Life

Life and
and activity
activity of
of
M.
M. Lysenko
Lysenko

Prepared by:
Victoria Subota & Ann Shaparenko
Mykola Lysenko

Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko was a

Ukrainian composer, pianist,
conductor and ethnomusicologist. He
was also the founder of the national
composer's school.
 Childhood of famous composer
Mykola Vitaliyovych Lysenko was born on March 22, 1842, in the village
of Hrynky of Kremenchuk district of Poltava province in the family of a
landowner, army officer, Vitaliy Romanovych Lysenko. His father was
an educated man, advanced at the time views, he came from an
ancient Cossack family. Her mother, Olga Yeremiyivna, is a pupil of the
Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg. She became the first music teacher
for Nikolai. 1852 p. M. Lysenko is brought to Kyiv and given to a private
men's boarding house. Then he graduated from the 2nd Kharkiv
Gymnasium. While still studying at the boarding house, Lysenko began
to record folk songs. He later performed successfully at student
concerts. He studies musical works.
 High education
1859 p. M. Lysenko enters Kharkiv University. After studying
for a year, he was transferred to the Department of Natural
Sciences, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, St. Vladimir's
University. While studying at the university, M. Lysenko
studied the Ukrainian language to make it "cultural and his
own." Also, he participated in the preparation of the
"Dictionary of the Ukrainian language" by B. Hrinchenko,
conducted the student choir, was one of the organizers of
Sunday schools for workers.
1864 p. M. Lysenko graduated from the university. The
following year he received the degree of Candidate of
Natural Sciences, defending his dissertation "On sexual
reproduction of filamentous algae."
After graduating from the university Lysenko worked for two
years as a mediator in the village.
Tarashchi of the Kyiv province. At the same time, he was
attracted to music. He collects and processes folk songs.
Returning to Kyiv, he prepared for publication two
collections of songs for voice and piano, created the opera
"Andriashiada".
1867 p. M. Lysenko went to Leipzig, where he studied for two
years at the conservatory. Here he publishes a collection of
Ukrainian folk songs prepared in Kyiv. At the same time, he
began to write music for the lyrics of "Kobzar" T.G.
Shevchenko. In 1868 M. Lysenko wrote music for T.
Shevchenko's "Testament" at the request of young
composers of Galicia.
M. Lysenko studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in
the class of M. Rimsky-Korsakov, who highly valued his
abilities.
 Creative activity
After graduating from the Leipzig Conservatory M.V. Lysenko returns to Kyiv and is
actively concerned with his musical life and public activities. He combines work at a
music school with collecting and popularizing folk songs. He wrote pieces for piano,
operettas "Chernomorets" and "Christmas Night" (later adapted for opera). He
graduated from the conservatory with honours - received the right to tour Europe. In
1874, amateur authors staged M. Lysenko's "Christmas Night" in the form of a musical
comedy at the Kyiv Opera House. The play was a great success. In 1876, the third
issue of folk songs was published, edited by M. Lysenko, but abroad - because in the
same year the notorious Ems decree was issued, aimed at suppressing national
culture. Therefore, Lysenko's collection was not allowed in Ukraine.

In 1880, the ban on the theatre’s Ukrainian repertoire was partially lifted, and Lysenko set about creating his best work,
the opera Taras Bulba, on which he worked for 10 years. At this time he created a lyrical-fantastic opera "Drowned" based
on the novel by M. Gogol, finished the last edition of "Christmas Night", wrote a cantata in 5 parts "Rejoice, unpolished level"
on Shevchenko's themes.

M. Lysenko's choral travels in Ukraine left a big mark in the history of Ukrainian musical culture. Folk song and choral art
reached the most remote corners of our region.
 Ostap Veresay & Lesya Ukrainka
In 1873 Lysenko travelled through Galicia and Serbia. He
records Polish, Czech, Moravian, Serbian, and Croatian
songs, which he will later include in the repertoire of
choral concerts. In the same year, he met the kobzar Ostap
Veresay and studied his work.

Lysenko met blind Ukrainian kobzar Ostap Veresay. The

artist recorded many songs by Ostap Veresay and also took
the kobzar to his concerts.

