Hryhory Nazarenko
Encyclopedia
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
, in the Poltava Governorate
Poltava Governorate
The Poltava Governorate or Government of Poltava was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate which was split between the Chernigov Governorate and Poltava Governorate with an...
of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, in present-day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
- 1997 Detroit, United States) was a bandura
Bandura
Bandura refers to a Ukrainian plucked string folk instrument. It combines elements of a box zither and lute, as well as its lute-like predecessor, the kobza...
player.
Hryhory Nazarenko was one of the founding members of the Poltava Bandurist Capella
Poltava Bandurist Capella
The Poltava Bandurist Capella was vocal-instrumental ensemble who accompanied themselves on the multi-stringed Ukrainian bandura. It was initially established in February 1925, based on a male church choir who sang in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Cathedral in Poltava under the direction of...
which was established in Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
in 1925. He had a brilliant first tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
voice and soon became one of the prominent soloist of the ensemble.
In 1935 he was enlisted into the newly formed combined Kiev Bandurist Capella
Kiev Bandurist Capella
The Kiev Bandurist Capella is a male vocal-instrumental ensemble that accompanies its singing with the playing of the multi-stringed Ukrainian folk instrument known as the bandura....
where in time he became concertmaster. A number of his arrangements were recorded on record in the 1930's and he also was featured on a number of recordings as tenor soloist. In 1937 Nazarenko was slated to become artistic director of the chorus, but was sidestepped when the choice fell to Danylo Pika because of his membership in the Communist party.
Nazarenko was instrumental in setting up and establishing the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus is a semi-professional male choir which accompanies itself with the multi-stringed Ukrainian folk instrument known as the bandura...
in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 1942, and was its first artistic director. Under his directorship the chorus gave a number of concerts: "The Live words of Taras Shevchenko" in Kiev, Volyn' and in outlying areas before the directorship was assumed by Hryhory Kytasty
Hryhory Kytasty
Hryhoriy Trokhymovych Kytasty was a Ukrainian émigré composer and conductor. In 2008 he was honored with the Hero of Ukraine state decoration.- Early years :Hryhory Kytasty was born in the town of Kobeliaky, Poltava oblast...
.
During the War in Germany together with the Honcharenko brothers
Honcharenko brothers
The Honcharenko Brothers—Alexander 1913-2005) and Peter —became the dominant bandura-makers and designers in the Ukrainian diaspora.-Formative years:...
he established the Leontovych Bandurist Capella in the British zone of occupation.
In the United States he continued for a brief time to be a member of the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus
The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus is a semi-professional male choir which accompanies itself with the multi-stringed Ukrainian folk instrument known as the bandura...
.
Nazarenko died in Detroit in 1997.
His repertoire included numerous dumy
Duma (epic)
A Duma is a sung epic poem which originated in Ukraine during the Hetmanate Era in the sixteenth century...
(sung epic poems) which he learned from Hnat Khotkevych
Hnat Khotkevych
Hnat Martynovych Khotkevych December 31, 1877 in Kharkiv, Russian Empire – October 8, 1938 in Kharkiv, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union) was a Ukrainian writer, ethnographer, playwright, composer, musicologist, and bandurist....
, such the duma about the Kozak-bandurist and Storm on the Black Sea.
Sources
- Makhynia, H. - Hryhoriy Pavlovych Nazarenko - Bandura, #43-44, 1993