Ways of developing the repertoire for folk instruments in the works of the composers of Slobozhanshchyna
Authors: Kostohryz Serhiі 
Published: April 2024

Statement of the problem. The formation of the repertoire of folk instruments is a comprehensive and long-term process that began in Ukraine only in the 20th century. A significant part of the musical repertoire for folk instruments was written by the composers of Slobozhanshchyna, because namely this region became the centre of the folk instrumental art of Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, the necessary arises to recreate the holistic picture of developing the music for folk instruments in the works of the composers of Slobozhanshchyna that has not yet attracted the attention of researches, which determines the relevance of our work. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of the article is to present as much as possible the entire range of music for folk instruments by the composers of Slobozhanshchyna, to reveal the dominant genre-style vectors and timbre priorities in the works of H. Khotkevych, V. Podgorny, B. Mikhieiev, V. Ivanov, M. Stetsiun, I. Haidenko and A. Haidenko. The genre-style method helps establish the hierarchy of genres and styles in music for folk instruments; historical one – to determine the stages of formation and distribution of the folk instrumental repertoire; the method of source studies – to analyze the existing sources on the works of the composers of Slobozhanshchyna; structural and functional method – to reveal the compositional features of the works. Today there are a number of works devoted to bayan /accordion, domra, balalaika, bandura, guitar and cimbalom art. A significant number of works for folk instruments by the composers of Slobozhanshchyna have already been considered, but in isolation, outside the general scheme of the development of folk instrumental music in Ukraine. The novelty of our topic lies in the fact that for the first time a panorama of music for folk instruments is presented and the ways of its development in the repertoire of the artists of Slobozhanshchyna are considered. Research results and conclusion. The panorama of music by the composers of Slobozhanshchyna for folk instruments presented in the article gives grounds for the conclusion that, starting from the 1930s, by the way of the gradual extending the genre and style guidelines, the complication of the form of works, from arrangements of folk songs to large scale concert compositions, due to discovering the original timbre solutions and bright playing techniques, deepening the artistic and conceptual content and expanding the folklore “geography” of the compositions (besides Ukrainian, appeal to Spanish, Romanian, etc. folklore), the artists from Slobozhanshchyna “guide” folk instruments to the concert stage, giving them the opportunity to establish themselves on the same level as the instruments of the academic tradition. According to chronology, since the 1930s, the original bandura works (H. Khotkevych) are first, and only since the 1960s the composers of Slobozhanshchyna write for the button accordion (V. Podgorny, A. Haidenko, M. Stetsiun), for the balalaika (P. Haidamaka, V. Ivanov, B. Mikhieiev, A. Haidenko, M. Stetsiun), and the domra (V. Podgorny, M. Stetsiun, A. Haidenko, B. Mikhieiev, V. Ivanov). Since the beginning of the 1990s, the bandura (A. Haidenko, I. Haidenko), the guitar (M. Stetsiun) and the cimbalom (A. Haidenko, I. Haidenko, M. Stetsiun) repertoire has been replenished with original compositions. The high artistic and professional status of the works of the composers of Slobozhanshchyna confirms not only their popularity among performers and listeners, but also their inclusion as mandatory in the programs of international performance competitions.