The genius poetess Lesya Ukrainka lived next door. They

were friends with families. And when Lysenko wrote the
first children's opera of its kind, they decided to play it
first at home. And Lesya Ukrainka helped with costumes.
Compositional activity
As a composer, Lysenko wrote in various genres. This is a continuation
of a series of music to "Kobzar", and songs to the lyrics of Ivan Franko,
Lesya Ukrainka, Heinrich Heine. He also publishes collections of Ukrainian
folk songs for voice and piano, for male and mixed choirs. One after
another, the opera "Natalka Poltavka", children's operas "Goat-Dereza",
"Mr Kotsky", "Winter and Spring" appear. Mykola Lysenko is the author of
the choir "God is the only one ..." - the spiritual anthem of Ukraine.

The composer's scientific activity was also fruitful. His works "Folk
Musical Instruments in Ukraine", "On the Tarban and the Music of Vidort's
Songs", "Music to the Thought of Bohdan Khmelnytsky" gained public
recognition. Lysenko also conducts performing activities, participates in
choral and chamber instrumental concerts.

The end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. - the peak of creative
and public activity of Nikolay Vitalievich. 1903 marked the 35th
anniversary of his career. "Christmas Night" was staged in Kyiv in honour
of the anniversary, and a big concert was held in St. Petersburg.
 Gripping history of Kyiv Conservatory
& Kyiv Theater Institute
For some of them in the fall of 1904 in a house on the street. Friends organized a
charity fundraiser and made a gift to the composer - bought a house. However,
Lysenko remains living in his house and a new one organizes and opens a music and
drama school. Subsequently, this school was rebuilt and reformed into the Kyiv
Conservatory and the Kyiv Theater Institute. For the first time in Ukraine, the
department of Ukrainian drama and classes of folk instruments, in particular
banduras, and music theory, worked here.

Students of the school were composers L. Revutsky, K. Stetsenko, artists O. Vatula, B.

Romanytsky, violinist M. Polyakin, folklorist V. Verkhovynets, singer M. Mykita, choral
conductor O. Koshyts and others. The composer worked at his school until the last
days of his life.
 Social activity
When the decree banning the Ukrainian language was issued, Lysenko was indifferent to it. He began
to be persecuted, imprisoned and arrested more than once. And there was even a decree to
destroy his special magnificent beautiful piano. Friends hid him and he remained undestroyed. After
the composer's death, his sister restored the piano and now it is in a museum in Kyiv.

The composer took an active part in the preparation for the opening in 1903 in Poltava of a
monument to the founder of new Ukrainian literature I. Kotlyarevsky. M. Lysenko's cantata "In Eternal
Memory of Kotlyarevsky" was performed at the celebrations on the occasion of this event.

M. Lysenko constantly combined musical activity with tireless efforts in the public field. As a young
man, he collaborated with the Kyiv Hromada. Later he actively united Ukrainian artists in the Kyiv
Literary and Artistic Society, and in 1908 he became the founder and recognized leader of the
"Ukrainian Club" - an association that played an exceptional role in the formation of the nationally
conscious intelligentsia. He died shortly (November 6, 1912) after the Ukrainian Club was disbanded by
police; Mykola Lysenko's funeral turned into a powerful patriotic demonstration of Ukrainians.
 Natalka Poltavka
Natalka Poltavka (English: Natalka from Poltava) is an opera in three acts by the Ukrainian
composer Mykola Lysenko, based on the play Natalka Poltavka by Ivan Kotlyarevsky, first
performed in 1889. The original version of Kotlyarevsky's play in 1819 contained several Ukrainian
folk songs which were sung at different points throughout the work. The first known musical
adaptation of the play was made by Kharkiv musician A. Barsytsky and was published in 1833.

Lysenko began to work on the opera in 1864 but put it aside, lacking experience in writing for the
opera stage. His eventual 1889 version upstaged all the previous versions of the work. Lysenko
took the original songs from the play, which were lengthened, and wrote orchestral
accompaniments to the folk songs and dances in the play. He enlarged the musical tapestry,
producing background music to some parts. The songs were transformed into arias, and an
overture and musical entracts were added which stayed true to the spirit of Kotlyarevsky's play.
Although Lysenko's version is usually categorised as an opera, it is more comparable to an
opera-comique, containing as it does long stretches of spoken dialogue. Attempts were made to
transform the work into "Grand Opera" with the addition of music by V. Iorish were not
successful. The Kyiv State Opera returned to Lysenko's original version. The opera was first
performed in Odessa (in Russian), on 12/24 November 1889.
Thank you for
your attention