Julia Kogut-Kalynyuk and Kateryna Trachuk escaped the shelling of Lviv with only their banduras on their backs and their concert outfits in hand. The two women are warriors of “the Cultural Front,” fighting for Ukraine’s freedom through performance of traditional folk songs. The bandura is a sixty-five-string instrument unique to Ukraine dating back to the sixteenth century. Julia and Kateryna’s music not only conveys their people’s distinct and vibrant culture but demands the world’s attention remain on Ukrainians’ ongoing struggle against Russian aggression.
Julia (27 years old from Pustomyty) and Kateryna (25 years old from Chernivtsi) met at the Lviv National Music Academy, Ukraine’s leading music conservatory, where they both studied vocal arts and the bandura. Since their graduation, the duo has shared their music with audiences across Europe and North America. When the Russians bombarded their city, the women crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland on foot. They left their home and loved ones to continue the fight abroad with their instruments. Julia’s husband, a teacher of English, remained in Ukraine where he teaches English in online school lessons that continue despite the ongoing war.
Upon arriving in the United Kingdom, Julia and Kateryna befriended Iryna Ganzha, a Ukrainian immigrant who has lived in London since 2005. By gathering British audiences around traditional folk song concerts across the country, the women extend the reach of the bandura’s rallying cry. Iryna translated for Julia and Kateryna during our conversation.
SR: What does the bandura’s musical language convey about the Ukrainian identity that words cannot?
Iryna: The bandura’s sound [deepens the resonance] of our emotion. Ukrainians share how we feel through song, and the bandura is like having a hug around our feelings – it expresses the entire range of what we feel through music. The instrument extends multiple musical registers and, thus, serves not only as a great accompanying instrument for vocals but also represents our full emotional range. Beyond that, the bandura is the Ukrainian people. The possibilities of its songs are limitless.
The bandura has a fascinating history. In the late nineteenth century, during Imperial Russia’s persecution of Kobzars (itinerant Ukrainian bards who sang to their own accompaniment), the instrument was banned as though its music itself was a subversive language. During the Russian Civil War, the Bolsheviks murdered bandurists who promoted Ukrainian independence. I wonder if you could speak to what about the bandura makes its music so transgressive.
Iryna: It is important to remember that the first bandurists had their eyes gouged out by the Russians [for expressing their views through song], and the bandurists still found a way to perform. For Ukrainians, everyone who plays the bandura represents our fight against any invasion of the country. Whether it be the Turks or the Russians, but especially the Russians. The bandurists told the story of what was happening to people at their time. Their songs represent resistance, the fight for our homeland, and our home freedom.
How do you select the songs that you perform?
Julia: We play Ukrainian traditional folk songs [with a modern twist] and contemporary songs by Ukrainian composers in our own arrangement. It is an honor for us to share our love for traditional Ukrainian music with the UK audience while supporting our people at home. Half of the proceeds from our concerts go to foundations that provide aid to the Ukraine: Come Back Alive Foundation, Serhiy Prytula Foundation, and Help Ukraine Center (https://helpukraine.center/?fbclid=IwAR2-jW-EfzPOEKBmWz53EkO_fsVXgCYwqoI73ZQyI4tpgm1ARHXRPBL_jJU). So far, we have raised over three thousand pounds across our concerts. [These funds provide] ammunition and protective gear for the military, among other essential materials.
Iryna: I would like to also add that right now, we are not singing because we are happy. We are singing because this is one of the things you can do when you are distant from the battlefield. Music is a grenade we shoot at Russians that they can’t stop.
What brought you to Oxford?
Iryna: I believe fate brought these two incredible talents to the cultural center of our country, Oxford. I know people who are fighting at the battlefield now and every time they hear that these women perform in the UK, it makes their day.
At home your music helps Ukrainians persevere against the Russian invasion. In Oxford, audiences delight in its unique rhythms and harmonies as a source of entertainment. How does the audience and setting of a performance impact the way you play your instruments?
