The composer of the famous Ukrainian song “Shchedryk,” Mykola Leontovych, was born on this day in 1877. In 1922, the song was performed for the first time in New York Carnegie Hall by the Oleksandr Koshyts Choir, and in 1936 the English conductor Peter Vilgovskyy wrote his English text to Leontovych’s melody and created “Carol of the Bells,” one of the most popular Christmas melodies in America today.
This year, Tina Peresunko, a Fulbright Fellow, researched the musical transformation of the Ukrainian carol into American culture in the U.S. archives in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the American premiere of “Shchedryk” and the 145th anniversary of the birth of Mykola Leontovych.
Today on the birthday of her favorite composer, Tina Peresunko decided to give us a preview of so-far unknown facts from the American biography of “Shchedryk”. Don’t miss stories on Facebook and Instagram of US Embassy in Ukraine:
https://www.facebook.com/43732151935/posts/10159438759976936/?d=n
