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For much of its history, Ukraine been subsumed within the Russian empire, both under the tsars and subsequently as part of the Soviet Union \u2013 so it is sometimes difficult and contentious to claim certain composers as being from that nation rather than Russia itself. Yet there are several composers who certainly hail from that region, and even while shackled to Russia, Ukraine has unquestionably played a key role in the development of Russian music, indeed often leading the way, as is the case with the first three composers discussed here from the 17th and 18th centuries.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Nikolai Diletsky <\/strong>(c1630-80), who lay the foundations for his three great successors Maxim Berezovsky (c1740-77), Dmitri Bortnyansky (1751-1825), and Artem Vedel (c1770-1806), deserves some historical background to explain his tremendous importance to the history of not only Ukrainian but also Russian music.<\/p>\n While Russian Orthodox church long maintained a tradition of simply singing ancient (znamenniy) chants, a much richer choral style \u2013 inspired by the Venetian spiritual concerto established by Andrea Gabrieli and his contemporaries in the late 16th century \u2013 had burgeoned early in 17th-century Ukraine and neighbouring Poland. This new form of choral singing, known as the Choral Concerto, involved choirs singing several vocal lines simultaneously in dazzling displays of counterpoint. Ukrainian (and Polish) church music, as a result, sounded much more glorious than the rough and rather dour Russian Orthodox style of that time \u2013 a point that did not escape the Russian Imperial Court and its close ally, the Russian Orthodox Church.<\/p>\n In 1652, a group of Ukrainian singers were invited to Moscow to demonstrate the magnificence of the Choral Concerto style. One of its practitioners and earliest theorists was the Kiev-born Nikolai Diletsky, who had received significant training from the great Polish composer Mielczewski. The new choral style was effectively promoted by Diletsky\u2019s compositional manual, first published in Polish in 1675, then undergoing at least three more editions before the end of that century. Diletsky\u2019s choral music \u2013 equally suited in style to glorifying the Russian court as well as adding splendour to the church \u2013 marked a new chapter in Russia\u2019s official choral style, exemplified in such works as \u2018Praise the Name of the Lord\u2019.<\/p>\n Recommended recording \u2013 The Powers of Heaven: Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir\/Paul Hillier Harmonia Mundi HMU 907318\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe best Ukrainian composers of all time<\/h2>\n
Nikolai Diletsky<\/strong><\/h3>\n