THE BANDURA

The bandura is a unique Ukrainian musical instrument that dates back to the 7-th century. Originally it was used for accompaniment of epic folk ballads and occasional folk dances. It became immensely popular between the 15th and 18th centuries when traveling musicians, called Kobzars, entertained in towns and villages of Ukraine, while singing about the exploits of the Kozaks (Ukrainian Warriors). Over the years, the bandura acquired more and more strings and became a fully chromatic instrument with switches for changing tonalities. The Bandura is tought as a solo and ensemble instrument in music schools and conservatories in Ukraine. During the Soviet occupation of Ukraine, bandura fell into disfavor because it was the carrier of Ukrainian national history and culture, which, according to the communist master plan was to be submerged into a single Soviet mainstream.

From a musical perspective, the bandura unifies accoustic principles of both the lute and the harp. This produces a sound that is emphatic and gentle, resembling that of a harpsichord, but with a wider range of dynamics and total control.

More about bandura you can find on "The Bandura - a Historical Overview"

The Master of the Bandura

Professor Vasyl Herasymenko, instructor at the Lviv High Music Institute, is known as one of the foremost innovative bandura designers and buliders in Ukraine. He was born in 1927 in the Kyiv region. During his childhood years his mother and brothers passed on their love of singing to Vasyl. He remembers being particularly moved by an old kobzar who performed in his village with a group of artists from the Kyiv Philharmonic. That kobzar's rendition of a historical song about Morozenko (Ukrainian national hero) has stayed with him throughout his life, Professor Herasymenko recalls. In 1948, while visiting his older brother in the city of Boryslav, Lviv region, the young Vasyl so impressed some of his brother's friends with his singing, that they signed him up at the Drohobych Music School. A short time later he transferred to a music school in Lviv, where he first started studying bandrua. The instruments being played at the time were rather simple and were tuned diatonically. There was also no printed music for the bandura, so Vasyl would transpose piano music for the bandura. He often performed with some of the other students, and also began studying at an institute for fine arts. Having very successfully completed his music studies, Mr. Herasymenko became an instructor. Although he transcribed a number of etudes and songs for the bandura, the level of bandura playing was still poorly developed, so he organized an independent ensemble of advanced bandurists, while at the same time pursuing his own career as a soloist and completing his studies at the Lysenko Conservatory.

In responce to the shortage of instruments, Prof. Herasymenko began constructing his own. In 1950 he finished his first bandura, traditionally made by carving out sycamore wood. It was small, with diatonic bass strings and a two-octave treble string range. It was a good temporary solution, as there were no means of mass bandura production at that time in Ukraine. This successful venture into bandura construction convinced Prof. Herasymenko to continue his pursuit of a more versatile instrument.

Using the basic premise of switches for tonalities from another bandura master Ivan Sklar, Prof. Herasymenko designed a new bandura with a more rounded body, giving greater acoustical sound. He worked on these instruments in the evening and night hours, as morning and afternoon hours were spent at the conservatory teaching. The Lviv concert bandura is currently the most favored instrument of leading bandurists in Ukraine, some of whom, including Halyna Menkush and Ostap Stakhiv, have recently toured the USA. He is an extremely organized, accurate and detail-oriented individual. Wherever he has worked or taught, he has aimed to streamline and improve all processes. Besides his teaching at the conservatory, he continues to dedicate his time to creating the ultimate bandura design. It is diffucult to name any other bandurist who has excelled in every possible aspect of the bandura art form, and who still has the energy, enthusiasm and perserverance to forge ahead.

Pictures - a Portret of Vasyl Herasymenko by artist Vasyl Lopata and photo - Vasyl Herasymenko in his workshop, Lviv