Kateryna: As Ukrainians, we already know the words and the music. But when we perform in this country, people here in England, without even realizing what the words mean, are often more overwhelmed [by emotion] than the people for whom we perform at home.
Julia: When you connect with the audience on this deeper level, it gives your music new life on stage. We even perform better.
Iryna: Everywhere in the UK that these bandurists sing, people have been touched even when they don’t know the words of the songs. They leave the concerts crying because the music communicates emotions stronger than words. Now, can you imagine if they actually knew the words?
The Ukrainian people continue to inspire the world with their courage in the face of evil. In what way does music fortify their spirit?
Iryna: It is our ammunition. We are singing, that means we have not surrendered. This is how we fight back.
Julia: When we sing here in the UK, we remind people that the war is not over yet. And not just a war, but a genocide and terrorism of our people. People cannot forget about us. We must scream about it. And loud.
Kateryna: We are the cultural front.
As we sit down today, Moscow announces its victory in Luhansk. Russia is now in control of large parts of the Donbas region. What does this mean for people at home?
Julia: Our hearts are broken for every person living in this territory. It’s hard to read the news and see the horror that the Russians [inflict] on our people and country.
Iryna: The Ukrainian military had to step down in Luhansk to save our people. That’s how our military works. They will not lose people. On the other hand, where my close friend is stationed, near Izium, the military actually led a counterattack and advanced. [We are actively preventing] the Russian military from taking over the entire Ukraine. There was a lot in Ukrainian media about our retreat from Luhansk, but we are advancing in other regions. No one wants to repeat Mariupol. Our army is about saving our people. But we will be back. No doubt. And going forward, we will retake Crimea. It is not just my wish. I know Crimea will be back to Batkivshchýna, back to its Motherland. Crimea is coming home, too.
Where will you literally and figuratively be taking your music in the coming months?
Julia: Our repertoire is always changing. We want to learn some English songs. We recently performed Ave Maria and Hallelujah. We play jazz and classical music, as well. With bandura, exploring different types of music always takes on new and exciting sounds.
Iryna: Until the war is over, these wonderful young women are going to be singing. Every concert tells our audience that the war is unfortunately still going on.
What can people in the UK do to support the Ukrainian war effort?
Iryna: Come to the concerts! Keep talking about what is going on. I haven’t used Facebook for two years, but now I post every day to remind all my international friends that the war is ongoing. And this war is not just about Ukraine – it’s about us being Ukrainians. I know we will win. This war is also about Europe and the rest of the world. We must win because we must not allow the evil of Putin’s Russia to win. Every time Julia and Kateryna perform, every post we make on social media, it is all about not letting the evil of Putin’s genocide against Ukrainians win. A bandura has sixty-five-strings, and it sings the song of our resistance. Whether it is to one friend or sixty-five, we all must sound like a bandura.
On July 7, Julia and Kateryna will perform at Wadham College’s Hollywell Music Room. Tickets can be found here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dvidoliband/705691?fbclid=IwAR0-0k7Ybk2mBpN2SLQL9z3YYUHHTU70irky_5Yo-LZE5UsEg3R2Io1hHPk.
The Trade Union Scare
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) conducted industrial action on Tuesday 21st, Thursday 23rd, and Saturday 25th June, in order to pressure employers into improving pay and working conditions of their workers and prevent significant job cuts. The reaction of the media was hysterical – it was neither faithful to the idea of keeping the public well-informed, nor was it fair to the trade union and workers themselves. In the end, this response became a small-scale ‘trade union scare’, which points to a wider demonisation of workers undertaking industrial action and trade unions as a whole.
I am able to understand why someone might feel mildly suspicious about the term ‘strike’ – a big portion of this attitude in Britain seems to have come from the events during the miners’ strike of 1984–1985. It was a chaotic dispute accompanied by violence, which echoes through our heads to this day. It is, however, immensely unfair to assume that every strike is inherently ethically problematic, which is what some media did in the case of recent rail action conducted by the RMT.
