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4 OUR LIFE • September-October 2026 Journey to a Recording of Ukrainian Carols On Ukrainian Independence Day weekend, a record - ing of Ukrainian carols by my professional chamber chorus Ensemble Cherubim was released on the prestigious Centaur label. It is a modest recording of sixteen carol miniatures and at the same time a vi - brant and vital one. The album is a first in many ways. While many ex - ceptional recordings of carols have been made over the years by diaspora choirs and by professional choirs in Ukraine, those unfortunately are either out of print or not available either as CDs or online. This new al - bum is the first choral album of Ukrainian carols to be produced by a major classical music label. It is avail - able as a CD through distributors like Amazon and is also streaming on major platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. It is also the first recording ever of a few carols by traditional Ukrainian composers like Stetsen - ko and contemporary composers like Yurii Alzhnyev. The journey to this album itself is unusual. In 2021, I was serving on the advisory committee that pro - duced the monumental “A Few Notes from Ukraine” concert at Carnegie Hall to mark the hundredth anniversary of the carol “Shchedryk” coming to America. While I was discussing Ukraine’s carol repertoire alongside colleagues on the committee that included the luminary Leah Batstone, Vasyl Hrechynsky, Luba Morozova, Ivan Ostapovych, and Maria Sonevytsky, I realized anew how excep - tional Ukraine’s wealth of carols is. Coincidental - ly, because I have published widely on the music of Dmytro Bortniansky, I was approached by the British publisher Cambridge Scholars Printing to write a book about Ukrainian music. I pitched to them the idea of a book about carols, reasoning that a book and anthology of carols would allow me to share information on Ukrainian composers spanning several centuries and to touch on the traditions and political circumstances surround - ing them. This book could build a lasting bridge between Ukraine’s music and English-speak - ing scholars and audiences. Cambridge Scholars agreed, and my book project — Carols of Birds, Bells, and Sacred Hymns for Ukraine: An Anthol - ogy and Cultural Companion — was born. I rolled up my sleeves and began my research. Just a few months later, the full-scale war on Ukraine erupted. My book expanded. From my home in Connecticut, I interviewed living Ukrain - ian composers and musicologists within Ukraine or who are now refugees. I sought the assistance of the renowned conductor of the Kyiv Chamber Choir, Mykola Hobdych, as well as the music librar - ian Ludmila Rudenko in Kyiv. When I shared a draft of my book manuscript with a few American cho - ral colleagues for feedback — including Jan Har - rington, emeritus professor at Indiana University; Grant Gershon of the Los Angeles Master Chorale; and conductor-composer Craig Hella Johnson of the choir Conspirare in Texas — I heard: “Is there a recording available of these carols?” I rolled up my sleeves again. In the summer of 2024, while the book was being type-set in England (and I was also preparing sing - ers for Beethoven Ninth Symphony concerts with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra led by Maestra Keri-Lynn Wilson), I gathered a group of singers Marika Kuzma , Artistic Director, Ensemble Cherubim chamber chorus; music scholar; Professor Emerita, University of California, Berkeley Album cover. The cover art is by Ukrainian artist Natalia Yusypchuk.
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