Funding for ¡COLORES!

was provided in part by: New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME-TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts and Viewers Like You [Singing traditional Ukrainian folk song] MUSIC AS RESISTANCE AN AFFIRMATION IN A TIME OF WAR FOLK ENSEMBLE KURBASY SHARE SONGS OF THE UKRAINIAN FOREST, REVEALING CONTEMPORARY CONNECTIONS TO UKRAINE'S ANCIENT CULTURAL TRADITIONS.

[Singing traditional Ukrainian folk song] IT'S ALL AHEAD ON ¡COLORES!

[Playing chello] [Playing various string instruments] [Performing traditional Ukrainian folk song] [Performing traditional Ukrainian folk song] >> Faith: Mariia, Nataliia, Seb.

Thank you so much for being here.

First, I want to start with your name.

Why Kurbasy, and how does that relate to your mission?

[Mariia speaking Ukrainian] >> Sadovyj: So since we are actresses in Les Kurbas theater, named after Les Kurbas, was the prominent reformator avant garde theater in Ukraine.

And we sing a lot in that theater.

And, we started as the project in that theater and story is always the same.

You get your name by accident, not intentionally.

[playing violin] >> Sadovyj: And, since when we travel to the festivals, everybody know that we are from Les theater.

They would call us Kurbasy It's the guys from Les Kurbas Theater.

So the names come from that.

Les Kurbas Is that his fate is tragic.

Tragic story behind that.

So Les Kurbas, was -- bringer of new vision of the theater in general in art about avant garde, progressive, pro-European art.

And it was unacceptable under the Russian Soviet occupation.

So he was shot.

Together with a lot of intelligents of his time.

The best poets, writers, lawyers, institutions.

We call this -- executed Renaissance, because the best people of Ukraine -- were systematically slain by communists.

And the fact that theater, not only one theater, a lot of theaters, bear proudly his name.

Named after this incredible person.

It's showing us that we continue, we continuing his line.

We continue -- his mission, his vision.

>> Announcer: And now please give a warm welcome from Ukraine, Kurbasy -- [Applause from audience] >> Sadovyjb: But it feels like it's our very own story now.

[Applause from audience] >> Sadovyj: It's fascinating for us to think about, lifetime of the song.

We often compare it to -- woods, to the trees that lived more than 1000 years.

And we know these songs lasted for centuries.

[Performing traditional Ukrainian folk song] some of the vocal techniques that we are, having as the traditional and Ukrainian singing style are up to a thousand years.

we feel this scale of life because our life is very limited and short in comparison to this great -- creatures.

[Performing traditional Ukrainian folk song] >> Sadovyj: And to think about how many people are involved in the life of the song, just to take one of those more than 200,000 songs, just one life of one song.

How many generations?

How many, families?

How many kindreds are involved in the lifespan of one song?

We can think as -- That song faces obstacles.

That song faces oppression, sometimes face -- neglection and denial.

Sometimes it faces -- very -- fertile ground.

We are those bees who f ertilize the flowers on the trees just to help it.

Just to help it be, to help it go on.

Because we understand how precious it is and how many efforts and time went for this, only one song to survive.

[Performing traditional Ukrainian folk song] [Applause from audience] >> Faith: So, you're from Lviv [Ukraine] the city with really deep cultural roots.

How has growing up there shaped your music?

>> Sadovyj: Okay, so Lviv is recognized by -- as the cultural capital for more than 100 years and a lot of processes, that shaped our cultural identity were happening in Lviv.

So a lot of plays are based on the traditional folk singing, and it's -- the place where we were shaped as an artist because we started to explore traditional singing from that -- theater work.

[Performing traditional Ukrainian folk song] >> Sadovyj: At some point you, travel around the city -- and you just -- all the environment is inspiring.

A lot of sculptures, a lot of beautiful architecture.

And to see those beautiful architecture styles, which, in Lviv, is rich and and it's like a museum.

We have a variety of styles.

Yes, probably that multicultural crossroad, that Lviv is -- is influenced on what Kurbasy are because we are blending styles, genres and different cultures into traditional art.

[Singing traditional Ukrianian folk music] [Applause from audience] >> Faith: What kind of stories are you sharing about Ukraine and its people in Songs of the Ukrainian Forest?

[Nataliia Speaking Ukrainian] [Sadovyj Translating] So this program -- Songs of the Ukrainian Forest is interesting -- for its uniting different cultural regions of Ukraine.