Kay Burley, the Sky News presenter, naggingly questioned Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, about what the workers running the picket line will do when someone attempts to cross it. Shortly after, she made a reference to the miners’ strike, to which Lynch responded: “Does it look like the miners’ strike? What are you talking about?” The interview felt aggressive — overall, it seemed as if Burley tried to provoke an emotional reaction from Lynch and make him appear in the wrong.
On another occasion, Richard Madeley from Good Morning Britain asked Mick Lynch whether he is a Marxist, because, supposedly, if he is one, then he is “into revolution and bringing down capitalism”. Lynch responded: “Richard, you do come up with the most remarkable twaddle sometimes. I’m not a Marxist, I’m an elected official of the RMT, I’m a working class bloke leading a trade union dispute about jobs, pay and conditions, and service, so it’s got nothing to do with Marxism, it’s all about this industrial dispute”. This question appeared bizarre, both because of its use of loaded language, as words such as ‘Marxism’ and ‘revolution’ have strong ideological connotations, and irrelevance to the matter.
Lynch was also intervewed by Piers Morgan on his talk show Piers Morgan Uncensored, where Piers seemed to have tried to undermine the credibility of the unionist by pointing out that his Facebook profile picture is The Hood, an evil character from the 60s science-fiction series Thunderbirds. Morgan insisted: “Well I’m just wondering where the comparison goes, because he was obviously an evil, criminal terrorist mastermind, described as the world’s most dangerous man who wrecked utter carnage and havoc on the public.” After this odd interview, many people on Twitter and Facebook decided to make their profile pictures The Hood in display of solidarity with Lynch.
Apart from provocative questions and statements of certain journalists, the most condemnable part of the overall discussion around recent rail strikes is misinformation, which is evident in framing the issue only in terms of salaries of train drivers. It can be found all over the internet and television. The average salary of a train driver is nearly £60,000 and so strikes are unnecessary, we are told. But it is worth knowing that train drivers were not included in this dispute for the most part. Strike action organised by the RMT included signallers, maintenance workers, ticket collectors, and cleaners, whose salaries are lower to those of train drivers. Additionally, most train drivers are represented by a different trade union, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF).
Another example of trying to juggle data is citing an average pay of rail workers. This is what Grant Shapps did in one of his speeches, where he claimed that “The average train driver earns £59,000, the average rail worker earns £44,000, the average nurse, £31,000”. The £44,000 figure includes train drivers and does not take into account other workers involved in the dispute such as cleaners, making it unreliable in reference to the RMT strikes. According to the RMT, their workers’ median salary is £31,000, which is much lower to the average salary mentioned by Shapps.
These events show that there seems to be a prejudice against trade unions and strike action. There is a lot of emotive language and misinformation aiming to hurt the workers’ cause. However, the response of the media is somewhat understandable – the disruption in transportation was heavy and certain voices pointed at the effects that strike action will have on individuals. For example, the principal of Hereford Sixth Form College stressed that industrial action will affect exams and professor Robert Thomas said that it will lead to loss of lives due to a further delay in cancer treatments, as oncology services are at a particular breaking point.
Mick Lynch responded to professor Thomas’ argument by saying that rail workers are not responsible for problems within the NHS and emphasised that the union keenly wants a settlement of the dispute. Industrial action is entirely preventable if employers and workers come to an agreement.
However, it is also worth asking: how can workers respond to unjust circumstances and work conditions if their demands are largely ignored? It is iniquitous to offer someone a wage that does not keep up with inflation and meet their basic costs of living. It is also unfair to act disloyally towards employees who kept railways running during the pandemic.
The media discussion around rail strikes was mature enough neither to understand striking workers, nor to be honest with the British public. Strikes are not the end of the world and trying to portray them as such is a massive overreaction. Although Mick Lynch is claimed to have won this media battle, it is worth carefully thinking about the prejudices that striking and unionising workers have to face in moments like the recent industrial action.
Image: SoThisIsPeter, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons