Hlukhiv People Amature Chamber Choir of Sacred Music creativity as a component of Hlukhiv region’s culture (the end of 20th – early 21st century): art reflections

Statement of the problem. The 20th century in the history of Ukraine was marked by the harsh policy of the USSR authorities in relation to religion and national self-identity. Aiming to destroy everything sacred for Ukrainians and transform them into an universal faceless nation, the government achieved the opposite result. Against a background unsuitable for revival, sprouts of spirituality and “Ukrainianness” appeared as a counter-response to the totalitarian radicalism of the government. Recent research and publications. We established that the Hlukhiv phenomenon was revealed in the works of O. Vasiuta (1998), H. Lokoshchenko (1990), L. Horenko (2006), V. Ivanova (1997), M. Kyianovska (2000), L. Kornii & B. Siuta (2011), K. Maiburova (1971), M. Yurchenko (2001). The purpose of these publications is to study the origins of the development of professional Ukrainian music and its integration into the world music space. The publications addressed the activities of the Chamber Choir were appeared in local periodical press, in particular the newspapers “Hluhiv region”, “Day”, “Courier”, “People Tribune”, “Week”, “Panorama”, and others; they have narrative character without analytical science approach and adopted to usual unprofessional readers. Objectives, methods, and novelty of the research. The purpose of this article is a coverage of the creative activity of the Hlukhiv People Amateur Chamber Choir of Sacred Music. For this, source studies, scientific, historical, and analytical research methods were used, as well as generalization and systematization of information about the activities of the creative team. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the analysis and systematization of the Choir’s repertoire, in highlighting of its history and aesthetical principles directed its progress, in presentation of social and cultural context of the time, and revealing of significance the choir collective’s activity for actualization of Ukrainian national spiritual heritage. Research results and conclusion. The choral culture of Hlukhiv is a bright page of the centuries-old history of developing the Ukrainian choral singing. Its traditions were revived at Hlukhiv region in the 20th century through the activities of the Sacred Music Chamber Choir. The main vectors of the group’s creativity are highlighted: promotion of the Ukrainian-language repertoire, performance of works by countrymen composers M. Berezovsky, D. Bortnyansky, preservation of the canonical traditions of choral singing, and performance of sacred music. These areas of activity make it possible to identify the team’s creative work as an important component of the national Ukrainian culture. Regardless of historical and political obstacles, the choir’s activities achieved their goals: the performance of outstanding countrymen’s music gained popularity and found its continuation in the repertoire of the Choir department of the Hlukhiv School of Arts; classical and sacred choral music became part of the repertoire of city concerts; due to successful concerts and tours of the Choir as well as the active promotion work of its leader Kateryna Kobzar, the people of Hlukhiv got the opportunity to hear the performances of famous Ukrainian musicians, the guests of the city.