalnyi tsykl na slova O. Olesia [Romances “Songs of Mood”: A Vocal Cycle to the Words of O. Oles]. Muzychna Ukraina, 1969.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai Musica
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
