Лютий Січень

Лютий Січень 23-го  / Fierce January ’23

35 songs on verses of Ukrainian poets

In 2022 and 2023, in Kyiv, Lunyov responds to reality in his creative work for the
first time. At this time he receives commission from Viktoriia Vitrenko (singer)
and Antonii Baryshevskyi (pianist) to compose music based on texts by Ukrainian
poets, to which he immediately declines. However, by spring 2023, he completes a
large cycle called “Fierce January’23”, comprising several sub-cycles. All the
songs in this meta-cycle are written to the verses of famous Ukrainian poets.
“Thirty-five songs based on texts by Ukrainian poets were commissioned by my
musical friends, Viktoriia Vitrenko and Antonii Baryshevskyi, whose artistry I
admire. Through this work, I express my boundless gratitude to them for providing
me with an opportunity to communicate with them in the language of

contemporary Ukrainian poetry.”,- so Svyatoslav Lunyov.
Neborak, Andrukhovych, Malkovych, Vorobyov, Semenko, Chubay, Stus—
these Ukrainian poets belonged to different eras, starting from the Executed
Renaissance (Mikhail Semenko: executed in 1937), the Sixtiers (Vasyl Stus:
executed in 1985), up to the present-day poets. Ukrainian poetry is the genetic
heritage of the Ukrainian people’s genocide. In their fight against the
Ukrainian language and culture as a whole, the Soviet regime managed to
destroy many Ukrainian poets in one way or another. The gene of resistance
threaded through Ukrainian poetry makes it a mirror of the relationship with
the regime over the past 100 years: resistance, struggle, weakness, despair,
strength, pride, independence, exhaustion.
However, none of these elements are present in Lunyov’s songs. He does not
exploit these themes; therefore, they remain in the verbal component. When it
comes to the music itself, it is unexpectedly contrasting: sometimes ironic,
occasionally even cheerful and light… A bit incongruous, incorrect, something
that cannot exist during a war (“Inappropriate Songs”).
Within the cycle of poets, each individual contributes something unique and
significant. Vasyl Stus, in particular, stands as a representation of the social
aspect, embodying the profound hardships of the era and serving as a symbol
of the unwavering spirit of the Ukrainian people. Through their collective
voices, put into music by Svyatoslav Lunyov and performed by the leading
Ukrainian artists Viktoriia Vitrenko (soprano) and Antonii Baryshevskyi
(piano), the song cycle illuminates the multifaceted nature of the human
experience and leaves an indelible mark on the Ukrainian musical landscape.

Duration: 90′