A Ukrainian Wedding
$11.98 – $19.98
Cappella Records proudly announces the release of A Ukrainian Wedding, performed by an all-female cast of Cappella Romana.
Ukrainian American folklorist and singer Nadia Tarnawsky leads the women of Cappella Romana with special guest folklorists from Ukraine, Inna Kovtun and Hanna Tishchenko, to perform this unique offering of Ukrainian wedding songs.
The songs sung in preparation for the wedding employ the vocal techniques of village singers, while the chants and choral works sung during the wedding ceremony itself reflect the sublime style more prevalent in church singing.
From the engagement through the crowning of the young couple, the rituals of a traditional Ukrainian wedding are accompanied by songs. Traditionally performed by the women belonging to the families of the young couple, these songs help bring forth good health, prosperity, and many children.
These songs were collected by Nadia Tarnawsky before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, from women often over 80 years old.
- Oh the gates creaked (1:00)
- The goose flew over the mountain (0:55)
- The cuckoo bird flew (1:44)
- Marichka’s mother (1:06)
- Songs of the korovai: God bless – Our oven is laughing – Vasyl’s father (1:16)
- Makers of the korovai (1:47)
- We go to the clear field (0:52)
- Glorious night (1:42)
- Look, mother (1:45)
- The pine is green in both summer and winter (1:47)
- The violets blossomed (1:36)
- My mother lit a candle (2:54)
- The duck swam (2:22)
- On Sunday morning (1:17)
- God, come to us (1:14)
- Blessing for the wedding (2:27)
- My father, my dove (1:48)
- Yakiv Yatsynevych (arr. Tarnawsky): Hail, Mary (1:08)
- Psalm 127 (2:15)
- Prokimen (1:22)
- Oleksander Koshyts (arr. Tarnawsky): Alleluia (2:18)
- (Arr. Koshyts & Tarnawsky): O Most Holy Virgin Mother (3:10)
- Our Father (2:11)
- Dance, Isaiah and troparia (2:06)
- Kyrylo Stetsenko (Arr. Tarnawsky): More honorable than the Cherubim (1:40)
- Hannu Kononen (Arr. Tarnawsky): Many years (1:23)
InfoDad
The purity and clarity of the women’s voices are outstanding throughout...it is an offering of insight into the beauty and cultural depth of one aspect of Ukrainian life...that may be largely unfamiliar to listeners but that is filled with its own plenteous portion of beauty, charm and solemnity. ” –Mark J. Estren
Pizzicato
Cappella Romana puts a lot of heart and soul, singing the monophonic songs with fervor, but emphasizing their well-dosed choral sound, especially in the polyphonic sacred songs. ” –Guy Engels
CD HotList
This remarkable album...is a magnificent listening experience as well as a very useful cultural document. ” –Rick Anderson
Songlines
Everything is brilliantly and captivatingly performed by the vocal ensemble Cappella Romana. A Ukrainian Wedding is a great opportunity to learn more about Ukrainian culture — not just about folk music, but how Ukrainian society celebrates all parts of life. ” –Yurii Bereza
San Francisco Classical Voice
The songs sung in preparation for the wedding employ the vocal techniques of village singers, while the chants and choral works sung during the wedding ceremony itself reflect the sublime style more prevalent in church singing. ” –
