POSTSCRIPT
With the independence of Ukraine many dramatic changes are taking place
in the cultural life of the nation.
Some of these are positive others negative when related to Ukrainian Folk
Instruments and their music. With the
disection of the Soviet Union and Russia being the inheritor of most of
its cultural attributes all recordings made by
the Melodia company based in Moscow are now outside Ukrainain
juristiction. The same applies to many of the
Ukrainian films which were archived near Moscow. Some of the most valuable
folkloric and historic materials
which represented Ukraine and her culture such as folk instruments,
costumes, manuscripts are now beyond her
borders. Despite an initial boom in interest in Ukrainian traditions and
folklore, the sudden openning of Ukraine to
uncontrolled Western influences has produced a veritably unstoppable
influx of mass-culture. With it has come a
feeling of lower importance in local and regional music. This is not only
visible in the folk music but also in
classical music forms.
Government subsidies for instrument manufacture and development have
now ceased. It is now
economically more viable to manufacture furniture than musical
instruments. What instruments are available have
gone up in price ten-fold. The same subsidies have been diminished or
totally cut for the running of colleges and
studios where Ukrainian folk music was taught such as the Studio run by
the Veriovka Choir and the Kyiv State
Bandurist Chorus. The renown "Muzychna Ukraina" publishing house has
virtually stopped publishing music. The
teachers in tertiary music establishments have not been paid in 8 months.
The future is uncertain. What is
certain is that a solid foundation has been laid for the further
development of Ukrainian folk instruments.
