Melody (Skoryk)

Melody (Ukrainian: Мелодія, romanized: Melodiya), also known as Melody in A minor, is a musical composition by the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. Composed for the 1982 Soviet war film Vysokyy pereval, it has a simple structure comprising an opening theme, short development section, and modified reprise of the original theme. It was originally scored for flute and piano but has since been arranged for many other instrumentations. Melody is Skoryk's most popular work and is frequently performed in concerts, including in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Melody
by Myroslav Skoryk
Native nameМелодія
KeyA minor
OccasionVysokyy pereval (1982)
ScoringFlute and piano (original)

Background
Headshot of an older man
Skoryk in 2015

Skoryk composed Melody for the 1982 Soviet war film Vysokyy pereval.[1][2] Set in Galicia in the aftermath of World War II, the film was subjected to Soviet censorship and negatively depicted Ukrainian nationalism.[3][4] Skoryk, who composed the work at the request of the film's director, Volodymyr Denysenko, later said that although other composers had turned down the offer to compose the film's score, he wanted to create music to subvertively convey the film's tragic and emotional themes.[4][5] It was originally scored for flute and piano; Skoryk later arranged the work for other instruments, including violin with piano or orchestral accompaniment.[6]

Form

Melody is in small ternary form, with an opening theme, short development, and modified reprise of the original theme. It begins mostly in common time with occasional single measures in 3
4, which Skoryk described as creating a "unified statement". In the first eight measures, the key is modulated from A minor to C major and then to E major, a recurring pattern in Ukrainian folk music. According to Skoryk, he chose this sequence after studying many Ukrainian folk songs. The opening theme is then repeated, this time with a more complex counter-melody in the accompaniment.[7]

The eight-measure development is a series of rapid changes in minor keys: from C-sharp minor to G-sharp minor, B minor, and F-sharp minor. The accompaniment in this section similarly increases in intensity, culminating in the reprise of the original theme. The reprise includes additional voices and emphasis on the first four notes of the melody.[7]

Usage

As Skoryk's most well known composition, Melody is frequently performed in concerts and on Ukrainian radio and television.[7] It is frequently described as a spiritual hymn of Ukraine,[2][8] and has been used in commemorations of the Holodomor and the Revolution of Dignity.[9][10]

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Melody has been widely performed internationally in benefit concerts and other settings.[11][12][13] During a virtual address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United States Congress in March 2022, it accompanied a video of the destruction in Ukraine.[12] The work is part of the concert program of the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra during their tour in Europe, selected for its recognisability and sentimentality.[14]

Melody have often been used without permission for commercial purposes - in particular, in the russian film "The Milkmaid from Khatsapetovka" (2007)[15]

References
  1. Cantrell, Scott (18 March 2022). "Dallas Symphony brilliantly performs less familiar works by Strauss, Shostakovich and Unsuk Chin". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  2. Courtney, Laryssa Lapychak (10 July 2020). "Myroslav Skoryk, Ukraine's cultural icon, 81". The Ukrainian Weekly. Archived from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  3. Гоцур, Оксана (18 May 2007). "Іван Вакарчук: «Мирослав Скорик – це творча особистість, без котрої українську музику не можна уявити»" (in Ukrainian). Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  4. терещук, галина (2 June 2020). "Композитор Мирослав Скорик. На його долю вплинула Соломія Крушельницька". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  5. Кисілевська, Нінель (17 May 2016). "Мирослав Скорик, композитор, лауреат Шевченківської премії" (in Ukrainian). Ukrinform. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  6. Зінченко, Наталія (7 November 2006). "Мирослав Скорик: 'Соломія Крушельницька порадила моїм батькам послати мене в музичну школу...'". Kreschatic (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  7. Markiw, Victor Radoslav (2010). The Life and Solo Piano Works of the Ukrainian Composer Myroslav Skoryk. Edwin Mellen Press. pp. 116–118. ISBN 978-0-7734-3690-9. OCLC 529958074.
  8. Shulzhenko, Daria (2 June 2020). "Prominent Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk dies at 81". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  9. Korkatsch-Groszko, Maria; Slobidsky, Marie (1 November 2019). "Holodomor commemoration held at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral". The Ukrainian Weekly. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  10. Babij, Lana; Kuzma, Alexander (5 January 2019). "University of New Haven hosts concert commemorating Holodomor and Maidan". The Ukrainian Weekly. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  11. Feher, Peter (26 April 2022). "L.A. Musicians Stand With Ukraine in Benefit Concert". San Francisco Classical Voice. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  12. Kageyama, Yuri (20 April 2022). "Ukrainian opera singer in Japan prays for peace in melody". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  13. Crowley, Sinéad (11 April 2022). "Ukrainian opera star to sing at St Patrick's Cathedral". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  14. Tholl, Egbert (26 April 2022). "So verrückt das klingt". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  15. Gazeta.ua (11 July 2008). ""В Америці гриби не пахнуть"". Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 December 2022.
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