Menoizikul; Midweek Musicalisms

This festive season, I will bring you a slightly different take on Christmas chorals. Think you know The Carol of the Bells??? Here, you will listen to four very different adaptations of a traditional folk song from Ukraine - and we start with the original.

“Shchedryk” was arranged by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych at the beginning of the 20th century. The song is based on the traditional Ukrainian folk chant welcoming the New Year (“shchedrivka”). In 1921, the Ukrainian National Chorus sang the song in the United States to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall. Later, Peter J. Wilhousky rearranged the melody for orchestra and wrote the new lyrics in English, thus creating “Carol of the Bells”. The original “Shchedryk” by Leontovych was intended to be sung a cappella by a mixed four-voice choir. (With thanks to the artist for providing this history.)