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O Generous One! - Christmas Carols, 2/2 -- Timothy Snyder
https://snyder.substack.com/p/o-generous-oneThe other night I heard “Carol of the Bells” echoing from the gallery of a cathedral, and this most beautiful of our Christmas songs made me a little sad.
Long before I knew what the song was called, or anything about it, I thrilled to “Carol of the Bells.” It came to me in my little American capitalist childhood as the background for a television advertisement for André champagne. Even as a very young child, I could tell that there was something strikingly different about the enchanting melody, as though it came from another world. And so it does.
Most of the songs one hears around the holidays, at least in North America, are either arrangements of traditional songs from France, England, Germany, or Austria, or twentieth-century compositions. They have a wonderful variety of messages and meanings. But none of them has anything like the driving ostinato four-note melodic pattern of “Carol of the Bells,” nor its bold polyphony when sung.
“Carol of the Bells” stands out because it arises from a different tradition: that of Ukrainian folk songs, and in particular ancient Ukrainian folk songs welcoming the new year, summoning the forces of nature to meet human labor and bring prosperity. These are called shchedrivky, “carols of cheer” or, a bit more literally, songs to the generous one. The word “magic” is used a good deal around Christmas; this song has its origins in rituals that were indeed magical. And perhaps this is exactly why it reaches us.
. . .
Perhaps this is unrealistic, but I wish that the Ukrainian origins of the song would always be recognized. Ukrainian culture is very significant in our world, but our awareness of it is minimal: the assassination of Leontovych and the transformation of Shchedryk is just one minor example of this colonial history, one that is continued during Russia’s present invasion of Ukraine. In December 2022, ten months into the present invasion, Shchedryk/Carol of the Bells made a beautiful (and bilingual) return to Carnegie Hall, which helped a little.
(Video and lyrics are embedded in article. It is a beautiful rendition.)
. . .
Long before I knew what the song was called, or anything about it, I thrilled to “Carol of the Bells.” It came to me in my little American capitalist childhood as the background for a television advertisement for André champagne. Even as a very young child, I could tell that there was something strikingly different about the enchanting melody, as though it came from another world. And so it does.
Most of the songs one hears around the holidays, at least in North America, are either arrangements of traditional songs from France, England, Germany, or Austria, or twentieth-century compositions. They have a wonderful variety of messages and meanings. But none of them has anything like the driving ostinato four-note melodic pattern of “Carol of the Bells,” nor its bold polyphony when sung.
“Carol of the Bells” stands out because it arises from a different tradition: that of Ukrainian folk songs, and in particular ancient Ukrainian folk songs welcoming the new year, summoning the forces of nature to meet human labor and bring prosperity. These are called shchedrivky, “carols of cheer” or, a bit more literally, songs to the generous one. The word “magic” is used a good deal around Christmas; this song has its origins in rituals that were indeed magical. And perhaps this is exactly why it reaches us.
. . .
Perhaps this is unrealistic, but I wish that the Ukrainian origins of the song would always be recognized. Ukrainian culture is very significant in our world, but our awareness of it is minimal: the assassination of Leontovych and the transformation of Shchedryk is just one minor example of this colonial history, one that is continued during Russia’s present invasion of Ukraine. In December 2022, ten months into the present invasion, Shchedryk/Carol of the Bells made a beautiful (and bilingual) return to Carnegie Hall, which helped a little.
(Video and lyrics are embedded in article. It is a beautiful rendition.)
. . .
(Additional source links
" target="_blank">Here is a contemporary popular Ukrainian rendering of Shchedryk.
For a performance of Shchedryk by the Bel Canto Choir in Vilnius, Lithuania, click " target="_blank">here.
For a bilingual solo performance meant to introduce Shchedryk, click " target="_blank">here (in a different translation, of course!)
For NBA stars performing Shchedryk by dribbling basketballs, click " target="_blank">here.