Sich Riflemen Songs

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Audio: Sich Riflemen Songs

Sich Riflemen songs are the patriotic songs of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen of the First World War and the liberation struggle era. A song chronicle of the fight for independence.

Sich Riflemen songs arose among the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (USS) — the legion that fought in 1914–1918 for Ukrainian statehood. Unlike anonymous folklore, many of them have authors — rifleman-poets and composers (Mykhailo Haivoronsky, Roman Kupchynsky, Levko Lepky).

These songs combined folk melody with marching energy and poignant lyricism. “Oi u luzi chervona kalyna,” “Chuyesh, brate miy,” “Hey, tam na hori Sich ide” (a 1902 song by Kyrylo Trylovsky, adopted by the Riflemen), “Zazhurylys halychanky” — they sang of fidelity to the homeland, of parting, heroism, and sacrifice. The Riflemen's song became a powerful symbol of Ukrainian national consciousness; “Chervona Kalyna” again rang out as an anthem of resilience during the full-scale war, uniting generations of fighters for freedom.

Cultural Versus

Sich Riflemen Songs

Sub-category:: folk

Sich Riflemen songs are the patriotic songs of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen of the First World War and the liberation struggle era. A song chronicle of the fight for independence.

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Aleatoric Music

Sub-category:: classical

Aleatoric music (from the Latin alea — “dice”) is music in which part of the decisions is left to chance or to the performer's choice. Open form, unpredictability, freedom. John Cage, Witold Lutosławski.