BANDURIST CAPELLA “THE SUN” OF I. P. KOTLYAREVSKY KhNUA: DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIFICS OF EVOLUTION (for the 20th anniversary of the artistic life of the capella and the 50th anniversary of its leader Nadezhda Melnik)Background. The present of the national
Authors: Tetyana Slyusarenko 
Published: March 2021

Background. The present of the national musical culture is characterized by a kind of synthesis between imitation of the original folk-instrumental traditions with the latest ideological models and performing means. The art of bandura players also occupies a proper place in the development of academic folk instruments of Ukraine. A prominent place in the diversity of ensemble groups of large forms is occupied by the bandura band “Sun” of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts, whose artistic director and conductor is a famous and talented bandura player, senior lecturer at the Department of Folk Instruments of Ukraine, Kharkiv National University of Arts Nadiya Melnik. The band has a unique performance portrait, relatively long creative path and its own genre and style specifics of development. Today the band is the only large educational bandura ensemble in Kharkiv, which presents the performing traditions of Sloboda Ukraine but, unfortunately, in the musicological discourse there are no studies on the creative activity of this artistic association, analysis of development specifics and its role in the development of bandura performance of Ukraine, which determines the relevance of the article. Many scholars such as: L. Yashchenko, V. Umanets, R. Kiyanovska, A.Ivanysh, T. Cherneta and others studied the development, the stages of formation and the specifics of activities of large bandura groups in Ukraine. The main attention of musicologists and bandura practitioners is devoted to the activities of powerful and leading large ensembles and bandura groups. Among them there are National Honored Bandura Band of Ukraine named after G. I. Mayboroda, bandura choir “Magician” of the Dnipro Academy of Music named after M. Glinka, bandura choir “Lyubava” of Poltava College of Arts named after M. V. Lysenko and others. However, the study of the creative activity of the bandura band “Sun” of Kharkiv I. P. Kotlyarevsky National University of Arts under the direction of N. V. Melnyk, which today has a strong potential and vividly represents the bandura performance not only of Kharkiv, but of Ukraine as a whole remains unnoticed. The purpose and objectives of the article are to highlight the main stages of formation and specifics of the creative activity of the bandore band “Sun” as a bright representative of modern bandura performance in Kharkov. To achieve this goal, the following tasks must be completed: – to identify the main stages of development of the bandura band “Sun”; – to analyze the performance and repertoire of the bandura band “Sun”; – to determine the specifics of the development of creative activity of the bandura band “Sun”. Methods. To achieve this goal and solve the main tasks of the article, the method of artistic and scientific research was used. Results. Basing on the method of art research, it was found that at the present stage the band is the only large group that represents the bandura performance not only of Kharkiv but also in the Sloboda region. Significant events in the artistic life of the participants are marked, which characterize the main milestones in the history of formation and development of the band: the period of the band, the first state recognition of bandura conductors as a professional artists, creation of a bandore band for the first time, winning the laureate title (I place at the all-Ukrainian competition which is called “Ring, bandura” (Dnepropetrovsk, 2004)). The synthesis of traditional performance forms with modern elements of music, combination of vocal and instrumental material and dramatization, melodic recitation, artistic experiments etc. is characteristic for the work of the artistic team. Conclusions. Summarizing all what is written above, we can say that the bandura band “Sun” is a powerful highly professional team with its own performance and drama approach, genre and style features and specific development features: combination of vocal-instrumental material and theatrical performance, melodic, etc. The high appreciation of the bandura players’ creative activity by the leading musicologists of Ukraine and the popularity of the famous artistic group testifies to its recognition in the musicological circle and among the fans of bandura performance in Kharkiv and in Ukraine as a whole.