God is Born
Artistic Director: Volodymyr Viniar
Conductor: Zenoviy Palamar
Manager: Bohdan Kuts
Recorded in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2000
About the Chorus
From the earliest times, the everyday lives of Ukrainians have been accompanied by songs closely entwined with their history and folklore. Some of the oldest forms of Ukrainian folk songs are ritual or ceremonial. After the adoption of Christianity in Ukraine in 988 AD, the repertoire of koliady (Christmas carols) and schedrivky (Epiphany carols) was enriched in form and content, incorporating the gospel stories of Christ’s birth, perilous infancy and baptism.
Both joyous and solemn, the carols carry for Ukrainians great and positive force, unfailingly passing on faith and optimism year after year, from generation to generation. From the churches, where the congregation joins with the choir in exaltation, the caroling continues throughout the season, as groups of merry-makers visit friends and family to bring the “tidings of great joy”.
The Vydubychi Church Chorus was founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, at the beginning of the revival of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. It was one of the first church choirs in Kyiv to reinstate the singing of divine liturgies in Ukrainian. Since 1993 the Vydubychi Chorus has sung in the 11th-century St. Michael’s Church at the Vydubytsky Monastery in Kyiv.
With a repertoire of sacred works, Christmas carols, and Ukrainian folk music, the chorus performs in concerts and festivals, including the 4th International Symposium of Choral Music (Sydney, Australia 1996), Grand Tour of Canada (May 1997) and Christmas Tour of Belgium (1998).
External Links
Source: CD Brochure