TRANSMISSION OF FIDDLER TRADITION EXEMPLIFIED BY THE WORK OF HUTSUL TRADITIONAL FIDDLER IVAN MENIV
Authors: Pavliv Yarema 
Published: December 2024

The proposed article highlights the creative activity of the renowned Hutsul fiddler Ivan Meniv ("Meniuk") (1910– 1984). The study encompasses: biographical information about the musician; an analytical review and genre classification of his repertoire; an ethnomusicological analysis of selected multi genre samples recorded from the fiddler; a characterization and comparison of the performance manners practiced by I. Meniv. Parallels are drawn between various interpretations of works within the same genres, identifying the common and distinctive qualities of playing among representatives of a single tradition. Based on a comparison of older and newer performance manners, the article substantiates I. Meniv's inclination toward adapting his interpretations of the "Hutsulka" dance to the contemporary artistic and stylistic norms of his time, as well as the evolution in tonal structuring and performance techniques of this dance. Equally significant is the role of I. Meniv in preserving and transmitting to younger generations the thematic elements and artistic stylistic aesthetics of rare genres within the Hutsul fiddler tradition. The author posits a hypothesis regarding the transformation of a significant corpus of Hutsul dance-song kolomyika melodies from the "dance" genre group into the "song" genre group. Emphasis is placed on the value of preserved samples of these melodies performed in the ancient style, which were recorded by the music folklorist M. Tymofiiev from I. Meniv in 1975. Ivan Meniv developed as a musician within the context of a robust instrumental tradition that, in the second quarter of the 20th century, was undergoing active genre functional and aesthetic stylistic transformations. He taught himself to play the violin at the age of seven or eight and gained his first practical experience shortly thereafter, accompanying caroling groups. In the 1930s, I. Meniv began his career as a fiddler and kapellmeister, perform at weddings and other celebrations in the villages of the Kosiv district, Ivano Frankivsk region, until the onset of World War II. For more than a decade, the Meniv family lived in hiding due to Ivan’s involvement in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), where he served as a medic under the pseudonym "Skrypka" ("Violin"). After leaving the underground, I. Meniv, together with his wife and son, moved to Kolomyia. In this city, they led a highly productive life. The fiddler worked in a municipal musical instrument workshop, significantly expanding his circle of musician acquaintances. Simultaneously, I. Meniv resumed performing at weddings. His musical activities extended across Kolomyia, Kosiv, Nadvirna, and Verkhovyna districts and, less frequently, to certain villages and towns in the Ivano Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, and Ternopil regions. I. Meniv was sought after by fiddlers from the villages of the Kosiv district as a leading expert and master performer of the traditional Kosmach Brustury repertoire. Among the most notable multi instrumentalists who adopted examples of traditional ethnomusical works and performance manners from I. Meniv were Ivan Labachuk ("Shevchuk") (1927–2009), Mykola (born 1944) and Yuriy (born 1951) Danyshchuks ("Palagniuks").