"Ще не вмерла Українa"
"Shche ne vmerla Ukraina"
"Ukraine Has Not Perished"
The Ukrainian National Anthem

This melody was composed by Mykhailo Verbytsky in 1893, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest trained in the European music tradition of the time. In it I hear both the melodic inflections of Slavic folk songs, combined with a European hymnal harmonic accompaniment and texture. This lends the theme religious overtones, while combining both Slavic and European musical idioms, which in part account for its haunting quality. Notably this stylistic combination has embedded within it the heart of the matter now at issue. Since I've been hearing this melody so much recently, I thought I'd contribute my 21st century interpretation. Слава Україні!

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