[Traditional Ukrainian music] [Traditional Ukrainian music] [Nataliia Speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia Speaking Ukrainian] [Sadovyj translating] Polissia, Bukovina, Podillia -- Those are regions that our songs are coming from.

And by hearing those, you can touch and feel the stories of these people that are still living in this diverse cultural region.

[Singing traditional Ukrainian music] [Singing traditional Ukrainian music] [Singing traditional Ukrainian music] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Sadovyj translating] << These are stories of these people, how they met the spring, how they fell in love, how they lived their lives.

And, for us, it's the great gift to be able to look through that window to understand how they lived.

What they faced.

[Singing traditional Ukrainian folk music] [Singing traditional Ukrainian folk music] [Singing traditional Ukrainian folk music] [Applause from audience] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Nataliia speaking Ukrainian] [Sadovyj translating] << Through these songs we read these stories about their lives and we clearly see how, natural those songs are, how strong they are, how strong and beautiful Ukrainian culture is.

Those stories about, resilience, about resistance, how they loved, how they fought for independence, how they've -- struggled for their identity.

And we now have these songs as the good example of how they cope with that situation that we face now in Ukraine today.

But they give us the message, no worries, you will -- you will handle this as we did.

Probably you will do even better.

[Singing traditional Ukrainian folk song] [Singing traditional Ukrainian folk song] [Singing traditional Ukrainian folk song] [Applause from audience] >> Faith: Another artist from Lviv, Sasha Boole, said that -- “culture and resistance are inseparable.” What are your thoughts about that?

>> Sadovyj: We totally agree about that.

He embodies with himself that sentence about -- no matter what, keep going.

If you are alone -- never give up.

He embodies that idea himself.

And, that's what we do as well.

We trace those -- jewelry of traditional culture.

Sometimes it's dusty and sometimes it's from -- the attic, somewhere.

But still, we can clean it up and share it as the most precious gift that we get from our ancestors that inspired us, that guides us.

[Singing traditional Ukrainian folk song] >> Sadovyj: And now, when we face the threat, existential threat for us, we will literally feel that amount of power comes from inside through these songs.

Through these guidances we receive.

Through this feeling of belonging to -- Ukrainian culture, to this identity, it feeds with power from inside and we can feel it, and the elements of it.

[Mariia speaking Ukrainian] [Mariia speaking Ukrainian] [Mariia speaking Ukrainian] [Mariia speaking Ukrainian] [Sadovyj translating] << This culture represents -- our values.

The value of life, of respects to life, of protecting freedom.

Because we are facing this threat from the horde from country with a totally different background and ideas about how the state should develop, etc.

we represent culture that valus human life, and we've inherited it from people who loved nature around them, who loved -- [Applause from audience] [Applause from audience] >> who created, who fought, [Applause from audience] >> who worked and -- these songs are filled with that, essence of life.

And we share this culture as evidence of that.

We still bringing that mission.

>> Faith: Can you tell me a little bit about the song that you'll be performing?

>> Sadovyj: We will sing the song that is called, CHYYA TSE DOLYNA?

Whose valley is that?

It's traditional and very famous Ukrainian song.

And, we are -- when we travel and perform, this to, United States audience, we, see how Ukrainian people who are, immigrants in generations, supporting us because they know that song, they know it from Ukrainian cinema, from, the grandmas.

And it's very moving and touching for us.

[Performing traditional Ukrainian folk song] >> Faith: So, if there's one thing that you would like people to take away from our conversation today about Ukraine -- what would it be?

>> Sadovyj: We'd like, for people to -- hear our voices through music, through these ancient songs that we were so lucky to receive as the gift.

[Traditional Ukrainian Music] >> Sadovyj: It's important for us to show that you can do it as well.

You want to learn your own personal or your family traditions.

You want to get in touch with your -- tribal or national traditions.

We feel that it empowers us a lot.

We feel that we belong to this unbroken chain of generations tracing back to Kievan Rus and it inspires -- it helps to cope with the difficulties.

And we're 100% sure it stops all the hatred, all the wars because it makes you creative.

It makes you more closer to who you -- truly are.

[Traditional Ukrainian Music] [Applause from audience] [Performance continues] [Applause from audience] >> The award winning arts and culture series ¡Colores!

is now available on the PBS app, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and at nmpbs.org.

From classic episodes to brand new shows.

¡Colores!

is everywhere.

Watch now on your favorite NMPBS platforms Funding for ¡Colores!

was provided in part by: New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts and Education Endowment Fund, and the Nellita E. Walker Fund for KNME TV at the Albuquerque Community Foundation.

New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.

And viewers like you.